Background
About Leadership For Equity (LFE)
Leadership For Skilled Education Foundation
(branded as Leadership For Equity, LFE), is a non-profit (NGO) based out of Pune, Maharashtra.
We envision Public Education Systems That Refuse To Let Children Down.
APPROACH
: In our two-fold approach to change, we build the capacity of government system leaders, and we influence system processes. In partnership with the local and state education bodies, we co-create programs that shift teaching-learning practices and improve student learning and well-being. This work coupled with our research and advisory support to influence policies, we hope to create an effective government education system.
Over the last 5 years, LFE has built the capacity of 2100+ system leaders and 40,200+ teachers to impact 8 million students across Maharashtra. Additionally, LFE has recently expanded its operations and started working in another three states of India, including Haryana, Tripura & Andhra Pradesh. In Maharashtra, LFE works with five districts (Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Satara & Akola), three municipal bodies (Pune MC, Pimpri Chinchwad MC & Nagpur MC) & 5 state-level education bodies (School Education Dept, SCERT, Samagra Shiksha, Tribal Development Dept, & TRTI). In Andhra Pradesh, LFE works closely with the Samagra Shiksha Office, SCERT, & The World Bank on a multi-year strategic project to improve the quality of learning across 26 districts of the State. Lastly, in Haryana & Tripura, LFE works with SCERTs of both states in setting up targeted program management units (PMUs) to strengthen the delivery of large-scale academic programs.
BELIEF
: We believe Public Education Systems are the gatekeepers of social EQUITY, especially when Indias 120 million poorest-of-the-poor children continue to go to government-run schools. A multi-layered, complex, and systemic problem of educational inequity will require a solution rooted in the SYSTEMS CHANGE approach. We believe that a COLLECTIVE effort by forging partnerships with governments, like-minded philanthropists, corporates, donors, nonprofits, and grassroots organisations will help bring scalable and sustainable social change.
About Special Projects at LFE
As LFE grows and the sector continues to evolve, there is an urgent need and significant scope to set up and learn from innovation hubs to prepare for the future. While keeping its core work of partnering with governments in core areas of foundational literacy and numeracy, LFE will continue to take up smaller, diverse projects in the fields of girls education, future skills, and other emerging areas of important education. These projects are designed to pilot, test, and codify best practices for scaling across public systems, aligned to LFE s long-term strategy. Current projects in the pipeline include:
- Strengthening KGBV schools in Andhra Pradesh
- Designing and piloting the Future Literacy curriculum in Maharashtra
The Associate Director - Special Innovation Projects will lead the design and operationalization of these projects end-to-end, reporting to the Chief Program Officer. There is immense scope to learn from the sector, innovate and contribute to the future growth of the organisation.
Program Design and Research (30%)
- Conduct research to identify emerging needs, trends, models and innovations in the indian education sector, beginning with girls education, and future skills.
- Design comprehensive program strategies, including Theory of Change (TOC), goals, and implementation plans.
- Design processes, rubrics, and checklists for the teams to ensure high-quality design and operations aligned to program objectives.
- Develop monitoring and evaluation (M&E) frameworks, indicators, and reporting formats for each project aligned to government and donor commitments.
Project Set up and Operations (30%)
- Rapidly recruit, onboard, and train project teams for each new initiative.
- Develop operational processes and protocols for efficient project rollout.
- Travel to field sites across India to set up projects, build relationships, and oversee implementation.
- Manage government relations, vendors and relations with partners where applicable.
- Coordinate with other teams and operations counterparts to ensure smooth implementation, where necessary.
- Compile project and impact reports in digital and print formats that are widely consumable as per government and donor guidelines.
Team Management (20%)
- Manage a team of 2 Managers and 6-8 Associates across projects, focusing on their deliverables, mentoring, ongoing professional support and development.
- Design and lead team structures to sustain a culture of innovation, collaboration, belief in public systems, strong accountability, and timely project delivery.
- Assist the organisation in the recruitment and selection of team members.
Partnerships Management (20%)
- Build and manage partnerships with relevant NGOs, philanthropic institutions, and government agencies.
- Visit partner field sites to study best practices and integrate learnings into LFE s strategy and projects.
- Represent LFE in sectoral forums and contribute to positioning the organization as an innovation leader in public education.
- Creatively and meaningfully engage government leadership to ensure their buy-in into the projects.
- Find and manage vendors as necessary to create content or manage outsourced aspects of the project.
Requirements
Education & Experience
- Master s Degree in Education, Development Studies, Public Policy, or related disciplines (mandatory).
-
10+ Years
of experience in setting up school improvement, teacher development and STEM-related projects. - Proven experience representing the organisation with external partners and government agencies.
- Demonstrated ability to work in fast-paced, agile environments, managing multiple priorities.
- Should have led at least 1-2 projects in the government education sector at the State/district level.
Important:
Given the nature of the role, please apply only if you qualify based on the above requirements.
Knowledge, Skills & Capabilities
- Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and one regional language. Working knowledge of
Marathi or Telugu
would be helpful but not essential. - Knowledge and experience of teaching-learning strategies in foundational learning in literacy and numeracy.
- Being able to take the initiative and work in an autonomous, semi-structured environment.
- Belief in the potential of the public sector and that government systems can and will change toward overcoming systemic inequities and ensuring improved outcomes for all citizens.
- Working experience or knowledge of public policy implementation would be highly preferred.
- A basic understanding of social equity, development discourse, and education policy in India.
- Adaptability to changing responsibilities and resourcefulness to respond to them.
- High openness to learning.
- Ability to influence people, take initiatives, and build and sustain relationships with multiple stakeholders & partners across public and private spaces.
- Strong ability to create outstanding presentations, work with Microsoft Excel & Google Suite.
- Patience and resilience to stick it out in the face of setbacks and uncertainties.
Location and Compensation
Location
: Pune, Maharashtra, with frequent travel to multiple locations in India
Compensation
: In addition to being part of a young and dynamic learning team, the individual will receive healthy compensation at par with the non-profit sector benchmark for this position, commensurate with the individual s prior experience and qualifications. The current compensation band offered, based on qualification and experience , is 22-25 lakh INR per annum CTC.
Leadership For Equity is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Prohibits Discrimination and Harassment of Any Kind. We do not discriminate on the basis of caste, race, religion, colour, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other non-merit factor.
