Assistant Director, Incubation

The Assistant Director - Head of Incubation is responsible for leading the incubator's overall incubation strategy, program design, and operational excellence. The role works closely with the CEO to drive startup ecosystem development, ensure high-impact incubation outcomes, and scale programs effectively.

Roles & Responsibilities:

• Lead the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of incubation and acceleration programs.
• Define startup selection frameworks, evaluation criteria, and portfolio strategy.
• Oversee the end-to-end incubation lifecycle from onboarding to graduation.
• Build and manage a strong network of mentors, investors, corporates, and ecosystem partners.
• Provide strategic guidance to startups on business models, scaling, and fundraising.
• Drive partnerships, collaborations, and ecosystem-building initiatives.
• Supervise and guide the Incubation Manager and operations team for effective execution.
• Monitor startup performance, portfolio growth, and program impact metrics.
• Lead reporting, compliance, and alignment with government/ institutional mandates.
• Identify funding opportunities, grants, and support startups in fundraising readiness.
• Ensure optimal utilization of infrastructure, labs, and institutional resources.
• Represent the incubator in external forums, events, and stakeholder engagements.
• Resolve escalations and ensure smooth functioning of incubation activities.

Qualifications

• Master's degree / Ph. D in Business Administration, Entrepreneurship , Innovation Management or related field.

Required Experience

• Minimum 10+ years above and preferably in incubation , startup ecosystem development , or innovation management.