Manager, Program Operations (Nagaland)

Keka Technologies Private Limited; Nagaland; On-site; INR 600,000 - 700,000; Full time

Job summary

Saturday Art Class (SArC) Kohima, Nagaland, seeks a Manager, Program Operations to lead government partnerships and program delivery across Nagaland. You will drive strategy, partnerships, and scale, coordinating with SCERT, Samagra Shiksha, and district offices while ensuring high-quality implementation.

You'll oversee multi-district education programs, build institutional ownership, manage budgets, logistics, and donor reporting, and mentor the Nagaland team to achieve sustainable impact in

Qualifications

• 5–7 years of experience in program management or development sectors.
• Experience managing government partnerships and working with education departments.
• Experience leading teams and multi-district programs.
• Strong understanding of Nagaland's education ecosystem is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic engagement with government stakeholders and education departments.
• Build and sustain long-term partnerships with government and civil society partners.
• Represent the organization in government reviews, planning meetings, and forums.
• Develop relationships with senior officials and ensure follow-up on commitments.
• Monitor policy shifts and adapt implementation strategies for continuity.
• Identify opportunities for program expansion and government ownership.
• Lead preparation of partnership reports and official communications.
• Oversee educator training, school implementation, and district events.
• Coordinate logistics, budgeting, procurement, and resource planning.
• Ensure data collection, monitoring, and donor reporting for programs.
• Mentor and develop the Nagaland team and collaborate cross-functionally.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Project management

Strategic thinking

Communication

Education

Graduate or postgraduate degree in Education or related field

Job description

At Saturday Art Class (SArC), we believe that every child deserves the tools to imagine, express, and grow. As a non-profit educational initiative, we embed visual arts and social-emotional learning (SEL) into the classrooms of India’s government and low-income schools—helping children discover their voices and build the skills they need to thrive in life.

Since 2016, SArC has co-created safe and creative spaces with over 90 partners across 13 states , enabling students to engage in art-based learning that nurtures empathy, resilience, and self-awareness. Our digital resources have empowered 1.12 million+ users across 7 countries , reinforcing our commitment to equitable access to creativity and emotional wellbeing.

SArC’s journey has been powered by educators, artists, learners, and changemakers who believe in the transformative power of art. Join us as we continue to make creativity a right, not a privilege- for every child, everywhere.

As the Manager, Program Operations (Nagaland) , you will lead Saturday Art Class's government partnerships and program implementation across Nagaland. You will be responsible for driving the successful execution, growth, and sustainability of state-level programs while strengthening relationships with government departments, schools, implementation partners, and local ecosystem organizations.

Beyond managing day-to-day implementation, you will develop long-term operational strategies, anticipate future opportunities and challenges, and build systems that enable sustainable scale. You will lead the Nagaland team, ensure high-quality implementation across districts, and contribute to organizational strategy through contextual insights, continuous learning, and strong cross-functional collaboration.

This role requires a strategic and execution-oriented leader who can navigate complex government systems, build trust with senior stakeholders, manage teams, and create sustainable pathways for institutional adoption of arts-based education.

Roles and responsibilities:

• Lead strategic engagement with SCERT, Samagra Shiksha, the Directorate of School Education, District Education Offices, school leaders, and other government stakeholders.
• Build, strengthen, and sustain long-term partnerships with government departments, implementation partners, civil society organizations, and ecosystem stakeholders.
• Represent Saturday Art Class in government reviews, consultations, planning meetings, workshops, and official forums.
• Develop trusted relationships with senior government officials while ensuring timely follow-up on commitments, approvals, and action points.
• Monitor shifts in government priorities, policies, leadership transitions, and education initiatives, adapting implementation strategies to sustain long-term partnerships and program continuity.
• Identify opportunities for program expansion, institutionalization, and deeper government ownership across Nagaland.
• Lead the preparation of government presentations, review documents, partnership reports, and official communication.

Program Strategy, Planning & Operational Leadership

• Own the end-to-end planning, implementation, and monitoring of all programs across Nagaland.
• Develop annual implementation plans, district rollout strategies, educator training calendars, operational roadmaps, and state-level implementation timelines.
• Work backwards from organizational and government priorities to translate strategic goals into actionable implementation plans.
• Develop and maintain a 1–3-year state implementation and partnership roadmap, identifying opportunities for scale, institutionalization, capacity building, and sustainable government ownership.
• Develop contingency plans and risk mitigation strategies to address operational, logistical, stakeholder, political, environmental, or contextual challenges that may impact implementation and to ensure continuity, quality, and timely delivery.
• Establish systems, trackers, review mechanisms, and operational processes that improve accountability and implementation efficiency.
• Drive operational excellence by identifying process improvements and strengthening systems based on implementation learnings.

Program Implementation & Quality Assurance

• Oversee educator training, school implementation, exhibitions, district events, and state-level engagements.
• Ensure operational readiness by coordinating logistics, training materials, stakeholder communication, budgeting, procurement, and resource planning.
• Serve as the primary operational liaison between the Nagaland team, government stakeholders, implementation partners, schools, and the central office.
• Conduct regular field visits to monitor implementation quality, strengthen stakeholder relationships, provide on-ground support, and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Ensure consistency and quality across districts while adapting implementation approaches to local contexts.
• Lead operational decision-making during implementation and ensure timely resolution of challenges.
• Oversee implementation monitoring systems and ensure timely collection of qualitative and quantitative data.
• Work closely with the Monitoring & Evaluation team to review implementation trends, measure program quality, and identify areas for improvement.
• Lead the preparation of donor reports, government reports, presentations, case studies, budgets, and learning documentation.
• Use implementation data, field insights, and stakeholder feedback to inform long-term planning, improve implementation strategies, and strengthen program sustainability.
• Document implementation learnings, best practices, and partnership progress to support organizational knowledge and future expansion.

Team Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Lead, mentor, and develop the Nagaland Program team, fostering a culture of ownership, collaboration, accountability, and continuous learning.
• Set team priorities, provide regular coaching and feedback, and support recruitment and onboarding of new team members as required.
• Collaborate closely with the Curriculum, Training, Partnerships, Monitoring & Evaluation, Finance, Operations, and Communications teams to ensure seamless program delivery and alignment with organizational priorities.
• Coordinate cross-functional planning, track shared deliverables, and ensure timely follow-up on key action points.
• Share implementation insights and stakeholder feedback to strengthen program design, operational systems, and government engagement strategies.
• Contribute to organizational planning, proposal development, budgeting, and strategic initiatives related to Nagaland.

Qualifications & Experience:

• Graduate or postgraduate degree in Education, Public Policy, Development Studies, Social Sciences, Management, or a related field.
• 5–7 years of experience in program management, government partnerships, education programs, or development sector implementation.
• Demonstrated experience managing government partnerships and working with state and district education departments.
• Experience leading teams and managing large-scale or multi-district education programs.
• Strong understanding of Nagaland's education ecosystem and government systems is highly desirable.
• Proven ability to independently manage multiple projects, stakeholders, and competing priorities.

Skills and Mindset:

• Strong leadership and people management skills with the ability to develop high-performing teams.
• Excellent relationship-building and stakeholder management skills with confidence in engaging senior government officials and institutional leaders.
• Strategic thinking with the ability to translate vision into implementation.
• Strong project management, planning, prioritization, and operational execution skills.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and documentation abilities.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making capabilities.
• Ability to anticipate risks, navigate ambiguity, and respond effectively in dynamic environments.
• High ownership, adaptability, attention to detail, and commitment to continuous improvement.
• Willingness to travel extensively across Nagaland.

Other Details:

Location: Kohima, Nagaland (Non-negotiable)

Compensation: 6 - 7 LPA

Reporting Manager: Krutika Khare, Chief Operations Officer.