Program Manager, US

About Village Capital

Village Capital, a 501(c)(3) organization, is reinventing the system to back the entrepreneurs of the future. Known for its groundbreaking approaches to supporting founders who are building solutions to emergent social, economic, and environmental challenges, VilCap unlocks critical social and financial capital for early-stage companies to maximize business and impact growth. Since 2009, Village Capital has supported over 1,600 startups that have raised over $5 billion in investment capital. It has made more than 150 investments through its various affiliated funds, including Vilcap Investments.

Candidate Profile

Village Capital is looking for a US-based Program Manager to play a pivotal role in overseeing and advancing our accelerator programs that fuel the growth of sustainable and impactful businesses by unlocking capital for early-stage entrepreneurs.

Here’s what we’re looking for:

• You’re a self-starter and an insatiable learner: You stay ahead of industry trends. You find yourself reading, thinking, and talking about entrepreneurship and early-stage investing.
• You’re interested in working with the next generation of entrepreneurs: You look at a startup and think of ways that it might succeed, why it might fail, and how you could plug in to provide support. You are particularly interested in how entrepreneurs can solve the most important problems of our day.
• You’re a team player: You see your role as part of something bigger. You are able to communicate transparently and confidently with colleagues and external stakeholders and understand how your responsibilities roll up into the bigger picture.
• You’re a natural connector: You will spend a lot of your time talking with entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial support organizations, and investors. One of your greatest value adds to entrepreneurs will be the people you can connect them with – investors, stakeholders, potential customers.
• You’re an innovator: You are comfortable with agile working and not always having the answers. You like to try new things and learn from them.
• You are a planner and executor: You like to define goals and objectives before diving into a project. Once expectations are aligned, you carefully develop a detailed action plan, and enjoy overseeing a project from beginning to end.

Role Overview

You’ll be a key member of the US, Global Ventures team at Village Capital and have the following responsibilities:

• Program Management: You will own the development and execution of accelerator programs that support early-stage entrepreneurs in the US. You will be responsible for building the behind-the-scenes infrastructure and leading the detail-oriented work that goes into program planning, problem statement development, strategy development, communication management, deliverable management and logistics, sourcing and recruitment of entrepreneurs and mentors, cohort selection and facilitation of workshops. This will include meeting program objectives and ensuring the success of programs implemented.

• Budget Management: You will be managing direct program budgets of the programs assigned, in collaboration with the Regional Director, the Finance and Partnerships team and other stakeholders. This also includes executing on assigned programs within budget and in compliance with VilCap’s accounting policies and reporting requirements.

• Partner Engagement: You will be researching, identifying and building new strategic relationships with current and potential partners in collaboration with the Partnerships team. This also includes assisting in the development and editing of new proposals in designated areas of work, managing current activities and partnerships in accordance with Village Capital standards of operation while continuously meeting partners’ program-related needs and goals and representing Village Capital at external events as needed.

• Network and Community Management: You will build, engage and manage an already existing – extensive network of alumni, investors, customers, and industry experts to support entrepreneurs and emerging companies.

• Leadership & Team Management: You will oversee the work of two team members and perform managerial and administrative responsibilities as part of oversight, such as providing feedback and guidance, training, coaching and other types of support, on an ongoing and as-needed basis.

• Additional responsibilities as deemed necessary.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent;

• 3-5 years of full-time working experience with accelerators, ecosystem building, startups, entrepreneurship, impact investing, venture capital, economic development, financial services, corporate social responsibility, or a combination of related experience and skill-sets;

• Experience in program/project management and reporting;

• Strong oral and written communication skills (English);

• Experience working with a wide variety of external stakeholders – including senior officials, management and leadership – in different countries and across time zones;

• Facilitation/training skills (in-person and virtual);

• Close attention to detail;

• Ability to manage complex multi-month projects;

• Ability to flourish with minimal guidance and be proactive;

• Ability and willingness to travel within the US

• Based in and authorized to work in the US