PSBA Program Manager

Career Center at Portland State University; Portland (OR); On-site; USD 67,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Premium healthcare

Retirement benefits

Tuition reduction

Job summary

Portland State University seeks a PSBA Program Manager to drive operations for a one-year startup acceleration and project coaching model. You will engage founders, oversee milestone execution, and coordinate commercialization efforts to move ventures toward investment and partnerships.

Under the Director, you will manage day-to-day cohort activities, develop asset materials, and integrate LIT student participants into startup teams, prioritizing measurable market traction and outcomes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree plus 2–4 years in entrepreneurship, program management, or related areas.
• Experience coordinating milestones, review materials, and tracking program outcomes.
• Knowledge of startup ecosystems, tech commercialization, or entrepreneurial support programs.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate Founder Coaching and Program Execution, including routine advising and milestone reviews.
• Enforce accountability for milestones, manage grant/accelerator applications and VC engagements.
• Plan and execute cohort programming, workshops, and investor/pitch sessions.

Skills

Entrepreneurship

Program management

Business development

Commercializing innovation

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

• LIT Student Mentorship

Position Announcement

Proposed Start Date: 02/01/2027

Classification Title: Academic Services Rank N - No Rank

Working Title: PSBA Program Manager

Department: 400301 - STP Strategic Partnerships Admin

Position Number: D90554

Representation: AU - AAUP

Renewable

End date, if applicable: 09/30/2030

Position FTE: 1.0

Tenure Status: N - not applicable

Position Summary

Portland State University is Oregon’s most affordable public research university, located in the heart of one of America’s most dynamic cities. Our mission to “let knowledge serve the city” reflects our dedication to turning ideas into action — in Portland and around the world. The city is our campus, giving students unmatched access to career connections, a vibrant cultural scene and hands‑on learning experiences with hundreds of community partners.

More than 20,000 students from all backgrounds bring diverse perspectives to our classrooms and campus life, from the tree‑lined Park Blocks to the bustling Urban Plaza and state‑of‑the‑art science labs. We are proud of our world‑class faculty, groundbreaking research and international reputation for excellence in sustainability, community engagement and innovation.

The PSU Business Accelerator is an entrepreneurial community like none other in Oregon. Home to promising local startups, including spin‑outs from all major Oregon research universities, the Accelerator provides office space plus a menu of services designed with fast‑growing startup needs in mind.

The PSBA Program Manager serves as an operational driver and front‑facing manager for a one‑year startup acceleration and project coaching model supporting Portland State University (PSU) ventures and translational research initiatives. Operating under the general direction of the Director of the Portland State Business Accelerator (PSBA), this position directs ongoing founder engagement, maintains accountability for milestone execution, and ensures teams systematically progress toward investment, partnership, and commercial readiness.

While the PSBA Director leads overarching strategy and provides subject‑matter expertise during initial deep‑dive workshops, the Program Manager manages day‑to‑day cohort operations, leads recurring founder check‑ins, and tracks venture pipelines. The position actively collaborates with project leads to co‑develop key commercialization assets (including investor pitch decks, market sizing models, and outreach scripts), conducts progress interviews to identify operational bottlenecks, and advocates for strategic pivots when necessary. The primary objective of this role is to drive measurable market traction, with target benchmarks including each project team securing $100K+ in capital/revenue or executing significant strategic partnerships. Additionally, the Program Manager oversees the operational integration of students from the Leaders in Innovation and Technology (LIT) program into participating startup ventures.

Duties

• Founder Coaching & Program Execution
• Serves as the primary operational liaison for participating startup founders and project leads, managing routine advising sessions, progress reviews, and day‑to‑day venture support.
• Enforces structured accountability for outbound milestones, guiding teams to execute target benchmarks (including 15+ grant/accelerator applications, 50+ venture capital engagements, 500+ prospective customer or partner contacts per project, or 50+ stakeholder discovery calls taken).
• Conducts structured progress interviews and evaluations to track milestone completions, identify execution friction, and analyze cohort performance data.
• Recommends and facilitates strategic pivots, course corrections, and tactical adjustments based on market feedback and founder progress data.
• Events & Program Execution
• Plans, coordinates, and executes cohort programming, founder workshops, and community events that advance startup milestones and support PSBA operational goals.
• Facilitates hands‑on cohort sessions, including recurring fundraising coworking days, pitch practice sessions, and peer feedback roundtables.
• Manages event administration, participant tracking, guest speaker logistics, and facility setup for program initiatives.
• Asset Development & Strategy
• Partners with the PSBA Director in preparing and conducting full‑day strategic onboarding and visioning sessions for incoming startup teams.
• Assists project leads in building, refining, and updating core commercialization materials, including pitch decks, market sizing analyses, financial models, and structured sales scripts for discovery, follow‑up, and closing motions.
• Translates strategic direction from leadership and domain experts into actionable, daily execution workflows for venture leads.
• Operations & Coordination
• Maintains systematic records of program performance metrics, founder milestone completions, filings, investor engagements, and funding/revenue outcomes.
• Coordinates continuously with the PSBA Director and the ART Project Coordinator to align program schedules, ensure grant compliance, and leverage university ecosystem resources.
• Participates in departmental planning meetings, institutional reporting, and continuous improvement initiatives across PSBA programs.
• LIT Student Mentorship
• Coordinates the placement of students from the Leaders in Innovation and Technology (LIT) program into active startup and translational project teams.
• Supervises, mentors, and assigns operational tasks to student participants, ensuring experiential learning aligns with venture objectives.

Minimum Qualifications

Intermediate knowledge and expertise in entrepreneurship, program management, business development, or commercializing innovation, obtained through a Bachelor’s degree and 2 to 4 years of professional experience within a relevant functional area. Knowledge permits the employee to complete assignments through the application of well‑established principles and practices, including coordinating project milestones, reviewing early‑stage business or presentation materials, and tracking program outcomes.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience working within startup ecosystems, business incubators, tech commercialization, or entrepreneurial support programs.
• Demonstrated background advising project teams or founders on business growth, market outreach, or fundraising readiness, alongside experience collaborating with university stakeholders or mentoring student workers.

Key Cultural Competencies

• Create an environment that acknowledges, encourages, and celebrates differences.
• Function and communicate effectively and respectfully within the context of varying beliefs, behaviors, orientations, identities, and cultural backgrounds.
• Seek opportunities to gain experience working and collaborating in diverse, multicultural, and inclusive settings with a willingness to change for continual improvement.
• Adhere to all of PSU’s policies including the policies on Prohibited Discrimination & Harassment and the Professional Standards of Conduct.

Environmental Stewardship

Contributes to a culture of environmental stewardship, practices resource conservation, and actively works toward achieving long‑term sustainability goals.

Work Days/Hours

Monday‑Friday, 8am - 5pm, and some nights and weekends.

Total Compensation Range & Benefits Statement

Salary is dependent on several factors, and new employees will typically start around the Q1 level to allow for later growth within the salary band. PSU has a structured process for determining starting compensation, taking into account years of related experience, applicable skills, knowledge and abilities, market parity, and internal equity.

The starting annual salary for this position will be between $66,696 and $70,368 but may be negotiated above this range, dependent upon the factors above, the budget of the hiring department, and approval from HR.

• 95% premium paid healthcare
• a generous retirement and vacation package
• reduced tuition rates for employee, spouse or dependent at any of the Oregon University System schools

Please visit our total compensation calculator to see the full value of our benefits package.