Consultant – Strategic Initiatives & Education

Teach For India; Pune District; On-site; INR 1,800,000 - 2,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Teach For India invites a Consultant - Strategic Initiatives & Education to shape education priorities with Pune Municipal Corporation. The role blends strategy with execution, driving priority initiatives, coordinating government and ecosystem partnerships, and ensuring timely action.

You will work with senior municipal leadership to translate plans into measurable outcomes for thousands of children. The position emphasizes governance, cross-sector collaboration, and disciplined project

Qualifications

• 5-7 years of professional experience in programme management, government partnerships, public policy, education, consulting, or strategic operations.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex projects and working with multiple stakeholders.
• Familiarity with education systems or municipal governance is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Coordination & Education Prioritisation: identify and advance priority initiatives within the Education Department.
• Surface priorities, bottlenecks, and decisions needing leadership attention.
• Translate strategy into actionable plans, timelines, and accountability mechanisms.
• Drive coordination and execution of priority education initiatives from planning to reviews.
• Maintain project trackers and ensure timely follow-through on commitments.
• Identify delays and coordinate with stakeholders to resolve them.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Execution & ownership

Stakeholder management

Communication & judgment

Education

Bachelor's degree

Postgraduate qualifications advantageous

Job description

Consultant - Strategic Initiatives & Education

Pune

Working at Teach For India

Teach For India is on a journey to reach an India free of poverty and filled with love by ending educational inequity in our country. Fifteen years into our journey we are a movement of ~5000+ Alumni working at all levels of the education system, who are reaching 1 in 10 children across the country. These Alumni have graduated from our two-year Fellowship Program where they taught in under-resourced classrooms to put ~33,500 low-income children on a different life path. Today, we have ~1000 Fellows and are the largest pipeline of driven, skilled talent into the educational ecosystem in India.Over 16,000 Teach For India students have appeared for the 10th grade board examinations till date, with an impressive 95% pass rate across cities as of November 2024.

In 2022, we embarked on Phase 4, our fourth strategic phase. We have a bold and ambitious ten-year journey ahead of us that aims to grow 50,000 leaders, who will work collectively, and with love, to transform the lives of 1 in 10 low-income children in our regions, through an education that unleashes the potential of self, others and India. In this decade, five key priorities will lead us to this vision.

• Strengthen our core Fellowship to build strong teacher leaders who provide an excellent and equitable education to our children and continue to do so beyond the Fellowship
• Scale our impact by strategically introducing additional Fellowships as alternative pathways for leadership development
• Match the Alumni of our programs at an intersection of their interests and the needs of the system and our children
• Advocate for key issues that impact educational equity, and engage 3.5% of the population in the movement for educational equity
• Act collectively with our Alumni to learn about and address key issues in our regions.

Our work will only be completed when we have built a movement of leaders that is large enough to ensure that every child in India attains an excellent education.

We pride ourselves as being a passionate, idealistic, mission-driven team of individuals. We're committed to learning and excellence in our roles, and to being deeply rooted in our core values.

What Teach For India Can Offer You

• The opportunity to be part of one of the most established and visionary movements in the education sector in India which is at a pivotal point in terms of expanding its scale and outreach across the nation and working with changemakers across the country.
• A challenging yet flexible workplace in which every individual employee’s Staff journey is tracked for excellence and leadership development.
• A work environment in which employees’ holistic well-being is a core priority, enabling people to be their best selves.
• Access to connections and resources from the global Teach For All network that includes partner organizations spanning 50+ countries across 6 continents.
• Remuneration that is competitive within the top quartile of the Indian NGO pay scales, and a benefits package that includes extensive medical insurance and maternity coverage for both parents.

Position Summary

Location: Pune, Maharashtra (Working from the PMC office)

Role Type: Full-time consultancy

About the Opportunity

What does it take to turn an education priority into meaningful action within a large municipal system?

It requires more than good ideas. It takes the ability to navigate complex systems, bring people together, facilitate decisions, and ensure that commitments translate into action.

Pune Municipal Corporation plays a critical role in shaping educational opportunities for more than 250 schools and serving thousands of children across the city. With multiple departments and competing priorities, ensuring sustained attention to education requires strategic thinking, strong coordination, and disciplined execution.

We are looking for an experienced, resourceful, and highly driven professional to work closely with the Additional Municipal Commissioner, Pune Municipal Corporation, who oversees the Education Department alongside other municipal portfolios.

The consultant will serve as a strategic coordination and execution partner, helping advance priority education initiatives, strengthen government and ecosystem partnerships, and enable timely decision-making.

The central mandate is to ensure that education priorities receive the attention, coordination, and follow-through needed to translate into meaningful action.

Why This Role Matters

This is a unique opportunity to work at the intersection of education, public administration, and systems change, with direct exposure to senior municipal leadership. Through consistent, thoughtful action, following through on key decisions, unlocking delayed approvals, and bringing partnerships to life, you will help advance education priorities, strengthen collaboration between government and civil society, and contribute to meaningful improvements in Pune’s public education system.

We are looking for someone who can move seamlessly between strategy and execution, build trust across diverse stakeholders, and find purpose in making public systems work better for children.

Responsibilities

1. Strategic Coordination & Education Prioritisation

• Work closely with the Additional Municipal Commissioner to identify, organise, and advance priority initiatives within the Education Department.
• Proactively surface emerging priorities, implementation bottlenecks, and decisions requiring leadership attention.
• Translate strategic discussions into actionable plans, timelines, and accountability mechanisms.
• Drive coordination and execution of priority education initiatives, from planning and approvals to implementation and reviews.
• Maintain project trackers, monitor progress, and ensure timely follow-through on commitments.
• Identify delays and implementation challenges, working with relevant stakeholders to resolve them.

3. Government Coordination & Administrative Facilitation

• Coordinate with PMC departments and officials to facilitate proposals, file movement, permissions, and administrative approvals.
• Organise and prioritise meetings, prepare agendas and briefing notes, and track follow-up actions.
• Support effective communication and coordination between the Commissioner's office and relevant stakeholders.

4. Partnerships & Ecosystem Engagement

• Identify and assess potential NGO and education partners aligned with PMC's priorities.
• Facilitate partner discussions, assessments, and necessary approval processes.
• Support the development and coordination of partnerships that strengthen educational opportunities across Pune.
• Prepare concise briefs, presentations, progress updates, and recommendations to support leadership decisions.
• Anticipate upcoming priorities, critical follow-ups, and information requirements.
• Exercise sound judgement, discretion, and professionalism while working closely with senior government leadership.

Competencies and Abilities

• Strategic Thinking & Prioritisation: Ability to identify what matters most and translate priorities into action.
• Execution & Ownership: Strong project management skills, attention to detail, and ability to drive work independently.
• Stakeholder Management: Ability to build trust and navigate relationships with senior government officials and external partners.
• Communication & Judgement: Ability to synthesise information, communicate clearly, and navigate ambiguity with discretion

Minimum Qualifications, Experiences and Expectations

• 5-7 years of professional experience in programme management, government partnerships, public policy, education, consulting, or strategic operations.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex projects and working with multiple stakeholders.
• Experience working with government departments or senior leadership is strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with education systems or municipal governance is desirable.
• Bachelor's degree required; postgraduate qualifications are an advantage.
• Proficiency in Marathi and English is strongly preferred.