Program Director

The Convergence Foundation; New Delhi; On-site; INR 3,500,000 - 7,000,000; Full time

Job summary

The Livelihood Collective (TLC) seeks an experienced Program Director to head the Program Management Unit (PMU) and drive ITI transformation across Maharashtra, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh. You will lead the lean central unit, set strategy, build the playbook and tech backbone, engage government at the highest levels, and hold the program accountable for outcomes.

You will manage the Steering Committee's relationship, steward funder confidence, and guide state teams and partners (Medha, LAHI, Tata

Qualifications

• Proven track record leading large programs or NGOs in development or skilling.
• Strong ability to coordinate across government, funders and partners.
• Experience in outcome orientation, data-informed decisions and reporting.

Responsibilities

• Head the TLC PMU and set strategy, structure the team and ensure delivery across states and clusters.
• Interface with Steering Committee and Advisory Board; manage funder relations and stakeholder expectations.
• Engage senior government stakeholders; secure policy alignment and institutional buy‑in for the program.
• Provide domain leadership on ITI transformation, with a 10-pillar playbook approach and continuous refinement.
• Oversee partners and state teams; monitor outcomes and ensure accountability per cluster.
• Direct the tech-enabled M&E backbone and ensure the Education/Employment/Training metrics are cascaded.
• Oversee program finances, budgets and funder utilization for an ~₹80 crore program.
• Represent TLC externally to build partnerships and credibility across government, industry and philanthropy.

Skills

Program leadership

Stakeholder management

M&E and data

Financial oversight

Team leadership

Job description

The Livelihood Collective (TLC) – ITI Transformation Roadmap

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced, mission-driven leader to head the Project Management Unit (PMU) of The Livelihood Collective (TLC) – a multi-funder collaborative working to transform India's Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) from qualification factories into employment engines. TLC brings together funders, government and implementation partners behind a single goal: better employment outcomes for every ITI graduate. TLC will prove and codify a 10-pillar transformation playbook across 8 clusters and ~120 ITIs in three states – Maharashtra, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh, reaching ~1.1 lakh youth before scaling nationally.

As Program Director, you will be the single-point leader of the TLC PMU – the lean central unit that sets strategy, builds the playbook and tech backbone, engages government at the highest levels, and holds the whole program accountable for outcomes. You will own the relationship with the Steering Committee and Advisory Board, steward the confidence of a multi-funder collaborative, and drive delivery across state teams and lead implementation partners (Medha, LAHI, Tata STRIVE and others). This is a rare opportunity to build a national skilling model from the ground up and to convert a codified model into system-level, sustainable change.

Responsibilities

• Lead and build the TLC PMU – set direction, structure the team, and hold overall accountability for program design, delivery and outcomes across all three states and eight clusters
• Serve as TLC's primary interface with the Steering Committee and Advisory Board – shaping strategy, reporting on outcomes, and stewarding the confidence of a multi-funder collaborative
• Work alongside senior TCF and STEP leadership to engage with senior government stakeholders at central and state level – securing policy alignment, institutional buy-in and the access that clusters need to deliver, aligned with PM-SETU and MSDE priorities.
• Provide domain leadership on ITI transformation and the 10-pillar playbook – bringing skilling and workforce-development expertise to design choices and the continuous refinement of the model across both phases
• Oversee lead implementation partners and state teams – setting outcome expectations, resolving escalations, and ensuring single-point accountability per cluster
• Direct the tech-enabled M&E backbone and outcome governance – ensuring the north-star EET (Education, Employment or Training) metric and cascaded accountability from PMU to ITI drive every decision
• Own program financial oversight, budgets and funder utilisation across an ~₹80 crore program
• Represent TLC externally – building the collaborative's brand, partnerships and credibility across government, industry, philanthropy and the wider skilling ecosystem

Qualifications

• Around 10-15 years of experience across program leadership, skilling / education / development, government engagement or management consulting – including significant time leading teams and large programs
• Working knowledge of India's skilling and workforce-development landscape (ITIs, apprenticeships, employability, and the NSQF / MSDE ecosystem is a strong plus)
• Proven ability to build and lead high-performing teams and to manage delivery through partners at scale
• Strong program-management and outcome orientation, comfortable with data, M&E and financial oversight
• Excellent senior stakeholder management – able to command the confidence of funders, government leaders and sector experts alike
• Entrepreneurial, first-principles operator comfortable building an institution from zero to one
• Willingness to travel across program states as needed
• Deep commitment to creating employment and livelihood impact at scale