MANAGER, PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

Job Summary:

We are looking for a Manager, Program Management to drive the strategy and execution of our Innovation Office — an integrated engine that connects technology foresight, startup collaboration, internal innovation platforms, and large-scale innovation events across the enterprise. This is a high-impact individual contributor role at the intersection of strategy and execution, ideal for someone who thinks like a strategist, executes like a program manager, and communicates like a consultant. You will orchestrate multi-stakeholder innovation programs, manage partnerships, and ensure that innovation efforts translate into measurable enterprise value — shaping product roadmaps, leadership priorities, and long-term strategic bets.

About the team:

The Innovation and Technology Strategy team at Walmart Global Tech India drives enterprise-wide innovation through structured programs spanning startup partnerships, technology foresight, internal idea discovery, academia collaboration, and large-scale innovation events. We operate as a lean, high-leverage team that works closely with senior leadership, business pillars, enabling functions, and external consulting partners to institutionalize innovation as a way of working — moving beyond isolated experiments to a portfolio-driven, outcome-oriented approach that delivers business impact.

What You'll Do (3 to 5 brief pointers about the roles and responsibility)

Orchestrate large-scale innovation programs that position the organization as a hub for cutting-edge innovation and a destination for top talent — including a flagship student hackathon engaging tens of thousands of students nationally and an internal innovation showcase that drives cross-pollination of breakthrough solutions across business pillars.

Drive the vision and adoption of a innovation platform that serves as the digital backbone for the organizations innovation lifecycle — encompassing idea discovery, hackathon orchestration, innovation maturity assessment, and leadership dashboards — creating a scalable system that enables associates and leaders to participate in innovation as a way of working.

Serve as a strategic partner to the team by co-owning the innovation charter, driving accountability for outcomes through structured governance frameworks, and contributing substantively to thought leadership, thematic research, innovation playbooks, and enterprise-wide capability building.

Champion a shift from activity-led execution to outcome-driven governance by establishing metrics frameworks across all innovation programs, enabling data-backed decision-making at the leadership level, and building scalable systems and playbooks that allow a lean team to operate across multiple programs with speed and rigor.

Shape and scale the organizations startup collaboration program by identifying high-impact use-cases aligned to enterprise priorities, cultivating relationships across the startup ecosystem, driving structured evaluation and business case development, and converting successful pilots into long-term strategic partnerships that deliver measurable ROI.

Technology Foresight & Ecosystem Engagement: Bring outside-in perspectives to enterprise leadership by facilitating structured technology foresight workshops on emerging themes, engaging with venture capital firms and industry bodies through curated ecosystem connects, co-authoring thought leadership reports and playbooks, and translating market signals into strategic recommendations that inform build-versus-partner decisions and shape the organizations technology and innovation roadmap.

Stakeholder Influence & Cross-functional Navigation: Navigate organizational dynamics by building trusted relationships across Engineering and Business leadership, Pillar heads, and enabling functions, and influencing stakeholders at all levels to drive alignment, adoption, and sustained commitment to the innovation agenda — ensuring that innovation is not just a central function but a shared enterprise capability.

What You'll bring (3 to 5 brief pointers about the qualifications, exposures and experiences required for the role)

Bachelors degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Business, or a related field with 7+ years of experience in program management, innovation management, management consulting, or technology strategy — OR an MBA with 5+ years of relevant experience. A proven ability to operate at the intersection of strategy and execution, managing complex multi-stakeholder programs in a large enterprise or consulting environment with a track record of driving measurable business outcomes not just program delivery.

Strong understanding of startup ecosystems, venture capital dynamics, and emerging technology landscapes — with the ability to evaluate opportunities for strategic fit and translate them into actionable business cases and leadership recommendations.

Excellent communication and storytelling skills with the ability to influence senior leadership through executive-ready presentations, thought leadership content, and data-driven narratives. Demonstrated ability to build trusted relationships and drive alignment across cross-functional stakeholders including Engineering, Business, Procurement, Legal, Finance, and Communications.

Demonstrated ability to drive change management and cultural shifts within large organizations — moving teams from ad-hoc innovation to structured, portfolio-driven approaches with sustained leadership buy-in and associate participation.

Experience managing external consulting partnerships with accountability for governance, deliverables, and value delivery. Exposure to innovation frameworks such as stage-gate innovation, design thinking, lean startup, or portfolio-driven innovation models.

Preferred: MBA from a reputed institution. Experience with Global Capability Centers (GCCs), corporate innovation labs, or corporate venture functions. Familiarity with AI/ML technologies and emerging tech trends. Track record of thought leadership contributions or large-scale innovation event management. Prior experience in a role that combined strategic advisory with hands-on program delivery — such as consulting, corporate strategy, or venture operations.

About Walmart Global Tech

Imagine working in an environment where one line of code can make life easier for hundreds of millions of people. That's what we do at Walmart Global Tech. We're a team of software engineers, data scientists, cybersecurity expert's and service professionals within the world's leading retailer who make an epic impact and are at the forefront of the next retail disruption. People are why we innovate, and people power our innovations. We are people-led and tech-empowered.

We train our team in the skillsets of the future and bring in experts like you to help us grow. We have roles for those chasing their first opportunity as well as those looking for the opportunity that will define their career. Here, you can kickstart a great career in tech, gain new skills and experience for virtually every industry, or leverage your expertise to innovate at scale, impact millions and reimagine the future of retail.

Walmart's culture sets us apart, and we know being together helps us innovate, learn and grow great careers. This role is based in our Bangalore office for daily work, with the flexibility for associates to manage their personal lives.

Benefits

Beyond our great compensation package, you can receive incentive awards for your performance. Other great perks include a host of best-in-class benefits maternity and parental leave, PTO, health benefits, and much more.

Belonging

We aim to create a culture where every associate feels valued for who they are, rooted in respect for the individual. Our goal is to foster a sense of belonging, to create opportunities for all our associates, customers and suppliers, and to be a Walmart for everyone.

At Walmart, our vision is everyone included. By fostering a workplace culture where everyone is—and feels—included, everyone wins. Our associates and customers reflect the makeup of all 19 countries where we operate. By making Walmart a welcoming place where all people feel like they belong, we're able to engage associates, strengthen our business, improve our ability to serve customers, and support the communities where we operate.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Walmart, Inc., is an Equal Opportunities Employer – By Choice. We believe we are best equipped to help our associates, customers and the communities we serve live better when we really know them. That means understanding, respecting and valuing unique styles, experiences, identities, ideas and opinions – while being inclusive of all people.