Role: Program Manager
Position Type: Full-time
Employer: Catalyst Atal Incubation Center (AIC) – an initiative of LEAD at Krea University
Location: Jaipur, Rajasthan
Type: In-office
Reporting to: CEO, Catalyst AIC
CTC: (commensurate to candidate skill-set)
About Catalyst Atal Incubation Center (AIC):
The Government of India, through the government think tank NITI Aayog, launched the Atal Innovation Mission in order to encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship within the country. Under the aegis of AIM, NITI Aayog has set out to establish Atal Incubation centers, across India.
As a part of AIM’s larger vision of promoting sector-specific entrepreneurship within the country, IFMR Society has set up the Catalyst Atal Incubation Center (AIC) in Jaipur under a grant from the NITI Aayog’s (Government of India) Atal Innovation Mission. The core mandate for the incubator is to support and accelerate innovative startups in the inclusive tech domain who are building digital products and solutions for the last mile, ultimately resulting in enhancements to rural/semi-urban livelihoods.
Catalyst AIC is unique in its value proposition – it provides startups with real-world test environments, granular insights on their target segments and the necessary infrastructure to rapidly test, iterate and deploy their solutions. The incubator is part of a vibrant ecosystem and will draw on thought leadership from academics, experts and practitioners, learn more here: www.catalystaic.org.
About the Position:
The Program Manager will be assisting the leadership team of in management, thought leadership, outreach, project development and overall coordination at the incubator. The Manager will be based in Jaipur and will closely work with the CEO and leadership team of the incubator. She/he will report directly to the CEO of the incubation center.
This is a full time office-based position.
Roles and Responsibilities:
Program Management:
- Lead the planning, implementation, and evaluation of assigned programs to ensure successful outcomes and impact.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to coordinate activities, allocate resources, and monitor program progress.
- Conduct regular assessments and evaluations to measure program effectiveness and identify areas for improvement.
- Work with startups in the program according to the frameworks and mechanisms as outlined by the Incubator leadership team. Monitor business performance of portfolio start-ups, interface with other stakeholders and provide industry connects.
- Regularly interact and coordinate with internal and external stakeholders to ensure program performance. Look for newer avenues of partnerships and bring the same to the leadership team for further action.
- Work towards overall startup community mobilisation and reach out.
- Ensure that the program reaches out to relevant ecosystem stakeholders.
Study key sectors and generate insights, use-cases and industry analyses for internal and external usage. - Manage and support internal and external communication as needed for the program. This will also include maintaining communication with the media as and when required.
- Ensure smooth day-to-day overall functioning of the incubator, by coordinating with Admin, Marketing, Design, HR and other relevant team members.
- Ensuring coordination with relevant team members within the organisation for participation across events.
Proposal Development:
- Research, identify, and analyze potential funding opportunities from various donors, including foundations, government agencies, and private entities.
- Develop and write persuasive grant proposals, concept notes, and funding applications that align with the organization’s mission and goals.
- Collaborate with internal stakeholders to gather relevant information and ensure proposals meet donor requirements.
Thought Leadership:
- Produce high-quality written and visual content, including articles, whitepapers, blogs, and multimedia presentations, that communicate thought leadership ideas to internal and external audiences.
- Leverage various platforms, such as social media, conferences, and webinars, to disseminate thought leadership content effectively.
- Active participation in events, seminars and workshops for building and sharing sectoral knowledge.
- Interact and maintain relationships with portfolio companies, mentors and partners.
- Ensure preparation of necessary portfolio reports for both internal and external purposes.
Skills and Qualifications:
- A highly motivated individual looking to work for benefitting the semi-urban/rural livelihoods
- Minimum 4 years of experience (preferably 5)of working in startups or with an incubator/accelerator. (Prior experience as a startup founder or with a relevant VC/Angel investment firm is a bonus) or managing entrepreneurship activities in an organisation as a leader.
- Overall understanding of the digital technology landscape and products.
Strong execution skills – including a focus on data-driven decision making, comfort with ambiguity, and ability to drive rapid “learn & implement” iterations, strong bias for action, and outcomes-based orientation; - Good overall leadership, networking and communication skills.
- Flexibility to work with asymmetric demands and last-minute changes to programs
- Fluent in written and spoken English, with the ability to speak in front of an audience as and when deemed necessary.
- Excellent skills in the entire Microsoft Office Suite (MS Word, Powerpoint, Excel etc.)
- Educational Qualifications: Graduation (background in IT/Computer Science/Finance/Commerce is preferred.
Application Instructions:
Deadline: Immediate hiring and applications are being accepted.
Applications are ONLY being entertained through this form.
Note: Due to the large volume of applications we receive, we are unable to contact each candidate individually regarding the status of their application.
Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for interview purposes.