WE’RE HIRING:

PROGRAMS MANAGER 

The Idea Village’s core belief is that entrepreneurship is an agent of social and economic change. As an early champion of entrepreneurship and innovation in New Orleans, the organization has played an integral role in catalyzing the city’s entrepreneurial movement, with over 20,100 entrepreneurs served and $1.8B in new wealth created to date. Today, we are relentlessly focused on supporting the region’s burgeoning startup community and making New Orleans (and Louisiana as a whole) a hub for innovation.  We are the region’s trusted authority on the startup life cycle because we actively invest capital, time, and resources in the region’s top startup companies, build pipeline for others, and drive change in the conditions that help startups thrive.  Through accelerators, convening, and other strategic initiatives, we provide direct support and education to a wide range of founders and companies, elevating those with the potential to scale to become new industry leaders.  Together, with our companies and partners, we are a force multiplier for economic impact – creating a more vibrant, inclusive, and resilient local economy and serving as an enduring engine for economic growth across the region. 

If sharing in our impact excites you, you are passionate about supporting startups, and you believe in the potential that building a true local venture ecosystem brings to communities –we want to hear from you!

ABOUT YOU

The right candidate aspires to be an expert in what makes startups successful and has an unstoppable passion for ecosystem building.  You have a strong desire to make a difference in the community, which you channel into diligent planning, thoughtful engagement of stakeholders, actively making connections, continuous learning, and relentless problem solving. You can source and support investors, founders, and mentors by speaking their language and approaching their needs or requests with humility, a strong desire to get it right, and enthusiasm.  You aspire to be an expert in the process of creating successful startups, but also know what you don’t know and know how to surround yourself with great people you can ask.  You have (or aspire to have) your finger on the pulse of what is happening in and outside Louisiana’s startup community. You are comfortable and capable of coaching or coordinating support for diverse founders of all identities, and with a myriad of backgrounds.  You are passionate about diversity and want to impact the volume and success of underrepresented founders.  You continuously look to build and refine processes that make systems operate more efficiently, deepen collective impact, and enable your work to scale.  You are organized, detail-oriented, and bring an exceptional service-oriented mentality to everything you do.  You enjoy operating in a fast-paced - often changing - environment, motivating others, and constantly solving new challenges. 

The Programs Manager position is a full-time, exempt role that reports to the Programs Director and is based in New Orleans, LA.  The position requires regular in-person work as well as regular regional travel, potentially multiple short trips per month.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

Most Programs Managers have lead responsibility for 1-2 programs and may support 2-3 more.  Day-to-day work includes founder recruiting and pipeline development, developing and managing selection processes, program execution and building, as well as managing and activating mentor networks.  Programs Managers also support program events including physical production labor and may play a role in larger signature innovation events around the state. 

Programs Managers focus on developing and executing the systems, relationships, and structures that enable successful programs to be implemented at scale. The following details the anticipated responsibilities for the next Programs Manager based on the expected starting portfolio of programs.  This is representative; specific program assignments may change over time.

This role has two primary sides to its work, working with founders and working with mentors. The Idea Village works with founders through programs, developing content and facilitating sessions that are valuable. Mentors are professionals with subject-matter expertise who volunteer their time to help founders. You will start by building relationships with established mentors so that effective connections can be made and as time goes on, you will most likely meet new potential mentors who need to be oriented to our programs and how they would plug in. Founder-facing programs are outlined below.

Program ResponsibilitieS

IDEAinstitute

IDEAinstitute is a 12-week accelerator that runs twice a year and focuses on early-stage companies seeking to scale.  It equips entrepreneurs and founding teams with foundational skills in customer discovery, prototyping, and business modeling. The program serves 100-150 founders annually and is a critical entry point into the region’s startup ecosystem.

  • Recruit, manage, and set program expectations for early-stage and point of inception founders in IDEAinstitute

  • Manage application process, review applications and make selection recommendations.  If applicable, coordinate selection panels

  • Effectively convert interested and qualified applicants into program participants. Maintain a high conversion rate on accepted applications and effectively communicate decline decisions with a helpful and founder friendly ethos.  Make referrals to other programs as appropriate.

  • Manage participant enrollment process, including scholarship applications, scholarship decision making and distribution of pre-course materials.  Advise and connect to help founders keep the business moving forward “out of cycle.”

  • Distribute highly polished, weekly, in-program communications to program participants and respond in a timely, detailed and helpful manner to founder requests

  • Monitor engagement throughout the program and design effective interventions to maintain high engagement levels 

  • Manage, and effectively activate The Idea Village’s network of mentors for speed dating style engagement during Coach Week.  Support new mentor engagement and the overall growth of the mentor network.

  • Host and facilitate IDEAinstitute weekly course program and serve as the primary point of contact between connecting founders to instructors, guests and mentors.  Manage and grow instructor guest and mentor relationships.

  • Plan, attend, and host in-person networking events for IDEAinstitute cohorts; support the development and execution of Pitch Night events at the culmination of each cohort 

  • Support the development of IDEAinstitute regional sites and manage and deepen strategic expansion relationships  

  • Effectively onboard expansion partners and drive year-round communication, activation, and training of site partners

  • Support program reporting and the development of analytics that tracks the organization’s impact for ongoing improvement as well as grant reporting and donor relations 

  • Support the development of new materials and manage key relationships with the program’s lead instructor (Dr. Felipe Massa)

  • Provide direct 1:1 coaching to founders focused on accountability to established milestones

  • Analyze data from applications, in-program surveys and post-program surveys and compile meaningful findings and summaries in a Wrap Deck.


Catalyst Programs

Catalyst programs extend the offering of IDEAinstitute to provide additional resources to mid-stage founders to catalyze under-represented assets in key areas of interest.  Current offerings include IDEAfuel, METRONOME, and the Coastal Innovation Challenge.

  • Source founders operating in a specialized area of interest or who meet a specific defined profile

  • Build referral relationships with centers of influence in key industry areas

  • Support the recruitment and management of specialized Entrepreneurs-in-Residence mentors (EIRS) for catalyst programs

  • Working with founders, EIRs, and other specialized experts to plan, develop, and facilitate additional specialized program content and workshops

  • Effectively plan and engage program partners throughout the program and deepen strategic program relationships including those tied to funding

  • Help shape program criteria and marketing strategies

  • Lead program reporting and analytics that tracks the organization’s impact for ongoing improvement as well as grant reporting and donor relations 

  • Analyze data from applications, in-program surveys and post-program surveys and compile meaningful findings and summaries in a Wrap Deck.

Other Responsibilities 

  • Develop and maintain external visibility by attending and participating in events hosted by community partners both locally and across the state   

  • Support the broader programs team in identifying, tracking, and engaging promising companies to be cultivated for participation in later stage programs, referred to partners, or plugged into supported events 

  • Specifically, help to identify, track, and engage promising companies that show high growth potential and investment readiness for the annual 3rd Coast Venture Summit.

  • Play a role in 3rd Coast Venture Summit and support its development and execution

  • Play a role in VILLAGEx facilitation

  • Support other programs and organizationally supported events as needed

  • Help plan, design, and provide production support for hosted and supported events including, set up and breakdown, vendor coordination, scripting, and implementation

  • Support grant writing, grant reporting, and donor relations as required  

  • Collect and analyze data on program outcomes.  Document outputs and outcomes as well as program processes.    

  • Drive continuous improvement for all programs, including diligent internal reporting, documentation, leadership briefings, and facilitation of continuous improvement processes  

  • Support marketing and communications related to public storytelling, organizational fundraising, program recruiting, program outcomes, and sharing founder stories.  Support development of the annual impact report.

  • Participate as a core team member on a fluid team and enthusiastically embrace additional duties as assigned

CORE QUALIFICATIONS

An ideal candidate requires a mix of operational, interpersonal, and entrepreneurial skills. Here’s a breakdown of the job’s expected qualifications:

Startup / Entrepreneurial Experience

  • Direct experience as a founder, early-stage startup employee, or accelerator program participant or direct experience in accelerator operations with a focus on venture scale outcomes.

  • Understanding of the startup lifecycle, from ideation to fundraising and scaling.

  • The Idea Village serves high growth, generally venture funded startups. General non-profit program management or other general non-profit experience is generally not considered sufficient or relevant startup expertise.

Program Management Experience

  • Proven track record managing cohorts, events, or programs with multiple stakeholders.

  • Ability to design curricula, coordinate logistics, and ensure timely execution.

Ecosystem Familiarity

  • Deep understanding of venture capital, mentorship, incubation, and startup support organizations.

  • Strong network in the startup and investor community is a major plus.

Operational Excellence

  • Demonstrated track record of successfully operating and delivering outcomes in  fast-paced, rapidly changing environments is a must.

  • Skilled in managing timelines, budgets, and performance metrics.

  • High degree of familiarity with software tools such as Monday.com, Slack, and Google Workspace. 

  • Familiarity with startup tools such as the Business Model Canvas and Lean Startup Methodologies and others. 

  • Ability to use AI tools in workflows to improve efficiency without errors or plagiarism.

Traits, Skills, and Knowledge

  • Patience, empathy, and enthusiasm for the founder journey

  • Ability to recruit diverse founders and build the startup pipeline

  • Diversity, equity, and inclusion are mentioned under Bonus Qualifications, but this is a much more active, tactical skill than “background in DEI.”

  • High brand standards in all stakeholder engagement

  • Eagerness for personal research and continuous learning about tech trends & emerging industries

EDUCATION & CREDENTIALS

  • Preferred: Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts, Business, Entrepreneurship, or Related field.

  • Optional: MBA or relevant certifications 

  • Real-world experience  may be valued over formal education in startup environments.  Applicants from broad educational backgrounds or with unrelated formal training (theatre, philosophy, communications, music, etc), with subsequent real world experience or startup interest encouraged.

BONUS QUALIFICATIONS

  • Experience in grant-funded or public/private innovation initiatives.

  • Background in diversity, equity, and inclusion in entrepreneurship.

  • Content development (e.g., designing founder playbooks, workshop materials).

  • Fundraising or investor relations experience.

  • Focus on developing a career in startup support.

ORGANIZATIONAL ENVIRONMENT

Our team works with and functions like a startup. This requires team members to move quickly with limited time and/or resources to produce high-quality outcomes.

  • Our team works independently and collaboratively with a culture of transparency and clear ownership of projects from idea to execution

  • Our team manages and coordinates several schedules, projects, and programs simultaneously.  Successful candidates can juggle multiple projects simultaneously and consistently go above and beyond to deliver exceptional results.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

  • Salary range for this position is $55,000-$65,000 plus benefits and eligibility for incentive pay annually based on performance. 

  • Available Health, Dental, & Vision Insurance with Employer Subsidy.

  • Available retirement plan. Eligibility for 4% employer retirement contribution match with immediate vesting.

  • Discounted parking is available.  Parking reimbursable up to $100 per month.

  • Generous PTO policy, including time off for all major holidays and summer flex schedule

  • Opportunities for periodic remote work around job needs

  • Accommodations for and/or assistance with relocation up to $2,500 may be provided 

  • Deep exposure to high-growth founders and a vast network of entrepreneurs, investors, and industry leaders in the Gulf South region

To learn more about The Idea Village, please see our core values, our history, and our impact.

If some or all of this job description resonated with you, we encourage you to submit an application here: Programs Manager Application

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work:

This is a full-time exempt position with expected availability during normal business hours.  Duties may change based on the needs of the organization.  Will require periodic, regular, overnight travel within the service region and may require longer distance travel for conferences and other events. 

Work Environment:

This job operates in a professional office environment and routinely uses standard office equipment.  Travel and periodic event-related duties may require operation in different locations and different environments.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to stand; walk; use hands and arms to handle and reach.   Occasional event production duties may require frequent lifting of 25-30 lbs or up to 50 lbs with assistance, as well as frequent bending, stooping, squatting, or kneeling for setup and breakdown of staging equipment, signage, AV gear, event supplies, or decorations.  Events may also require extended periods of standing or walking, extended hours, or limited environmental exposure (outside events).

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The Idea Village provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

 This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

 This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Other duties, responsibilities and activities may change or be assigned at any time with or without notice.