We are looking for a dynamic and energetic Program Manager to join our team and take charge of developing The Shortcut entrepreneurship programs and services. This role is a blend between relationship management, project management and impact! If you are ambitious, organized, detail-oriented, and love to make a real difference in people’s lives, then this may be the perfect role for you. We are looking for a person who is passionate to support early stage company founders and has a lot of excitement to build value for them.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and develop entrepreneurship programs: Lead the development and continuous improvement of The Shortcut’s entrepreneurship programs, ensuring offerings are relevant, impactful and aligned with participant needs.

• Project planning and execution: Plan and manage entrepreneurship programs end to end, ensuring alignment with program objectives, timelines, stakeholder requirements and budget constraints.

• Curriculum coordination and delivery: Coordinate the design and delivery of program curricula in collaboration with internal experts and external contributors to ensure high quality learning experiences.

• Cross-team coordination: Act as the main liaison between teams such as marketing and sales to ensure smooth collaboration and efficient execution across all entrepreneurship program-related activities.

• Participant support and growth: Track the development and progress of program participants, collect feedback and provide further support and coaching when possible. 

• Community and ecosystem collaboration: Represent The Shortcut in the local startup ecosystem, attending events and actively connecting with relevant players to identify collaboration opportunities and bring value to program participants.

Required Skills and Experience

• Prior experience as a startup founder/an entrepreneur trainer/ in running an accelerator program 

• Excellent project management skills, including the ability to comprehend and lead multiple projects at once

• Excellent communication skills, comfortable dealing with people from all walks of life and all organizational levels

• High ambition level, and an ability to motivate and inspire your colleagues 

• Persuasive communicator – both verbally and in writing. Ability to coordinate communications between different stakeholders

• Strong self-leadership skills and a proven track record of managing complex projects

• An excellent grasp of English, and an ability to work and communicate effectively between internal teams and external stakeholders

• Existing network in the Finnish startup ecosystem is a plus but not mandatory! 

We offer 

• A dynamic, supportive, learning-packed environment where you can grow and showcase your skills

• Access to networking opportunities at the center of Finland’s startup ecosystem

• Meaningful work with a purpose: our mission is to support people towards jobs or entrepreneurship and you will be pivotal in this role

• Partly hybrid working environment

Other important information

To apply please send your resume by April 28, 2025. We are reviewing applications and conducting interviews on a rolling basis. If you’re excited about this role and want to be part of our mission at The Shortcut, we encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible. For questions regarding this position, please contact CEO Riikka Loisamo.

Here you can see our estimated plan for the recruitment process:

1. Interview - Virpi Jalonen, Career Coach (online, google meets wks 17-18)

Small assignment

2. Interview - Riikka Loisamo, CEO & Tom Gammals, CCO/Sales Director (onsite in The Shortcut office or online, starting wk 18) 

3. Meeting our team

Who we are 

We are an impact-driven non-profit organization. Our focus is on making a difference in the professional lives of our community members by providing them with insights and skills to build meaningful careers or entrepreneurship.

We at The Shortcut work for entrepreneurial and professional integration and career transformation in Finland. We belong to the family of Finnish startup ecosystem along with Slush, Maria 01 startup hub and Junction, and are owned by Startup Foundation. 

We began as an entrepreneurial initiative in 2016 and have evolved into a diverse coaching, training and events hub, with a mission to change attitudes in Finland to be more welcoming towards international talents. For this we have just launched a nationwide attitude change campaign with over 25 other entities, https://maanpuolustaja.fi/en/. 

Diversity and Inclusion

At The Shortcut we stand for diversity and inclusion. We welcome people from all backgrounds and walks of life: of different nationalities, ages, genders, as well as people belonging to linguistic, cultural or other minorities.