The Program Manager / Festival Operations Manager will serve as the operational lead of Hillywood Fiesta and will be responsible for ensuring that plans, timelines, departments, vendors, and stakeholders remain aligned and accountable throughout the project lifecycle.
This is a highly execution-focused role requiring exceptional organisational skills, communication abilities, problem-solving capabilities, and leadership under pressure. The ideal candidate is someone who thrives in complex environments, enjoys coordinating people and systems, and can ensure that nothing falls through the cracks.

The Program Manager will:

Project & Operations Management (Primary Function)

• Oversee day-to-day project execution across all phases of Hillywood Fiesta — from multi-city auditions through to the Grand Finale event.
• Develop and maintain master project timelines, execution schedules, and phase-by-phase operational plans.
• Monitor project progress across all departments against agreed milestones and deliverables.
• Identify operational risks, bottlenecks, and resource gaps early — and implement solutions or escalate critical issues to the PMO Director.
• Ensure all project deliverables are completed on time, within scope, and aligned with project objectives.
• Maintain project dashboards and tracking systems to provide real-time visibility across all project activities.

Department Coordination

• Coordinate between PMO, marketing, production, logistics, talent management, sponsorships, and event teams to ensure cross-departmental alignment.
• Facilitate communication and collaboration between departments — breaking down silos and ensuring shared accountability.
• Track responsibilities, deadlines, and deliverables across all teams and escalate accountability issues to the PMO Director when required.
• Chair regular operational review meetings and ensure action items are followed up consistently.

Vendor & Partner Management

• Coordinate external vendors, contractors, and service providers to ensure timely and quality delivery of all outsourced services.
• Track vendor deliverables and link milestones to payment processes in coordination with the Finance & Procurement Manager.
• Support onboarding and coordination of project partners and ensure they remain aligned with project requirements.
• Maintain a vendor performance register and flag underperformance or delays early.

Event & Ground Operations

• Oversee logistics planning and execution for multi-city auditions, the bootcamp, and the Grand Finale event.
• Coordinate venue readiness, operational setup, and ground-level requirements across all project locations.
• Support contestant, guest, and VIP logistics in collaboration with relevant department leads.
• Assist in managing event-day operations and on-ground execution across all phases.

Reporting & Accountability

• Provide weekly progress reports to the PMO Director covering milestones, risks, and upcoming priorities.
• Document risks, challenges, and solutions in a structured project log.
• Ensure leadership has clear visibility across all project activities at all times.

This role reports directly to the PMO Director / Ecosystem Lead and works closely with all Department Leads across the Hillywood Fiesta project.

This role is suited to an experienced operations or project management professional who takes ownership without being asked, thinks proactively, and remains calm and effective in high-pressure, multi-stakeholder environments.

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience.
• 2–7 years of experience in operations, project management, event management, production management, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating multiple stakeholders, teams, and workstreams simultaneously.
• Experience managing timelines, budgets, and operational workflows in a complex project environment.
• Strong organisational, communication, and leadership skills.
• High attention to detail with a strong problem-solving mindset.
• Proficiency in project tracking and productivity tools.
• Ability to work under pressure and manage multiple moving parts simultaneously.

• Experience in event, entertainment, production, startup, agency, or large-scale project environments.
• Experience operating across multiple cities or locations simultaneously.
• Familiarity with OTT content production or talent management environments.
• Prior experience in Northeast India or working with regional creative ecosystems.