About Indigo Indigo Research is dedicated to transforming the education landscape by pairing high school students with research mentors to complete and publish research projects. Whether in-person or online, we aim to deliver transformative educational experiences and cultivate the next generation of scholars. Role Overview The 1:1 Program Lead is a key member of the Operations Team responsible for the end-to-end planning, execution, and student success across our 1:1 Online Research Mentorship programs (Explorer, Researcher, and Innovator). Operating in a 100% virtual environment, the PL manages bespoke, long-term student journeys ranging from 12 weeks to 50+ weeks. This role focuses on mentor matching, tracking multi-milestone research deliverables, maintaining parent/family communications, facilitating academic credits, and supporting publication/competition submissions. The 1:1 PL must be highly organized, proactive, and comfortable working across different stakeholders and in ambiguous, fast-paced environments. They will directly oversee Operations staff, ensuring that team KPIs are met and that students continue to succeed as Indigo expands. Key Responsibilities Team Leadership & Operations Oversight • Oversee Mentor Operations Lead, supervising the execution of the end-to-end Mentor Lifecycle. Ensure accountability for mentor KPI tracking systems, mentor performance reviews, recertification efforts (IRB & Publication Support), capacity forecasting, and reduction of mentor-related escalations. • Oversee Junior Operations Coordinator, providing direction on mentor allocations, ensuring target turnarounds, administrative support SOPs, database accuracy, and student progress follow-ups. • Align mentor management systems and allocation pipelines with 1:1 program outcomes to eliminate bottlenecks and operational friction for workflow optimization. Project & Student Journey Management • Ensure a stellar program experience across all three 1:1 tiers (Explorer: 10 hrs / 12 wks; Researcher: 20 hrs / 23 wks; Innovator: 45 hrs / 50 wks). • Implement a 5-star outcome plan, increasing student success rates and achieving higher levels of student outcomes while maintaining current student outcome rates. • Act as the primary escalation contact to handle and resolve student, family, or mentor conflicts, maintaining high satisfaction and delivering practical solutions. • Oversee escalation ops, including devising systems to support tracking, analyzing performance, interventions, and ways to lower or eliminate escalations entirely. Mentor & Stakeholder Management • Review mentor KPIs and PRs to discuss performance, share best practices, and drive continuous improvement. • Provide operational support, guidelines, and Checkpoint System tracking. • Identify scalable systems for improved mentor management, eliminating manual operations and giving mentors more high-touch opportunities for feedback and support. • Work with Indigo staff to convene Academic and Scientific Review Committees, identifying areas of improvement and achieving progress against priorities (e.g. AI policies, academic integrity). Operations & Continuous Improvement • Work with Operations Lead to monitor student progress via tracking dashboards, coordinating with Student Success and Indigo Ops teams to strategically intervene as needed. • Implement a new escalation prediction system, monitoring hotspots and eliminating escalations and other challenges before they occur. • With the Indigo SSM, analyze operational data and Net Promoter Scores (NPS) to identify service gaps and implement scalable, automated workflows. • Maintain seamless integration with Student Success Teams and Crimson Education stakeholders. Qualifications & Skills Qualifications • Experience: 3–5 years of experience in education, mentoring, academic coaching, or youth development organizations. • People Management: At least 2 years of experience directly overseeing teams. • Education & Research Knowledge: Familiarity with high school research, academic writing, citation standards, and the journal publication process. • System Knowledge: Knowledge of international education systems and US/UK college admissions (e.g., Common App, STEM supplements). • Technical Skills: Proficiency in Google Workspace, Microsoft Office Suite, and learning systems/CRM tools Skills & Competencies • People Management: Ability to mentor, guide, and hold operational staff (Mentor Ops Lead, Jr. Ops Coordinator) accountable to performance metrics. • Project Management: Highly organized with exceptional ability to manage asynchronous workflows across diverse time zones. • Customer Service & Communication: Advanced English proficiency with a high-empathy, client-centric mindset for interacting with high-achieving students and families. • Problem-Solving & De-escalation: Grace under pressure, adept at resolving cross-cultural and communication challenges. • Analytical Thinking: Capability to identify needed KPIs and track track them, spot engagement drop-offs, and execute timely interventions. What Success Looks Like 1. Team Leadership & Operations Performance • Mentor Ops Lead Accountability: Successful rollout of mentor training programs and policies, maintaining active mentor performance/KPI tracking and ensuring they are met. • Jr. Ops Coordinator Efficiency: Mentor–student allocation turnaround time consistently maintained at ≤2 business days with zero allocation bottlenecks or talent shortages. • Team Synergy: Smooth operational execution across the team with clear SOP adoption, minimal administrative backlogs, and accurate database records. 2. Student Outcomes & Program Delivery • 5-Star Outcome Delivery: Successful execution of the 5-star outcome plan, increasing advanced student outcomes (e.g., publication, conference presentation, ISEF progress) while maintaining overall program completion rates. • Milestone Progress Tracking: High completion rates of target deliverables within projected program timelines. 3. Escalation Management & Retention • Escalation Reduction & Elimination: Lower overall monthly student/parent/mentor escalations to • De-escalation Speed & Resolution: Rapid resolution of escalations with structured follow-ups, maintaining high family and mentor trust. 4. Scalability & Operational Excellence • System Automation & Efficiency: Creating scalable, automated workflows with the Operations team to reduce manual intervention and streamline cross-team communications with Crimson & Student Success Teams. • Data-Driven Improvements: Utilizing performance dashboards and KPI analytics to systematically identify and resolve service gaps before they impact student experience.