Associate, The Livelihood Collective The STEP Foundation

The Convergence Foundation; India; On-site; INR 350,000 - 600,000; Full time

Job summary

The Livelihood Collective (TLC) is seeking an Associate for its PMU to help build the 10-pillar ITI transformation playbook and generate insights from field observations. You will travel to program states and ITI clusters, turning field realities into actionable knowledge for leadership and partners.

Ideal candidates have 1.5–3 years in consulting, program management or skilling, with strong structured thinking, clear writing, and a bias for execution. Join us to shape India's skilling ecosystem.

Qualifications

• 1.5–3 years experience in consulting, program management, research, or the skilling/education sector.
• Strong problem-solving and attention to detail.
• Excellent written and analytical skills for turning inputs into outputs.
• Willingness to travel regularly to program states and ITI clusters.

Responsibilities

• Playbook development: draft, structure and refine the 10-pillar ITI transformation playbook.
• Insights and analysis: synthesize data into crisp insights, briefs and visuals.
• Field immersion: travel to program states and ITI clusters to observe delivery.
• Research and knowledge: contribute to themes like employability and digital skilling.
• Monitoring support: assist with progress tracking and reporting.
• Program management: plan milestones, trackers and flag risks.
• Partner coordination: assist with materials for Steering Committee and funders.

Skills

Structured problem-solving

First-principles thinking

Written & analytical skills

Data analysis

Travel willingness

Self-starter

Execution bias

Education

Relevant field degree

Job description

The Livelihood Collective (TLC) - ITI Transformation Roadmap

• Job Title: Associate, TLC
• Reports to: Senior Associate and Program Director, TLC PMU

Job Description:

We are seeking a curious, hands-on problem-solver to join the Project Management Unit (PMU) of The Livelihood Collective (TLC) - a multi-funder collaborative transforming India's Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) from qualification factories into employment engines. TLC will prove and codify a 10-pillar transformation playbook across 8 clusters and ~120 ITIs in Maharashtra, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh, reaching ~1.1 lakh youth before scaling nationally.

As an Associate in the central PMU, you will work closely with the Senior Associate and TLC leadership to build the intellectual and operational backbone of the program. Your two anchors are the playbook and insights: you will help develop, document and continuously refine the 10-pillar transformation playbook, and you will turn field observations, partner data and research into clear insights that sharpen how the program is run. This is a high-learning, high-ownership role with significant field exposure - you should expect to travel regularly to program states and ITI clusters to see delivery first-hand and bring the ground back into the playbook.

The ideal candidate is early in their career but already strong at structured thinking, writing and analysis - someone energized by building something new in India's skilling ecosystem and comfortable moving between a desk in the PMU and a shop floor in an ITI.

Key Responsibilities:

• Playbook development: support the drafting, structuring and continuous refinement of the 10-pillar ITI transformation playbook - codifying interventions, SOPs and learning from the field into a clear, usable living document
• Insights and analysis: synthesise data, field notes and partner inputs into crisp insights, briefs and visuals that inform decisions by TLC leadership, state teams and implementation partners
• Field immersion and travel: travel regularly to program states and ITI clusters to observe delivery, gather ground realities, run structured field visits and feed observations back into the playbook and insights work
• Research and knowledge products: contribute to research on themes such as employability, apprenticeship / OJT integration and digital skilling, and help produce knowledge products that strengthen the model
• Monitoring support: support outcome and progress tracking through the tech-enabled M&E backbone - helping maintain ITI scorecards, cascaded reporting and the north-star EET metric
• Program management support: help plan and track milestones, prepare trackers and flag risks and delays so workstreams stay on schedule across both phases of the program
• Partner and stakeholder coordination: assist day-to-day coordination with lead implementation partners (Tata STRIVE, Medha, LAHI) and state teams, and help prepare materials for the Steering Committee, Advisory Board and funders

Ideal Candidate Profile:

• Around 1.5-3 years of experience in consulting, program management, research, or the skilling / education / development sector (strong recent graduates from relevant fields will also be considered)
• Structured problem-solving and first-principles thinking, with strong attention to detail and a bias for execution
• Excellent written and analytical skills - able to turn messy inputs into clear documents, insights and slides
• Comfort with data and basic monitoring / reporting; able to spot patterns and translate them into action
• Willingness and enthusiasm to travel frequently to program states and ITI clusters
• A self-starter who is eager to learn, takes ownership, and is passionate about skilling and creating employment impact at scale