PSBA Program Manager

About the Role

The PSBA Program Manager serves as an operational driver and front-facing manager for a one-year startup acceleration and project coaching model supporting Portland State University (PSU) ventures and translational research initiatives. Operating under the general direction of the Director of the Portland State Business Accelerator (PSBA), this position directs ongoing founder engagement, maintains accountability for milestone execution, and ensures teams systematically progress toward investment, partnership, and commercial readiness.

Responsibilities

• Serves as the primary operational liaison for participating startup founders and project leads, managing routine advising sessions, progress reviews, and day-to-day venture support.
• Enforces structured accountability for outbound milestones, guiding teams to execute target benchmarks (including 15+ grant/accelerator applications, 50+ venture capital engagements, 500+ prospective customer or partner contacts per project, or 50+ stakeholder discovery calls taken).
• Conducts structured progress interviews and evaluations to track milestone completions, identify execution friction, and analyze cohort performance data.
• Recommends and facilitates strategic pivots, course corrections, and tactical adjustments based on market feedback and founder progress data.
• Plans, coordinates, and executes cohort programming, founder workshops, and community events that advance startup milestones and support PSBA operational goals.
• Facilitates hands-on cohort sessions, including recurring fundraising coworking days, pitch practice sessions, and peer feedback roundtables.
• Manages event administration, participant tracking, guest speaker logistics, and facility setup for program initiatives.
• Partners with the PSBA Director in preparing and conducting full-day strategic onboarding and visioning sessions for incoming startup teams.
• Assists project leads in building, refining, and updating core commercialization materials, including pitch decks, market sizing analyses, financial models, and structured sales scripts for discovery, follow-up, and closing motions.
• Translates strategic direction from leadership and domain experts into actionable, daily execution workflows for venture leads.
• Maintains systematic records of program performance metrics, founder milestone completions, filings, investor engagements, and funding/revenue outcomes.
• Coordinates continuously with the PSBA Director and the ART Project Coordinator to align program schedules, ensure grant compliance, and leverage university ecosystem resources.
• Participates in departmental planning meetings, institutional reporting, and continuous improvement initiatives across PSBA programs.
• Coordinates the placement of students from the Leaders in Innovation and Technology (LIT) program into active startup and translational project teams.
• Supervises, mentors, and assigns operational tasks to student participants, ensuring experiential learning aligns with venture objectives.

Qualifications

• Intermediate knowledge and expertise in entrepreneurship, program management, business development, or commercializing innovation, obtained through a Bachelor’s degree and 2 to 4 years of professional experience within a relevant functional area.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience working within startup ecosystems, business incubators, tech commercialization, or entrepreneurial support programs.
• Demonstrated background advising project teams or founders on business growth, market outreach, or fundraising readiness, alongside experience collaborating with university stakeholders or mentoring student workers.

Skills

• Create an environment that acknowledges, encourages, and celebrates differences.
• Function and communicate effectively and respectfully within the context of varying beliefs, behaviors, orientations, identities, and cultural backgrounds.
• Seek opportunities to gain experience working and collaborating in diverse, multicultural, and inclusive settings with a willingness to change for continual improvement.
• Adhere to all of PSU’s policies including the policies on Prohibited Discrimination & Harassment and the Professional Standards of Conduct.
• Contributes to a culture of environmental stewardship, practices resource conservation, and actively works toward achieving long-term sustainability goals.

Work Days/Hours: Monday-Friday, 8am - 5pm, and some nights and weekends

Benefits

• 95% premium paid healthcare
• Generous retirement and vacation package
• Reduced tuition rates for employee, spouse or dependent at any of the Oregon University System schools

Salary: The starting annual salary for this position will be between $66,696 and $70,368 but may be negotiated above this range, dependent upon experience, skills, and departmental budget.