Project Lead – Skilling, Livelihood & Community Health

About Smile Foundation

Smile Foundation is an NGO in India directly benefitting over 15,00,000 children and their families every year, through more than 400 live welfare projects on education, healthcare, livelihood and women empowerment, in over 2000 remote villages and slums across 25 states of India. We believe that unless members of the civil society are involved proactively in the process of development, sustainable change will not happen. Following this model of Civic Driven Change, Smile Foundation sensitizes and engages the civil society, making it an active partner in all its welfare initiatives.

About the Role

The Project Lead will provide strategic, technical, and operational leadership for the implementation of large-scale Skilling, Livelihood, and Integrated Community Health projects. The role is responsible for end-to-end project planning, execution, stakeholder engagement, quality assurance, monitoring & evaluation, financial management, donor reporting, and team leadership. The incumbent will ensure effective utilization of project resources, achievement of project outcomes, compliance with donor and organizational requirements, and development of sustainable partnerships with government agencies, industry partners, community institutions, and donors. The role requires close coordination with Advocacy, Research, Monitoring & Evaluation, Finance, and Communications teams to ensure high-quality program delivery and measurable impact. The position may require 20–30% travel.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Project Planning & Implementation

• Lead the overall implementation of Skilling, Livelihood, and Community Health projects in alignment with approved work plans, donor commitments, and organizational objectives.
• Develop annual, quarterly, and monthly implementation plans, budgets, resource allocation plans, procurement schedules, and project timelines.
• Ensure operational readiness of project sites, training centres, and field interventions.
• Drive achievement of project milestones, outputs, outcomes, enrolment, certification, placement, and community health targets.
• Oversee implementation of Mobile Medical Units (MMUs), health outreach initiatives, skill development centres, and livelihood interventions, as applicable.
• Conduct regular field visits to monitor quality, compliance, beneficiary engagement, and program effectiveness.

Team Leadership & Capacity Building

• Lead, supervise, mentor, and develop project teams including Project Coordinators, Trainers, Mobilizers, Placement Officers, Community Facilitators, Health Staff, and field teams.
• Establish performance goals, review mechanisms, and accountability frameworks.
• Conduct regular review meetings and performance discussions.
• Identify training needs and implement capacity-building initiatives to strengthen project delivery.
• Foster a collaborative, high-performance, and learning-oriented work culture.
• Training Quality Assurance & Program Excellence
• Ensure compliance with Sector Skill Council standards, government guidelines, and project specific quality frameworks.
• Monitor training delivery, lesson plans, assessments, certification processes, and learner outcomes.
• Ensure quality implementation of community health interventions and adherence to public health standards.
• Strengthen learner engagement, beneficiary participation, and retention.
• Promote innovation, continuous improvement, and adoption of best practices across projects.

Community Mobilization & Stakeholder Engagement

• Lead community outreach and mobilization efforts to ensure beneficiary participation and project visibility.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with Panchayats, SHGs, educational institutions, healthcare institutions, community leaders, and local stakeholders.
• Ensure inclusion of women, youth, and marginalized communities in project interventions.
• Represent the organization in community forums, workshops, and stakeholder meetings.

Government Liaison & Partnerships

• Develop and maintain strong partnerships with Government Departments, NHM officials, Sector Skill Councils, district administration, and relevant public institutions.
• Coordinate with industry partners, employers, NGOs, CSR partners, and technical agencies.
• Facilitate approvals, reviews, inspections, and government convergence opportunities.
• Support dissemination of project outcomes, policy recommendations, and knowledge products.

Placement & Livelihood Linkages

• Develop and strengthen employer partnerships for skilling and livelihood initiatives.
• Organize placement drives, employer interactions, job fairs, and recruitment events.
• Monitor placement quality, retention rates, and post-placement support mechanisms.
• Establish feedback mechanisms with employers to improve training relevance and employability outcomes.

Monitoring, Evaluation, MIS & Reporting

• Establish robust monitoring systems and result-based performance frameworks.
• Ensure accurate beneficiary data management and MIS reporting.
• Track and analyse key indicators including:
• Mobilization
• Enrolment
• Attendance
• Training Completion
• Certification
• Placement & Retention
• Health Service Delivery
• Project Outcomes & Impact
• Develop dashboards and data-driven insights for decision-making.
• Coordinate with Research, Monitoring & Evaluation teams for assessments, studies, and learning initiatives.
• Prepare and submit high-quality monthly, quarterly, annual, donor, and management reports.

Financial Management & Administration

• Manage project budgets and ensure optimal utilization of financial resources.
• Monitor project expenditure against approved budgets and donor commitments.
• Review and approve bills, invoices, reimbursements, procurement requests, and project documentation.
• Support budgeting, forecasting, financial planning, and fund utilization tracking.
• Ensure compliance with procurement policies, financial controls, and audit requirements.
• Oversee asset management and administrative operations related to project implementation.
• Donor Management & Reporting
• Serve as the primary focal point for donors and funding partners.
• Facilitate donor visits, project reviews, presentations, and progress discussions.
• Coordinate with internal departments to compile financial and impact reports.
• Ensure timely submission of narrative and financial reports in line with donor requirements.
• Build strong donor relationships and support fundraising and proposal development efforts.

Quality Assurance, Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensure adherence to donor guidelines, organizational policies, statutory requirements, and project protocols.
• Conduct internal quality reviews and compliance assessments.
• Maintain comprehensive project documentation, evidence, case records, and audit trails.
• Identify implementation, financial, operational, and compliance risks.
• Develop mitigation plans and escalate critical risks to management.
• Support project audits, evaluations, project closure processes, and knowledge management activities.

Documentation, Learning & Knowledge Management

• Document best practices, innovations, case studies, and success stories.
• Capture beneficiary testimonials and evidence of impact.
• Generate knowledge products and learning documents to support scale-up and replication.
• Promote continuous learning and evidence-based program improvement.

Education Qualification & Skills:

• Master's Degree in Social Work (MSW), Rural Management, Public Health, Development Studies, MBA, MBBS, BAMS, or related field.
• 8–10 years of experience in Skilling, Livelihood, Community Development, Public Health, or CSR-funded development projects.
• Minimum 3–4 years of experience in a leadership or project management role.
• Experience managing large-scale projects (minimum ₹3 Crore budget) with multiple stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of Government systems, NHM programs, public health frameworks, skill development ecosystems, and livelihood promotion initiatives.
• Experience working with donors, CSR programs, government agencies, and development sector partners.
• Proven experience in monitoring, research, budgeting, team management, and stakeholder engagement.

For more information, please check the link: Project Lead – Skilling, Livelihood & Community Health

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