Program Coordinator – Livelihoods - INDIA

BRAC USA; Delhi; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 1,600,000; Full time

Job summary

BRAC International, through the UPGI India Office, seeks a Program Coordinator - Livelihoods based in New Delhi. You will strengthen design, implementation and quality of livelihood interventions for extremely vulnerable households, collaborating with state teams, government counterparts, and partners.

You will lead training design and capacity-building efforts for SAY and related programmes, develop tools and learning resources, and travel regularly across programme states to translate field

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Development Studies, Rural Management, Agriculture, Forestry, Economics, Agribusiness, Social Sciences, Public Policy, Livelihoods, Entrepreneurship or related field.
• 7–10 years of relevant experience in livelihoods, rural development or poverty reduction.
• Demonstrated experience in designing or supporting livelihoods interventions and capacity-building programmes.
• Experience working with government ministries and large-scale development programmes is desirable.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, with fluency in Hindi and/or a regional language.

Responsibilities

• Train and build capacity of state and government teams on livelihoods within graduation programmes.
• Design and deliver national and state-level livelihoods training and capacity-building programmes.
• Develop training plans, facilitator guides and learning resources.
• Identify technical gaps and support targeted capacity-building responses.
• Facilitate cross-state learning and knowledge-sharing on livelihood approaches.
• Translate field learning into practical programme tools and guidance.

Skills

Training design

facilitation

Capacity-building

Analytical skills

Written & verbal communication

Travel readiness

English proficiency

Hindi language

Education

Advanced degree in Development Studies / Rural Management

Job description

BRAC is an award-winning international non-governmental development organization, with the vision of a world free from all forms of exploitation and discrimination, where everyone has the opportunity to realise their potential. BRAC is a leader in developing and implementing cost-effective, evidence-based programmes to assist poor and disadvantaged communities in low-income countries, including in conflict-prone and post-disaster settings. It is an organisation of and for the people of the Global South, pioneering new development and social enterprise approaches to equip communities to achieve prosperity. As well as being the world's biggest NGO by the number of staff and people directly reached, BRAC has regularly been ranked the number one NGO in the world by the Geneva-based NGO Advisor, an independent organisation committed to highlighting innovation, impact, and governance in the non-profit sector. BRAC retained the top spot in 2020 among the top 500 NGOs for the fifth consecutive year.
BRAC was founded in Bangladesh in 1972 and over the last five decades has grown to become one of the world’s largest non-governmental organisations (NGOs), reaching over 100 million people. We started our first international operation by venturing into Afghanistan in 2002, building on lessons from our work in Bangladesh to support a nation devastated by war. Currently operating in 16 countries across Asia and Africa. Born, proven and led in the Global South, BRAC International brings a unique Southern perspective and commitment to continuous learning, providing a depth of insight, experience and evidence to meet the needs of diverse communities with humility and courage across Asia and Africa.
To learn more about BRAC International, please visit (www.bracinternational.org).

About The Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative

The Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative (UPGI) is a flagship programme of BRAC International at the global level that seeks to advance the use of proven Graduation approaches by governments at scale to address extreme poverty. UPGI primarily works with a range of global and national partners to pursue this mission. Focal countries include, but are not limited to, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Rwanda, and South Africa.

• Advocating for uptake of the Graduation approach by policymakers, national governments, multilateral institutions, and non-governmental organisations; and
• Effective adaptation and implementation of the Graduation approach in countries around the world, supported through technical assistance and capacity strengthening for external stakeholders.

In 2002, BRAC pioneered the Ultra-Poor Graduation ("Graduation") approach in Bangladesh - a sequenced, two-year investment that enables people to create lasting pathways out of extreme poverty - after recognising that existing programmes were not reaching the poorest people. Through the provision of a productive asset, basic needs support, and ongoing coaching, the Graduation approach tackles multiple constraints at once and achieves lasting impact.

Graduation has been adapted and implemented across a wide variety of contexts and countries, with dozens of rigorous evaluations documenting its effectiveness at achieving broad and lasting impact, as well as returns that greatly outweigh the costs. So far, a total of 6.7 million households have been reached by Graduation programs, more than 2 million of which BRAC reached through its flagship Graduation programme in Bangladesh.

To help eradicate extreme poverty, BRAC UPGI is working with governments across Africa and Asia to scale Graduation by integrating it into existing government programmes. Alongside governments, BRAC aims to equip 21 million more people to lift themselves from extreme poverty by 2030.

BRAC UPGI is committed to creating effective solutions that leverage the available resources and existing programming to achieve the long-term benefits demonstrated by the Graduation approach. The organization is partnering with governments, as well as multilateral institutions, NGOs, and civil society, in countries where BRAC UPGI thinks it can have maximum impact and drive greater uptake for Graduation.

About BRAC International’s Work In India

The National Rural Livelihood Promotion Society under the Ministry of Rural Development has signed an MoU with BRAC International, formalising a shared commitment to promote holistic economic inclusion and social protection for people living in extreme poverty, particularly women. The MoU envisions a focused strategy to reach the poorest and most excluded households through a time-bound investment in the Graduation approach, enabling more inclusive and sustainable livelihoods across rural India.

The partnership positions BRAC International as a strategic orchestrator, demonstrating how targeted interventions can reach extremely vulnerable groups while generating evidence for scale across State Rural Livelihood Missions (SRLMs). In this role, BRAC is not only providing technical assistance for the implementation of the Samaveshi Aajeevika Yojana (SAY) but also convening stakeholders, aligning systems, and enabling coordinated action across levels. Through its partner agencies, BRAC International has established Project Management Units (PMUs) at national and state levels to support the government in co-designing approaches and ensuring strong strategic guidance alongside effective implementation support.

The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) has allocated the following states to BRAC International: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttarakhand.

About The Position

The BRAC UPGI seeks to hire a Program Coordinator - Livelihoods for the BRAC UPGI India Office. Reporting to the Program Advisor - Livelihoods, the Program Coordinator - Livelihoods will work closely with the UPGI India team, state teams, government counterparts, implementation partners, and technical organisations to strengthen the design, implementation, and quality of livelihood interventions for extremely vulnerable households.

The position will provide technical and programme support to strengthen livelihood approaches within the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India’s Samaveshi Aajeevika Yojana (SAY) or similar government-led Graduation programmes, with a particular focus on livelihoods training and capacity building, market assessments, value-chain analysis, livelihood diversification, and innovative livelihood opportunities for extremely vulnerable households. The role will also support the Program Advisor - Livelihoods in translating programme strategy and technical learning into practical tools, training, guidance, and implementation support for national, state, and field teams.

The role requires comfort working in ambiguous and evolving environments, where solutions need to be developed and refined iteratively. The Program Coordinator - Livelihoods will contribute to a culture of continuous learning, documentation, and knowledge sharing, ensuring that field insights and evidence inform ongoing programme improvements and broader replication. This position offers an excellent opportunity for a mid- to senior-level professional to gain hands‑on experience in Graduation programme design, government engagement, programme implementation, and knowledge management.

This is a full-time position based in New Delhi, India, with regular travel across SAY programme states, including remote and field locations. Regular in-person office hours are expected.

Primary Responsibilities

• Training and Capacity Building
• Support the Program Advisor - Livelihoods in strengthening the technical capacity of state and government teams on livelihoods within graduation programmes.
• Support the design and delivery of national and state-level Livelihoods training and capacity‑building programmes, including ToTs and technical trainings.
• Develop and adapt training plans, session plans, facilitator guides, presentations, tools, and other technical learning resources.
• Identify technical and capacity gaps between state and field teams and support the development of targeted capacity‑building responses.
• Facilitate cross‑state learning and knowledge‑sharing on livelihood approaches, implementation challenges, and innovations.
• Support post‑training follow‑up to assess application of learning and identify areas requiring further technical assistance.
• Livelihood Innovations and Diversification
• Partner with state teams in identifying, assessing, and testing innovative and emerging livelihood opportunities suitable for extremely vulnerable households.
• Scan for promising livelihood models and economic opportunities beyond conventional livestock and non‑farm interventions.
• Assess potential livelihood models based on investment requirements, market demand, income potential, gestation period, risks, seasonality, household suitability, and scalability.
• Support the design, testing, and refinement of livelihood prototypes and diversification approaches.
• Document evidence and learning from innovative livelihood pilots and support decisions on adaptation and scale‑up.
• Market Assessment and Value‑Chain Development
• Develop frameworks, tools, and approaches to support state teams in market assessment and value‑chain analysis to inform livelihood planning.
• Facilitate state teams to identify viable market opportunities and explore market linkages, aggregation, processing and value addition for extremely vulnerable households.
• Support the development of practical approaches for market linkages, aggregation, processing, value addition and improved access to buyers and service providers.
• Facilitate the design and testing of selected market‑linkage and value‑addition pilots in partnership with state teams, private‑sector actors, buyers, aggregators and other relevant stakeholders.
• Document learning from pilots and translate successful approaches into replicable models, guidance and tools for wider adoption by state teams.
• Engaging with private sector partners to strengthen market linkages
• Mapping key actors across the identified livelihood value chain, including producers, processors, traders, and buyers, and identifying gaps in production, processing, market access, and logistics.
• Identifying opportunities to increase value addition and income for SAY programme participants.
• Supporting development of scalable models across identified livelihood value chains.
• Knowledge Management, Learning and Evidence
• Document learning, emerging practices and implementation insights from state programmes, pilots and field experience.
• Support development of practical livelihood knowledge products, including technical notes, advisories, case studies, learning briefs, tools and training resources.
• Capture and synthesise learning from market and value‑chain pilots, livelihood innovations and state‑level implementation to inform programme adaptation.
• Translate field learning and evidence into practical recommendations, frameworks and tools that can be adopted by state teams.
• Conceptualise and organise internal learning events, peer‑learning sessions, workshops and technical discussions to facilitate cross‑state learning on livelihood programs.
• Cross‑cutting Responsibilities
• Build and maintain effective working relationships with government counterparts, state teams, implementation partners, technical agencies and other key stakeholders.
• Perform other duties assigned by the Country Lead or Program Advisor - Livelihoods and contribute to a positive and collaborative team environment.
• Safeguarding Responsibilities
• Ensure the safety of team members from any harm, abuse, neglect, harassment, and exploitation to achieve the program’s goals of safeguarding implementation
• Practice, promote, and endorse the issues of safeguarding policy among team members and ensure the implementation of safeguarding standards in every course of action
• Follow the safeguarding reporting procedure in case any reportable incident takes place, and encourage others to do so.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Development Studies, Rural Management, Agriculture, Forestry, Economics, Agribusiness, Social Sciences, Public Policy, Livelihoods, Entrepreneurship, or another relevant field.
• 7-10 years of relevant experience in livelihoods, rural development, poverty reduction, agriculture, market systems, enterprise development, skills or related development programmes.
• Demonstrated experience in designing or supporting livelihoods interventions and capacity‑building programmes for rural and tribal communities.
• Experience in market assessment, value‑chain analysis, livelihood diversification or enterprise development is highly desirable.
• Experience working with extremely poor or vulnerable households is an advantage.
• Experience working with government ministries and agencies, DAY-NRLM/SRLMs, or similar large‑scale development programmes is desirable.
• Experience working with community institutions, producer organisations, or value chains is desirable.
• Experience working with implementation partners, technical consultants, or development organisations.
• Strong training design, facilitation, and capacity‑building skills.
• Strong analytical, writing, and communication skills.
• Ability to translate technical concepts and evidence into practical programme tools and recommendations for use by field teams.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently on assigned workstreams while collaborating effectively with multidisciplinary teams.
• Willingness to travel regularly to programme states and remote field locations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, with fluency in Hindi and/or a relevant regional language.

Qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply.