Program Manager, Entrepreneurship Growth, Innovation and Future State

Summary

Syracuse University is a private research university with programs supporting veterans and military-connected communities. The Program Manager will lead operations and delivery for entrepreneurship programs, especially CEOcircle and Veteran EDGE, managing planning, execution, stakeholder coordination, participant experience, conferences, and continuous improvement. The role also supports innovation, growth initiatives, partnerships, reporting, and future program development.

Responsibilities

• Support strategy, planning, and future-state development for a portfolio of special entrepreneurship programs, with particular emphasis on CEOcircle, Veteran EDGE, and future-state programming, ensuring alignment with IVMF and Entrepreneurship unit priorities
• Serve as the lead project manager for CEOcircle and Veteran EDGE, managing annual and multi-cycle planning, key milestones, implementation schedules, deliverables, and execution readiness
• Develop and maintain comprehensive project plans covering recruitment, speaker and presenter coordination, agenda development support, participant communications, sponsor deliverables, registration, logistics, onsite operations, and post-event follow-up
• Ensure each experience reflects IVMF quality standards, strategic intent, and a strong participant-centered approach for growth-stage and executive-level veteran entrepreneurs
• Act as the primary coordination point across the Growth, Innovation and Future State vertical and internal support functions including Shared Services, MarComms, Salesforce/CRM, finance, procurement, and leadership
• Coordinate regularly with the Associate Director to align priorities, surface risks, track decisions, and maintain visibility across all major workstreams
• Manage relationships with external partners, speakers, sponsors, venues, vendors, and subject matter contributors to ensure timely program execution, clear expectations, and professional representation of IVMF
• Support IVMF in external meetings, convenings, and stakeholder forums
• Under the direction of, and in collaboration with, the AD Growth, cultivate and manage relationships with corporate, philanthropic, and veteran-serving ecosystem partners to expand collaboration opportunities, strengthen program relevance, and support growth of entrepreneurship initiatives
• Support the ideation of the entrepreneurial vision for state-of-the-art program execution
• Collaborate with internal vertical teams within the Entrepreneurship structure and within IVMF, including research, communications, operations, and advancement, to support program outcomes and reporting
• Serve as the operational liaison for executive-level stakeholders, speakers, sponsors, entrepreneurs, alumni, and institutional partners
• Cultivate a network of relationships on behalf of the Entrepreneurship unit, understand key market and stakeholder forces, support development of a business strategic plan aligned to program priorities and stakeholder needs, and support development and execution of participant recruitment and engagement strategies to increase program awareness, enrollment, and long-term community participation
• Support the Associate Director in the development, piloting, refinement, and scaling of future growth and innovation programs
• Conduct research, organize planning materials, document emerging concepts, support partnership exploration, and help translate new ideas into operational models, timelines, and launch-ready processes
• Capture lessons learned across CEOcircle, Veteran EDGE, and adjacent initiatives to inform future-state programming and continuous portfolio improvement
• Identify, recommend, shape, and test new concepts, pilots, and partnership models that advance innovation, community building, and long-term growth across the entrepreneurship portfolio
• Prepare briefing materials, status updates, after-action summaries, planning documents, and dashboard inputs for leadership and internal stakeholders
• Maintain organized records, standard operating procedures, templates, planning trackers, and institutional knowledge that improve efficiency and consistency across the portfolio
• Use participant feedback, stakeholder input, and operational results to recommend improvements to future program design and execution

Skills

• • Bachelor's degree required, preferably in business administration, entrepreneurship, communications, event management, public administration, or a related field
• • Equivalent professional experience may be considered in lieu of a directly aligned degree field
• • Minimum 4 years of experience in program management, conference/event management, partner-facing program delivery, entrepreneurship support programming, or a related operational leadership role
• • Demonstrated experience managing complex, deadline-driven initiatives with multiple stakeholders, workstreams, and public-facing deliverables
• • Proven ability to coordinate cross-functional teams and external partners in a fast-paced environment while maintaining quality, professionalism, and accountability
• • Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience preparing stakeholder communications, operational updates, and executive-ready materials
• • Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, PowerPoint) and project management/workflow platforms; experience with CRM systems such as Salesforce is strongly preferred
• • Strong program and conference management capability, with the ability to drive multiple planning tracks from concept through closeout
• • Experience supporting executive-level participants, founders, corporate partners, sponsors, or high-visibility external stakeholders
• • Ability to build detailed project plans, manage dependencies, and proactively resolve operational issues before they affect delivery
• • Familiarity with participant engagement practices, registration systems, agenda coordination, speaker support, and onsite event execution
• • Working knowledge of CRM and reporting tools, including Salesforce or comparable systems, for participant tracking, coordination, and performance reporting
• • Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple complex timelines simultaneously
• • Comfort operating in an evolving environment where programs may be refined, piloted, or scaled over time
• • Proficiency with shared planning and project platforms such as Monday.com or equivalent systems
• • Experience supporting conferences, executive convenings, cohort-based programs, or sponsor-supported initiatives is strongly preferred
• • Preference given to candidates with experience serving veteran, military-connected, university, nonprofit, corporate social impact, or mission-driven communities; military service connection or familiarity with the veteran entrepreneurship ecosystem is a plus
• • Familiarity with IVMF entrepreneurship programs, growth-stage business support, or the broader veteran entrepreneurship landscape is preferred

Qualifications

Must Haves

• • Bachelor's degree required, preferably in business administration, entrepreneurship, communications, event management, public administration, or a related field
• • Equivalent professional experience may be considered in lieu of a directly aligned degree field
• • Minimum 4 years of experience in program management, conference/event management, partner-facing program delivery, entrepreneurship support programming, or a related operational leadership role
• • Demonstrated experience managing complex, deadline-driven initiatives with multiple stakeholders, workstreams, and public-facing deliverables
• • Proven ability to coordinate cross-functional teams and external partners in a fast-paced environment while maintaining quality, professionalism, and accountability
• • Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience preparing stakeholder communications, operational updates, and executive-ready materials
• • Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, PowerPoint) and project management/workflow platforms; experience with CRM systems such as Salesforce is strongly preferred
• • Strong program and conference management capability, with the ability to drive multiple planning tracks from concept through closeout
• • Experience supporting executive-level participants, founders, corporate partners, sponsors, or high-visibility external stakeholders
• • Ability to build detailed project plans, manage dependencies, and proactively resolve operational issues before they affect delivery
• • Familiarity with participant engagement practices, registration systems, agenda coordination, speaker support, and onsite event execution
• • Working knowledge of CRM and reporting tools, including Salesforce or comparable systems, for participant tracking, coordination, and performance reporting
• • Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple complex timelines simultaneously
• • Comfort operating in an evolving environment where programs may be refined, piloted, or scaled over time
• • Proficiency with shared planning and project platforms such as Monday.com or equivalent systems

Nice to Haves

• • Experience supporting conferences, executive convenings, cohort-based programs, or sponsor-supported initiatives is strongly preferred
• • Preference given to candidates with experience serving veteran, military-connected, university, nonprofit, corporate social impact, or mission-driven communities; military service connection or familiarity with the veteran entrepreneurship ecosystem is a plus
• • Familiarity with IVMF entrepreneurship programs, growth-stage business support, or the broader veteran entrepreneurship landscape is preferred

Benefits

• This position may be filled on a fully remote basis if the identified candidate is not currently located in Syracuse, NY (within 50 miles). Not all geographical areas within the United States are eligible.