Senior Program Lead - STEP Bihar

About Mantra4Change

Nearly a decade ago, Mantra stepped into the education ecosystem with a vision to transform Public Education in India. In a nation like India with complexities of scale and diversity, enabling quality education cannot be exclusive of systemic reforms. Our mission is to enable enriching learning experiences for children by enabling education leaders to drive school improvements. Towards this, we partner with bodies like the Ministry of Education, State education departments, as well as other Civil Society Actors. We enable school improvement through a tri-fold approach - working directly with schools through our innovation projects, working with state governments towards enabling greater system capacity, and by working with ecosystem actors to nurture a collective of changemakers. As part of our work with state governments, one of our key programs is the Punjab Education Collective - a collective of 4 organizations jointly working towards systemic school reform in the state of Punjab, for which we were recently awarded “The Collective Social Innovation Award” by the Schwab Foundation at the World Economic Forum in January 2023. Through the span of the last 10 years, we have been able to reach 272,090 schools, 276,204 education leaders and 36,457,659 children. 

About the role

The Senior Program Lead will independently drive the end-to-end design, strategy, and execution of programs. This role demands strategic vision, strong leadership in stakeholder engagement, and a deep understanding of systemic education reform. The position offers an opportunity to shape and deliver impactful programs in collaboration with the state and districts. The SPL will ensure the impactful delivery of the workstream independently.

Roles and Responsibilities

Program Design, Co-ordination and Implementation

• Lead the design and implementation of multiple workstreams such as Printed TLM, Training, Mentoring, Reviews, and Recognition Systems in partnership with SCERT and SSA.
• Work closely with SCERT to develop academic materials through module development workshops, ensure quality, finalise print-ready materials, and coordinate the printing and delivery process with the department.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for 3-5 districts, supporting District Leadership (DIETs, DEOs, DPOs, etc.) in planning, delivery, and reviews of the Project-Based Learning Program.
• Analyse education budgets, state schemes, and policy frameworks to identify opportunities that strengthen leadership and enhance workstream delivery.

Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning

• Establish and enable monthly review structures at the state and district levels to track progress through data dashboards and facilitate data-driven decision-making.
• Conduct regular field visits with state and district officials to review the quality of implementation, gather evidence of impact, and identify improvement areas.
• Support SCERT and DIETs in conducting regular annual endline student assessment surveys to measure progress and inform continuous improvement.

Stakeholder Engagement & Partnerships

• Build and maintain strong relationships with key state and district officials, including the State Project Director, SCERT Director, Director of Primary Education, District Magistrates, DEOs, and DIET Principals.
• Represent the program in key state-level review meetings and consultations.

Capacity Building & Knowledge Sharing

• Along with SCERT and DIETs, support the design and facilitation of training and capacity-building sessions for teachers, leaders, and district officials.
• Use feedback, monitoring data and assessment data to make recommendations for continuous improvement in training frameworks and content.

Documentation & Communication

• Prepare high-quality reports, presentations, and concept notes for internal and external stakeholders.
• Present workstream updates, insights, and learnings with clarity.

Experience & Competencies Required

• A master’s degree, along with 5-9 years of experience leading educational design projects, especially in school leadership development, is preferred.
• Prior exposure to the education or consulting sector is preferred.
• Must have functional knowledge of G-Suite tools, Canva, and basic AI-based tools.
• Must have excellent written and verbal communication skills in both Hindi and English.
• Must have the ability to negotiate and work effectively with government stakeholders.
• Must be willing to travel within and outside the assigned districts when required.

For more information, please check the link: Senior Program Lead - STEP Bihar

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