Director- Programs

Leadership For Equity; Pune District; Hybrid; INR 3,200,000 - 3,400,000; Full time

Job summary

Leadership For Equity is a Pune-based nonprofit partnering with state and district governments to strengthen public education systems. The role leads Future Literacy initiatives, designing programs, theories of change, and coordinating with government partners across several states in India.

The position is hybrid from Pune, with travel to rural areas; compensation is 32-34 lakh INR per year, commensurate with experience. Strong leadership, policy, and data-driven implementation are essential.

Qualifications

• 15–16 years of relevant experience, with at least 5 years leading large-scale education or government-linked programs.
• Master’s in Education, Public Policy, Management or a related field.
• Excellent written and spoken English; working knowledge of Hindi or Marathi preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead program design for Future Literacy initiatives across 3–4 states.
• Build theories of change and design inputs (curriculum, training, assessment).
• Coordinate with government partners and donors; report progress and outcomes.

Skills

Educational leadership

Proposal writing

Planning

Excel & Google Suite

Education

Master’s degree

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Google Suite

Job description

LFE is a Pune-based non-profit working with state and district governments in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and other states, to strengthen India's public education system. We do not run schools. We build the capacity of the system that does. through teachers and academic leaders.

Our programs span Foundational Learning (Grades 1-5, adoption of proven FLN pedagogies) and Future Learning (middle and secondary, computational thinking and 21st-century competencies). We work through three levers: co-creating curricular resources and teacher capacity, developing academic leadership that coaches and mentors teachers, and providing data-driven advisory to government.

Approach

LFE’s systems-change approach focuses on improving classroom practice and enabling government ownership through three core levers:

• Co-creating high-quality curricular resources and building teacher capacity
• Developing academic leadership to coach and mentor teachers
• Providing data-driven advisory support and policy implementation guidance

Our model empowers teachers as instructional leaders and embeds long-term support through government-run mentor cadres, continuous classroom observation cycles, and in-system academic structures. Technology plays a critical role, including an in-house Classroom Observation App for real-time monitoring and a WhatsApp-based teacher support chatbot for contextual resource delivery.

The approach is iterative and context-responsive, grounded in classroom realities and tailored to state and district needs. Implementation varies across geographies, whether working directly with teachers or through government-appointed mentors, ensuring relevance and feasibility within existing structures. A continuous feedback loop of training, observation, and coaching moves beyond one-time interventions toward sustained practice change. All programs are co-designed and co-implemented with government partners to ensure scale, sustainability, and systemic ownership, ultimately leading to improved student learning outcomes in foundational and future literacy.

Roles and Responsibilities

This role leads LFE's Future Literacy Initiatives: programs that build computational thinking, digital literacy and 21st-century skills in government middle and secondary schools. You will design these programs, explain why they work, and run them with state governments in three to four states.

Reporting and Team Leadership

• Reports to: Sr. Director Programs
• Direct reports (indicative): Associate Director, Sr. Managers, Program Managers, Associates and District Coordinators working with government partners.
• Dotted-line collaboration: MEL, Research, Strategy, Partnerships and HR teams.

What we are weighting most

Four signals matter more to us than any single line on a CV. Please read these first.

Deep expertise in future literacy : You know computational thinking, digital and AI literacy, and 21st-century skills well. You know what good learning in these areas looks like in a classroom, and what teachers need to get there.

Builds and explains theories of change : You have written a program theory of change yourself, and can explain it clearly to government, donors and your team. You choose program inputs (curriculum, training, assessment) based on evidence of what works.

Brings content and operations together : You can see how a lesson plan becomes a training calendar, a monitoring indicator and a district review. You keep content and field teams working as one, so design holds up in delivery.

Runs programs at scale with government : You have delivered programs across several states or many districts in partnership with government. You are comfortable working with senior officials and moving work through public systems.

Where the time goes

Program design & theory of change (30%)

• Create and update the theory of change for each Future Literacy program, and co-design interventions with government leadership.
• Design evidence-based program inputs: curriculum, teacher training, classroom resources and assessment.
• Write the program design sections of new proposals and concept notes.
• Lead implementation across three to four states, with annual plans, budgets, milestones and risk plans.
• Build strong working relationships with state and district officials, and represent LFE in joint reviews and steering committees.
• Act as the main program contact for key donors: updates, field visits and timely reporting.

Linking content & operations (20%)

• Make sure content, training, field operations and monitoring follow one plan.
• Protect the core design in every state while allowing changes for local context.
• Use field data and reviews to fix problems quickly and improve design and delivery.

Team leadership (15%)

• Lead and coach Program Managers, Associates and District Coordinators.
• Build a team culture of learning, ownership and accountability, with regular reviews.
• Find skill gaps and help team members grow into leadership roles.

Evidence, learning & documentation (10%)

• Work with the MEL team on clear outcome indicators, and lead quarterly reflection sessions with teams and government.
• Guide documentation of program models, lessons and case studies, and share learning across states.

What You Bring:

• 15–16 years of relevant experience, with at least 5 years leading large-scale education or government-linked programs. Direct work with public systems is essential.
• A Master’s in Education, Public Policy, Management or a related field. Knowledge of teacher professional development and government delivery systems.
• Excellent written and spoken English; working knowledge of Hindi or Marathi preferred. Strong in planning, proposal writing, presentations, Excel, PowerPoint and Google Suite.

Location and Compensation

Location : Hybrid, Pune HQ Frequent travel to rural areas across the country.

Compensation : Apart from being a part of a young and dynamic learning team, the individual will receive a healthy compensation at par with the non‑profit sector benchmark for this position, commensurate with the individual’s prior experience and qualifications. The current compensation band offered, based on fit and experience, is 32-34 lakh INR per annum CTC.

Leadership For Equity is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Prohibits Discrimination and Harassment of Any Kind. We do not discriminate on the basis of caste, race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other non-merit factor.