Program Manager Slp Jobs

About Toronto Business Development Center

The Toronto Business Development Centre (TBDC) is Canada’s first business incubator that has helped 9,000 local and international entrepreneurs succeed for more than three decades. TBDC targets international entrepreneurs that are looking to build businesses in Ontario.

As a non-profit that seeks to drive value, TBDC continues to look for opportunities to help entrepreneurs establish, grow and scale by enhancing its suite of resources and business services that aids high-potential entrepreneurs to go-to market and scale.

The Canadian Startup Visa powers TBDC’s Ontario Soft Landing Program (SLP). TBDC's Business Incubation is designed to help immigrant entrepreneurs as they scale in the North American market, taking advantage of its vibrant startup ecosystem. The Soft Landing Program gives the founders access to resources that help them establish and grow their business, plan for success in your industry, navigate market regulations, and expand their network. The program is offered in three segments, each lasting three months.

About the Role

The Program Manager will be responsible for managing relationships with TBDC startup visa clients from the time they submit their application for consideration to the time they graduate from the Incubation Program. This includes but is not limited to the following duties and responsibilities.

Key Responsibilities

• Ensure the program is following best practices and executing upon outlined content and curriculum.
• Program Reporting and Monitoring to make sure the efficient use of the Budget.
• Identify and secure appropriate resources to effectively deliver against program requirements (i.e. internal/external facilitation resources), e.g. mentors, partners, speakers, vendors etc.
• Program budgeting specific to the domain of activity and its review for implementation/resource allocation.
• Support building the ecosystem of advisors, venture partners and investors across Ontario.
• Building the strategy for the overall TBDC program – Leading the in-person Phase at the front and supporting the Virtual Program from the backend.
• Coordination with Intake team for the onboarding of new clients and reaching out to the eligible clients with the intake form and meeting with on zoom or in-person with program details to get their interest.
• Set and track progress against program KPIs and milestones, including identifying barriers to successful program execution, mitigating and/or escalating as appropriate.
• Event planning and management in line with the Program activities like orientations, guest speaker sessions, networking events, mentors’ meetups and graduations days.
• Coordinate with internal teams (Marketing, Intake, Finance, legal) as required to ensure all program elements are managed efficiently.
• Schedule and lead internal/external meetings to open up a dialogue for cross-team activity and coordination, discuss new ideas, provide updates on program details/milestones, and track and follow up with action items.
• Establish tools, evaluation methodologies and metrics (Need Analysis, Feedback, Mentorship reviews) to determine the success of programs and utilize this information for adapting program content as needed.
• Manage the logistics for the program calendar, mentor schedules, mentor meetups, Networking days, and ensure the founders, mentors, speakers, partners, and investors are fully informed about all program-facing activities.
• Act as a coach and mentor to founders in the program, prepare and support them through the launch and growth phase in North America.
• Identify and collaborate with key partner organizations that advance shared goals.
• Share new best practices with the TBDC team as you identify areas for innovation and improvement.
• Build and launch programs catering to different client needs (e.g., programs for women founders, BIPOC founders, pre-launch and early-stage startups etc.).
• Responding to client needs as they arise and assisting them to accomplish what they need.
• Day-to-day management of the program to keep the program running, including regular engagement with the companies going through the program, developing program content, understanding critical needs of cohort business and setting objectives.
• Build Program Strategy, design, develop and implement Program along with regular monitoring & evaluation of KPI’s of start-ups.
• Work closely with marketing on all the program collateral requests and social media content, and program-related posts. Make sure they have all the required material to get the work done.
• Deliver the best possible program experience to founders, mentors, partners, and other stakeholders.
• Represent TBDC in the local and international community and ecosystem.
• Manage and initiate partnerships with existing and potential partners to support program quality, along with 1-1 mentoring sessions with start-ups and onboarding and graduation of new start-ups.
• Responsible for building in-person program dashboards to make the reporting structured.
• Working with the Ontario Centre of Innovation team to help them open their resources for the clients in our program.
• Managing Cohorts community on Slack channels and email groups.
• Recruit, hire and manage the seasonal co-op team.

Qualifications and Skills:

• Nice to have experience working with senior management
• Nice to have related experience creating and managing programs/events for entrepreneurs or small businesses
• Advanced degree in business administration, marketing, or another relevant field
• Google and MS Office suite
• Advantageous to have innovation-related qualifications such as Design Thinking or Innovation
• 2-3 years managing people as a lead or supervisor
• Communication and client service skills
• Ability to talk to founders on business goals, business plans, and gaps
• Work in a dynamic and changing environment
• Lived experience as an entrepreneur and immigrant, a plus
• Ability to confidently present and deliver sessions, workshops, and related tasks
• Ability to work on deadlines and tight schedules
• Understand what startups and scale-ups need

Job Type: Full time

Employment Type: Salaried

Schedule: Monday to Friday, 9 AM – 5 PM

Work: Hybrid Model

Benefits: Yes