QAD, Inc.—Program Manager, Value Creation

Job description

Description: QAD Inc., owned by leading private equity firm Thoma Bravo, is a provider of cloud-based ERP software and services for global manufacturers. As a Thoma Bravo portfolio company, QAD is executing a focused value creation agenda to accelerate growth, improve operational efficiency, and support the company’s transition toward more AI-enabled ways of working. The Value Creation team sits at the center of this effort, partnering with executive and functional leaders across Engineering, Product, Sales, Customer Success, Professional Services, Support, Finance, HR, and Legal to translate strategic priorities into measurable initiatives. The team is responsible for helping define the value creation roadmap, standing up governance, tracking execution, measuring benefits, and ensuring high-priority initiatives move from strategy to delivery. We are looking for a sharp, analytical, and action-oriented Program Manager to join the Value Creation team. This person will help drive and orchestrate cross-functional value creation initiatives, with a particular focus on AI transformation, operating model evolution, systems integrator transition, and measurable business impact. Support Enterprise Value Creation Initiatives - Help translate high-level strategic priorities into specific, measurable initiatives with clear owners, milestones, KPIs, dependencies, and expected business impact. - Build and maintain initiative trackers, value bridges, KPI dashboards, business cases, and executive reporting materials. - Partner with functional teams across Engineering, Product, GTM, Support, Professional Services, Customer Success, Finance, HR, and Legal to track progress, identify blockers, and support issue resolution. - Support regular operating rhythms, including leadership reviews, SteerCo materials, initiative readouts, and follow-ups from executive discussions. - Conduct analysis to size opportunities, assess benefits, track actual vs. planned impact, and identify areas requiring management attention. Help Drive QAD’s AI Transformation Agenda - Support the identification, prioritization, and tracking of AI initiatives across functions, including Engineering productivity, Support diagnostics and resolution, Professional Services automation, GTM productivity, Finance / BI enablement, HR, and Legal. - Help structure AI use cases into clear problem statements, workflows, data / system requirements, expected outputs, adoption metrics, and business outcomes. - Define and track AI success metrics, including adoption, usage depth, cycle time reduction, productivity improvement, throughput, quality, backlog reduction, and financial impact. - Partner with business teams, technical teams, and external vendors to move AI initiatives from concept to pilot to scaled deployment. - Support executive-level reporting on AI transition progress, including Board / leadership updates, initiative status, benefits realization, risks, and key decisions needed. - Help establish practical measurement models that link AI usage to operational outcomes, not just activity. Support Operating Model and SI Transition Work - Support enterprise operating model workstreams, including current-state diagnostics, future-state design, workflow decomposition, role / responsibility mapping, and implementation planning. - Help coordinate across internal teams, third-party advisors, and implementation / systems integration partners to ensure continuity between strategy, design, and execution. - Support the transition from high-level transformation design to detailed L3 / L4 workflow definition, requirements, blueprints, PRDs, and implementation roadmaps. - Track dependencies, risks, decisions, and follow-ups across internal teams and external partners. - Help ensure implementation partners are set up with the right context, documentation, governance, and success metrics to execute effectively in later phases. Build Executive-Ready Analysis and Materials - Prepare concise, high-quality materials for senior leadership discussions, operating reviews, Board updates, and cross-functional working sessions. - Synthesize inputs from interviews, data, transcripts, functional plans, and project updates into clear insights and recommended actions. - Build Excel / Sheets-based analyses, KPI trees, initiative scorecards, benefit trackers, and simple financial models. - Convert ambiguous or unstructured inputs into clear problem statements, decision points, and next steps. - Ensure reporting focuses on outcomes, value delivery, risks, and decisions needed — not just activity updates. You are a structured problem-solver with strong analytical skills and a bias for action. You are comfortable working in ambiguity, asking good questions, and bringing order to complex cross-functional initiatives. You can move fluidly between analysis and execution: one day building a KPI model, the next synthesizing leadership input, and the next following up with functional owners to unblock progress. You are intellectually curious about AI and business transformation, but you do not need to be a technical AI expert. You should be comfortable learning quickly, understanding how AI can reshape workflows, and helping business and technical teams align on what needs to be built, measured, and operationalized. Required Qualifications - 2–5 years of experience in management consulting, private equity value creation, corporate strategy, business operations, transformation, program management, or a similar analytical / execution-oriented role. - Strong analytical skills, including comfort with Excel / Google Sheets, financial logic, KPI analysis, business cases, and operational metrics. - Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to synthesize complex inputs into clear, executive-ready materials. - Demonstrated ability to manage multiple workstreams, track follow-ups, and drive accountability across cross-functional teams. - Comfort working with senior stakeholders and translating ambiguous asks into structured outputs. - High ownership, strong attention to detail, and the ability to operate independently in a fast-paced environment. - Interest in AI, business transformation, software, enterprise technology, or operational improvement. Nice-to-Haves - Experience in a private equity-backed company, SaaS / enterprise software company, or industrial technology business. - Prior consulting experience, especially in transformation, operating model design, value creation, AI strategy, or operational improvement. - Exposure to AI initiatives, automation programs, digital transformation, or workflow redesign. - Experience supporting systems integrator, implementation partner, or transformation partner workstreams. - Familiarity with ERP, customer support, professional services, software engineering, GTM operations, or enterprise business processes. - Experience building dashboards, KPI trackers, leadership materials, or benefits realization models. - Your health and well being are important to us at QAD. We provide programs that help you strike a healthy work-life balance. - Opportunity to join a growing business, launching into its next phase of expansion and transformation. - Collaborative culture of smart and hard-working people who support one another to get the job done. - An atmosphere of growth and opportunity, where idea-sharing is always prioritized over level or hierarchy. - Compensation packages based on experience and desired skill set About QAD: QAD | Redzone is redefining manufacturing and supply chains through its intelligent, adaptive platform that connects people, processes, and data into a single System of Action. With three core pillars — Redzone (frontline empowerment), Adaptive Applications (the intelligent backbone), and Champion AI (Agentic AI for manufacturing) — QAD | Redzone helps manufacturers operate with Champion Pace, achieving measurable productivity, resilience, and growth in just 90 days. QAD is committed to ensuring that every employee feels they work in an environment that values their contributions, respects their unique perspectives and provides opportunities for growth regardless of background. QAD’s DEI program is driving higher levels of diversity, equity and inclusion so that employees can bring their whole self to work. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class.