Business Operations Lead

Location: Toronto ON
Employment Type: Full-Time Permanent
Department: Programming & Partnerships
Reports to: Director of Programming

Vacancy: This posting is for a new vacancy

Salary: 80-95K

The Toronto Business Development Centre (TBDC) is Canadas first business incubator with over 35 years of experience supporting more than 9000 local and international entrepreneurs including two that became unicorns. Focused on driving meaningful outcomes TBDC equips high-potential startups with the resources clients and capital they need to grow.

TBDCs flagship is Horizon a program that helps high-potential international scale-ups land and expand in North America. The goal isnt better events or better programming; its real commercialization outcomes: founders who understand the market win customers raise capital and plug into the ecosystem.

Horizon runs as one connected funnel of three products:

• Scout an AI-first expert-validated market-intelligence tool that produces deep research reports framing each founders market and the engagement ahead.
  

• Sprint an intensive week in the Toronto market where each cohort meets the stakeholders customers and investors who help them understand the market and start selling or raising.
  

• Surge the conversion into sustained support: we match founders with vetted advisors and consultants for ongoing paid advisory and go-to-market work.
  

The Business Operations Lead is the person who makes all three run on time every time.

You are an operational leader who brings structure clarity and momentum to fast-moving teams! You think in systems owners deadlines and dependencies and you are comfortable turning ambiguity into practical execution. This is a stakeholder management and program operations role not a traditional coordinator role. You help run the operating rhythm of the department strengthen processes and ensure priorities move forward across teams. You are trusted because you follow through. You can hold senior stakeholders accountable rebuild broken processes manage competing priorities and keep a high-performing team aligned and moving.

We are seeking a Business Operations Lead to be the stakeholder-management and PMO backbone of the Programming & Partnerships department the person who keeps every functional piece of Horizons delivery on track. Youll run the operating cadence keep processes and SOPs aligned own reporting and make sure the right things happen on time across teams. Youll understand each teams deliverables and OKRs act as the glue that holds them together and protect the program from ever missing or delaying a deliverable.

This role formalizes work that has become essential to how TBDC runs and were building it as real ownership not support. Youll manage multiple calendars work fluently in systems like Airtable and Zoho and use AI tools to automate and streamline how the business operates.

Reporting to the Director of Programming this role will:

• run project management and the departments operating cadence (a PMO function) across all active priorities.
  

• own stakeholder management across teams keeping owners aligned accountable and moving.
  

• keep processes SOPs and reporting aligned so the program runs cleanly day to day.
  

• coordinate across Marketing Finance and Sales and the leadership to keep everyone in sync.
  

• track deadlines owners and dependencies surfacing blockers before they become problems.
  

• be hands-on supporting the events we run across Programming & Partnerships from Sprint Week to key industry events like our dinners and breakfasts.
  

• Run the operating rhythm across the departments priorities including the central technology spine SOP versioning unified reporting founder community space utilization and team hiring.
  

• Track deadlines owners and dependencies; maintain plans and timelines; and keep work moving and on schedule.
  

• Keep Marketing Finance Scout Sales and the leadership aligned by preparing agendas capturing decisions driving follow-through and surfacing blockers.
  

• Hold owners accountable to commitments across teams and coordinate meetings and working sessions so action items are owned and closed.
  

• Manage multiple team calendars and keep the departments operational systems such as centralizing data within Zoho while using Airtable for external-facing engagements organized and up to date.
  

• Use AI tools to work more efficiently and to find ways to automate and streamline operational tasks across the business.
  

• Supports the planning and coordination of company events including scheduling logistics materials vendors and guest lists.
  

• Helps make sure everything runs smoothly on the day of the event from setup to attendee support to troubleshooting.
  

• Maintain versioned observable SOPs making it visible whats being followed versus skipped.
  

• Steward the integrated Horizon operating manual and keep it current as the program evolves.
  

• Consolidate reporting from Sales Marketing and Programming into one reporting spine including the data needed for funder oversight (e.g. FedDev).
  

• Keep dashboards and status reporting accurate and up to date.
  

• Capture success stories and case studies from across the program so wins are documented and easy to share.
  

• Support governance ownership and measured utilization of TBDCs space along with day-to-day operational logistics.
  

This role lives or dies on a clear set of OKRs and well define them with you before you start so the role is clearly focused on ownership execution and measurable outcomes not reactive support. Broadly success looks like:

• The operating cadence runs on time. Zero missed or delayed deliverables across the department; every priority has a named owner a deadline and a status anyone can see.
  

• One reporting spine. Sales Marketing and Programming reporting consolidated into a single trustworthy source including the data needed for funder oversight (e.g. FedDev) kept current without chasing.
  

• Processes are observable not tribal. SOPs versioned and live with whats being followed versus skipped made visible and the Horizon operating manual current as the program evolves.
  

• Events execute cleanly. Sprint Week and key dinners and breakfasts run smoothly end to end with logistics owned and action items closed.
  

• 35 years of experience in operations program management PMO business operations project management or a comparable role where you owned outcomes across teams. Experience in an accelerator startup innovation or fast-moving program environment is considered an asset. We value demonstrated capability ownership and fit as much as years of experience.
  

• Exceptionally organized detail-oriented and process-minded; you keep many parts moving without dropping anything.
  

• Proven ability to manage stakeholders and hold cross-functional owners accountable including senior ones.
  

• Fluent managing multiple calendars and working in operational systems such as Airtable and Zoho plus project trackers and spreadsheets.
  

• Comfortable using AI tools to work efficiently and to automate operational tasks.
  

• A clear communicator who keeps multiple teams aligned and accountable.
  

• Proactive and dependable with a strong sense of ownership and follow-through.
  

• Thrives in a fast-paced entrepreneurial environment and enjoys bringing order to ambiguity.
  

• Health and dental benefits
  

• Vision care
  

• Life insurance
  

• Paid time off
  

• On-site parking
  

• Participation in company events and activities
  

TBDC does not use AI-enabled tools to support application screening. Final hiring decisions are made by real people.