Program Operations Manager

Program Operations Manager

Location: Boston, MA (in person first)

About the Role:

The Program Operations Manager is responsible for the end-to-end operational delivery, continuous improvement, and retention of client & operator programs across multiple sites. This role is critical in driving operational excellence, leading complex launch implementations, optimizing clients programs for revenue growth and site retention. The role requires close collaboration cross-functionally with internal teams including Product, Customer Success, Sales, and Operator Partnerships.

You will be accountable for overseeing program performance at both a tactical and strategic level ensuring outstanding service design and service delivery while influencing internal and external stakeholders to deliver scalable, profitable, and high-retention solutions.

Key Responsibilities

• Client Sites Relationship & Program Ownership
  Own the day-to-day operations and relationship for a portfolio of 25+ client sites. Act as the primary point of contact, ensuring service reliability, on-time performance, and proactive issue resolution through regular cadence meetings and performance reviews.
• Operator Partner Management
  Manage and build strong relationships with third-party transportation operators. Hold them accountable for safety, service quality, and regulatory compliance while enabling scalable delivery in line with Zeelo's standards.
• Service Launch & Execution
  Support service design and feasibility in the pre-sales phase. Lead seamless service launches and ensure high-quality ongoing execution aligned with contractual and operational commitments.
• Operational Performance & Change Control
  Drive performance excellence by monitoring KPIs, managing incident response, and overseeing client and operator adherence to Zeelo's change request and communication processes.
• Retention & Growth Enablement
  Partner with Customer Success to support account growth and mitigate churn risk by providing operational insights, delivering data-driven reviews, and identifying continuous improvement opportunities.
• Commercial & Financial Accountability
  Ensure program costs align with client contracts and operator rates. Collaborate with Finance and Customer Success to maintain gross margin targets and site-level P&L visibility.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
  Work closely with Sales, Product, and Operations teams to influence service design, tooling, and process improvements that support operational scalability and commercial success.

Key Performance Indicators:

• 100% on-time, on-budget completion of all launches in the assigned region.
  
• Operational metrics at target (or corrective actions in place) for all sites and partners.
  
• Client site retention targets met through proactive management and optimization.
  
• All operator partners are fully compliant, with 100% completion of bi-annual audits.
  
• All incident management (L3/L4) resolved within SLA timeframes.
  
• 100% of change request processes are accurately executed and documented.
  
• Achievement of targeted gross profit margins through proactive cost management and service optimization.

Requirements:

• Proven track record in operational leadership roles with responsibility for complex customer programs or B2B services.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience collaborating with customer-facing teams to scope and validate operational solutions.
• Comfortable balancing client value, operational complexity, and platform constraints.
• Demonstrated expertise in managing end-to-end service launches, operational optimization, and partner/vendor management.
  
• Strong financial acumen with experience managing P&L accountability at a program or regional level.
  
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence both internal teams and external partners at all levels.
  
• Highly proficient with technology platforms and operational tooling.
  
• Data-driven decision maker with a structured, analytical approach to problem-solving and performance management.
  
• Thrives in a fast-paced, rapidly changing environment with strong prioritization and time management skills.
  
• Exceptional communicator, both written and verbal, with proactive and transparent communication habits.
  
• Willingness to travel regularly to client sites and operator locations.
  

Preferred Experience

• Proven experience in operations leadership across multi-site service delivery
• Strong exposure to pre-sales support, scoping and service solutioning
• Hands on experience with launch implementation, vendor management and P&L tracking
• Technologically fluent; confident with CRMs (Hubspot), dashboards, and operational tooling
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills when working cross functionally across multiple teams
• Analytical mindset; ability to translate data into actions and insights
• Background in transportation, mobility, logistics, SaaS, or operationally intensive startups.