Project Lead - II

Innovation Consulting - Bengaluru (embedded at GCC client sites as needed) - 59 years' experience

About the role:

Zinnov helps global enterprises set up and scale their Global Capability Centers (GCCs) in India. As part of our innovation offering, we run open innovation programs that helps enterprises connect with the startup ecosystem - find relevant startup partners against real business challenges, running pilots, and turning them into adopted solutions.

We are looking for an Project Lead to run the startup-collaboration engine of the program - owning the startup journey from sourcing and selection, through pilots, to product adoption and go-to-market. This is a high-ownership and client facing role. You will be the first point of contact for founders and for the client, accountable for moving startups from first contact to a landed outcome.

What makes it distinctive:

This role is built for someone from the startup ecosystem, an accelerator or incubator operator, a corporate-innovation or VC professional, or a former founder with existing founder relationships and the judgement to tell a real pilot from theatre. The ecosystem credibility is what you bring and to be demonstrated in the role.

What you'll do:

- Bring the outside in perspective - Track emerging innovation models, startup-ecosystem shifts, and what leading corporate startup programs are doing and translate that into fresh thinking for how the program evolves. Have a point of view, and challenge how things are done.

- Market Intelligence - Scan the start-up ecosystem, scout, identify, and bring in startups that genuinely fit the program's technology and business challenges, drawing on your own network and building new pipeline. Quality fitment and run custom evaluation to explore synergies between start-up and the Enterprise.

- Run the program end-to-end - Own the operational spine day-to-day. Keep every workstream on track, and report progress and outcomes to the senior program owner and enterprise sponsors.

- Own the startup relationship - Be the point of contact for founders across the journey. Understand their technical and business needs, and be their voice inside the program.

- Run pilots to a result - Scope focused, measurable proof-of-concept engagements between startups and the enterprise's teams, and drive them to a quantified outcome.

- Drive product adoption and go-to-market - Move startups from pilot to adoption working alongside solution architects and enterprise stakeholders and open co-sell and go-to-market opportunities where they fit.

- Orchestrate the ecosystem - Sit at the centre of founders, mentors/advisors, enterprise sponsors, and internal Zinnov teams - matching the right startup to the right problem and holding momentum across all parties.

- Build the outcomes narrative - Capture and package metrics and results achieved over a time.

What you bring:

Essential:

- 5-9 years' experience with meaningful time in the startup ecosystem - Accelerator / incubator, corporate innovation or open-innovation team, VC/PE, or as a founder / early operator.

- A real, active network of startup founders and ecosystem players you can draw on from day one.

- A point of view, and the curiosity to keep forming one. You spot patterns across the ecosystem, form original perspectives on where innovation is heading, and can argue them credibly with senior stakeholders.

- Direct experience operating a corporate or platform startup program is highly valued. You understand first-hand about programs strategy, thesis and operations.

- Demonstrated experience running structured programs - Cohorts, accelerators, pilots, or innovation challenges from start to measurable finish.

- Strong stakeholder skills: Equally credible in a founder's Slack and a GCC leader's boardroom.

- A bias for outcomes over activity, you measure success in pilots landed and business value created.

- Comfortable being embedded and client-facing, and operating with autonomy in a fast-moving program.

Strong plus:

- Command of enterprise technology or a specific deep-tech / AI / data domain, enough to earn credibility in a technical conversation.

- Familiarity with GCCs / global captives is welcome but not required; strong ecosystem candidates will be brought up to speed on the GCC context quickly.

- Prior consulting or client-delivery experience is a plus.

Location & working model: Bengaluru-based, embedded at client site and as the engagement requires.