About the Role
Short-term skilling has been at the heart of Quest Alliances work for over 15 years. As we look toward the future, our aim is to reimagine this space shifting from job placement alone to enabling young people to build meaningful, future-ready careers.
We are looking for a VTI Manager who will lead this next phase of our short-term skilling portfolio, working closely with grassroots partners, regional teams, and internal stakeholders. This is a strategic and execution-oriented role, ideal for someone with a strong background in program design, team leadership, and partnership management. The VTI Manager will also provide direct managerial oversight to team members, ensuring alignment with program goals and fostering a collaborative, high-performing culture.
Key Responsibilities
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Lead the implementation and evolution of Quest s short-term skilling strategy across geographies.
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Drive a shift toward future-skills and career-readiness outcomes.
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Align program design with youth aspirations, industry trends, and technological shifts.
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Develop and refine annual work plans with clear outcomes, timelines, and review mechanisms.
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Ensure high-quality delivery through regular monitoring, partner check-ins, and field visits.
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Guide partners in the adoption of Quest s frameworks, digital tools, and learning platforms.
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Lead documentation of processes, case studies, success stories, and impact metrics.
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Identify, onboard, and nurture long-term partnerships with organizations working with vulnerable communities.
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Enable partners to embed future-skills, career-readiness, and industry-aligned frameworks into their programs.
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Facilitate Communities of Practice for peer learning and collaborative problem-solving across the ecosystem.
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Support donor reporting, compliance, budgeting, and proposal development.
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Represent Quest in networks, coalitions, and forums related to youth skilling and employability.
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Collaborate with regional teams, MEL, training, communications, and operations to ensure program alignment and synergy.
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Use internal systems for contracting, subgrant management, budgeting, and progress tracking.
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Directly manage a team of Program Associates and/or regional staff working on VTI initiatives.
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Provide regular coaching, mentoring, and performance feedback to team members.
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Ensure timely goal setting, reviews, and documentation for team performance.
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Foster a culture of collaboration, ownership, and continuous learning within the team.
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Ensure staff development through capacity building, exposure, and learning opportunities.
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Support hiring, onboarding, and team planning processes as required.
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Promote a strong MEL culture by integrating program outcomes with evaluation frameworks.
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Use data dashboards and feedback mechanisms to adapt and improve program delivery.
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Lead quarterly reviews and learning loops to inform strategy and planning.
Requirements Required Attributes :
- Ability to independently lead visioning, planning, and delivery.
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Experience with partner-led models, community-based skilling, and youth-centered design.
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Proven track record of leading and motivating small to mid-sized teams.
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Adept at cross-functional coordination and partner engagement.
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Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to influence, present, and advocate.
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Capable of using data for planning, monitoring, and improvement.
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Youth-focused, inclusive, adaptive, and aligned with equity and empowerment.
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At least 5 years of relevant experience in skilling, livelihoods, education, or youth development.
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Demonstrated ability to manage programs, partnerships, and internal teams.
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Experience in initiatives focused on employability, future skills, or career transitions for young people.
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Comfortable working independently while engaging diverse stakeholders across levels.
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Fluency in English and at least one regional language is preferred.
Benefits Salary: The pay band for the position starts at Rs. 75,000/- per month (cost to company) ( The salary offered will be commensurate with the experience and expertise of the candidate)