Manager, Program Management

Job summary

This role is for a Manager, Program Management who will lead the strategy and delivery of the Innovation Office. The function brings together technology foresight, startup engagement, internal innovation platforms, and large-scale innovation events across the enterprise. It is a high-impact individual contributor position suited to someone who combines strategic thinking, disciplined program execution, and strong consulting-style communication. The role will coordinate multiple stakeholders, manage partnerships, and convert innovation efforts into measurable business value that influences product direction, leadership priorities, and long-term strategic choices.

About the team

The Innovation and Technology Strategy team at Walmart Global Tech India drives enterprise innovation through structured initiatives that include startup partnerships, technology foresight, internal idea discovery, academia collaboration, and major innovation events. The team works in a lean, high-impact model alongside senior leadership, business units, enabling functions, and external consulting partners to embed innovation as a standard operating approach and move from isolated pilots to a portfolio-based model focused on outcomes and business impact.

What you will do

• Lead major innovation programs that strengthen the company’s position as a center for advanced innovation and a magnet for talent, including a large student hackathon with tens of thousands of participants across India and an internal showcase that encourages sharing of breakthrough ideas across business areas.
• Own the direction and rollout of the innovation platform, which supports the full innovation lifecycle from idea capture and hackathon management to innovation maturity reviews and leadership reporting, helping associates and leaders engage with innovation in a repeatable way.
• Act as a strategic partner by helping shape the innovation charter, strengthening accountability through governance mechanisms, and contributing to research, playbooks, thought leadership, and capability-building efforts across the enterprise.
• Move the organization from activity-based execution to outcome-based management by defining measurement frameworks for innovation initiatives, supporting leadership decisions with data, and creating playbooks and operating systems that help a small team run several programs efficiently.
• Develop and scale the startup collaboration program by identifying priority business use cases, building relationships across the startup ecosystem, running structured assessments, developing business cases, and turning promising pilots into enduring strategic partnerships with clear return on investment.
• Bring external market insight into the organization through technology foresight workshops, engagement with venture capital firms and industry groups, co-authored reports and playbooks, and translation of market trends into recommendations that inform build-versus-partner decisions and the innovation roadmap.
• Build influence across the company by developing trusted relationships with Engineering, Business leadership, pillar heads, and enabling functions, and by driving alignment and sustained commitment to innovation as an enterprise-wide capability.

Requirements

• A bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Business, or a related discipline, along with at least 7 years of experience in program management, innovation management, management consulting, or technology strategy; alternatively, an MBA plus at least 5 years of relevant experience.
• Strong capability to work where strategy and execution intersect, with experience handling complex, multi-stakeholder programs in a large organization or consulting environment and a record of delivering measurable business outcomes.
• Good understanding of startup ecosystems, venture capital, and emerging technologies, with the ability to assess strategic fit and convert opportunities into business cases and leadership-ready recommendations.
• Excellent communication and executive storytelling skills, including the ability to influence senior leaders through polished presentations, research-backed narratives, and data-supported arguments.
• Proven ability to build trust and alignment across functions such as Engineering, Business, Procurement, Legal, Finance, and Communications.
• Experience driving change management and cultural transformation in large organizations, especially shifting teams from informal innovation efforts to structured, portfolio-led models with sustained leadership support.
• Experience managing external consulting partners with clear governance, deliverables, and value expectations.
• Exposure to innovation methods such as stage-gate models, design thinking, lean startup, or portfolio-based innovation frameworks.
• Preferred qualifications include an MBA from a reputed institution, experience in Global Capability Centers, corporate innovation labs, or corporate venture teams, familiarity with AI/ML and emerging technologies, evidence of thought leadership or large-scale innovation event execution, and prior work combining strategic advisory with hands-on delivery in consulting, corporate strategy, or venture operations.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation package.
• Performance-based incentive awards.
• Best-in-class benefits including maternity and parental leave, PTO, health coverage, and additional offerings.

About Walmart Global Tech

Walmart Global Tech works at the intersection of technology and retail, where even a single line of code can improve life for hundreds of millions of people. The organization includes software engineers, data scientists, cybersecurity professionals, and service teams supporting the world’s largest retailer as it drives the next phase of retail innovation. The company is people-led and technology-enabled, with a focus on future-ready skills, scale, and impact across industries.

Work location

This position is based in the Bangalore office and requires daily onsite work, with flexibility to support personal needs.

Belonging and equal opportunity

The organization aims to create a workplace where every associate feels respected and valued. The goal is to build inclusion for associates, customers, and suppliers, reflecting the communities and countries in which the company operates. The employer follows an equal opportunity hiring approach and values diverse styles, experiences, identities, ideas, and opinions.