District Lead – Programmes in Kolkata | Azad Foundation | ₹5.4-6 LPA

aikyam; Kolkata District; On-site; INR 45,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

Azad Foundation in Kolkata seeks a District Lead – Programmes to oversee four flagship initiatives in South Kolkata, ensuring quality, impact and budget adherence across teams. You will guide programme planning, monitoring and community outreach to empower women through non-traditional livelihoods.

The role focuses on driving gender equality campaigns, capacity-building, and placement outcomes, with hands-on leadership in a feminist organization committed to women’s empowerment at scale.

Qualifications

• Open to female candidates only, cis or trans.
• 5 years and above of work experience.
• Good knowledge of Hindi, English and Bangla.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Experience leading teams and coordinating diverse backgrounds.
• Ability to plan and track a budget and manage funds.
• Willingness to work onsite in South Kolkata.
• Senior role overseeing four programmes and teams.

Responsibilities

• Oversee all four programmes in South Kolkata.
• Guide programme teams to achieve objectives, plans and budgets.
• Manage and optimise programme budgets.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen programme delivery.
• Coordinate capacity-building for team members.
• Plan gender equality campaigns and community outreach.
• Develop information and communication materials for programmes.
• Facilitate monthly meetings and quarterly reviews.
• Ensure training centres run professionally and learning-oriented.
• Lead diverse teams with openness to new learning.
• Manage Women with Wheels from enrolment to employment and liaising with employers.
• Meet placement targets for 2-wheeler and 4-wheeler roles.

Skills

Program management

Team leadership

Budget management

Community outreach

Employer liaison

Education

Graduate or postgraduate degree in social work, sociology, gender studies, political science or development studies

Job description

District Lead - Programmes in Kolkata | Azad Foundation | ₹5.4-6 LPA

Azad Foundation is a professional feminist organisation that works across social and religious divides so that women with few resources can empower themselves. It does this by opening up non-traditional livelihoods, such as training women to become professional drivers, and by running capacity-building programmes built on adult learning principles that build both the self and the skill. Azad is committed to breaking patriarchal boundaries and structures so that women can take control of their own lives and live with dignity. It works with both women and men in their communities to create a safe and supportive space for change. Azad runs its own centres in Jaipur, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata, and partners with organisations in Indore, Bhubaneshwar, Ahmedabad and Lucknow. This role sits within Azad's Kolkata programmes team, which delivers the organisation's four flagship programmes across the district.

Role

The District Lead – Programmes will oversee how Azad's key programmes run in South Kolkata: Women with Wheels, Feminist Leadership, Azad Kishori, and Men for Gender Justice. The person in this role holds the quality and the impact of all four, guiding the teams behind them, watching the budgets, and making sure the work stays true to Azad's goals. A large part of the job is seeing the Women with Wheels journey through, from a woman enrolling in the programme to her earning a living as a driver.

Responsibilities

• Lead the implementation of all of Azad's programmes in South Kolkata.
• Guide the four programme teams in planning and running their work to the agreed objectives, plans and budgets, and hold the quality of every programme.
• Manage, analyse and optimise the use of the budget.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen how programmes are carried out.
• Identify the capacity-building needs of the team and arrange the training they need.
• Plan and organise gender equality campaigns that encourage women in the community to take up non-traditional livelihoods, and take part in campaigns run by other organisations on the same issues.
• Oversee the development of the information and communication material needed for the programmes.
• Facilitate monthly meetings and quarterly programme reviews, and present the learning from them to the leadership.
• Make sure every training programme at the centre runs in a professional and learning-oriented atmosphere.
• Hold teams of diverse people with flexibility and an openness to new learning.
• Manage the Women with Wheels journey from enrolment to employment, including reaching marginalised communities, running the training, and working with the market to place women in jobs.
• Meet placement targets for both 2-wheeler and 4-wheeler roles, coordinate with the placement team to retain existing clients and bring in new ones, and follow up with drivers, chauffeurs and riders on the job to arrange refresher courses so they stay employed.

Requirements

• Graduate or postgraduate degree in social work, sociology, gender studies, political science or development studies.
• 5 years and above of work experience.
• Open to female candidates only, cis or trans.
• Candidates from all marginalised communities are encouraged to apply.
• Good knowledge of Hindi, English and Bangla.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Experience leading teams and holding people of different backgrounds together.
• Ability to plan and track a budget and make good use of the money available.
• Comfort working directly with women from marginalised communities.
• Confidence in dealing with employers and clients to place women in driving jobs.
• Willingness to work onsite in South Kolkata.
• A senior role with charge of four programmes and the teams behind them.
• Work in a feminist organisation that has been opening non-traditional livelihoods to women for years.
• See the change first-hand, from a woman's first day of training to her first day at work.
• Monthly compensation of ₹45,000 to ₹50,000.

Programme management Team leadership Budget management Community outreach Placement and employer liaison