Program Lead – Human Capital Development The Convergence Foundation (TCF)

Theconvergencefoundation; New Delhi; On-site; INR 1,800,000 - 3,000,000; Full time

Job summary

The Convergence Foundation invites applications for a Program Lead to anchor Human Capital Development initiatives, diagnosing opportunities and shaping hypotheses with senior leadership. You will coordinate with external stakeholders to drive projects to completion with urgency and ownership.

This role suits someone who thrives in a start-up environment, requires minimal hand-holding, and cares about human capital development in solving India's development challenges.

Qualifications

• Strong analytical and structured problem-solving abilities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Exceptional project management skills with ability to drive workstreams independently.
• High degree of intellectual curiosity and comfort working with ambiguity.
• Familiarity with India's education or human capital landscape is desirable but not required.

Responsibilities

• Identify high-leverage opportunities across the human capital ecosystem (Early Childhood to Higher Education).
• Conduct landscape analyses, develop hypotheses and translate research into actionable recommendations.
• Build investment cases and strategic roadmaps for new initiatives and institutions.
• Identify and evaluate high-potential SSOs, entrepreneurs and partners aligned with TCF's priorities.
• Explore partnerships, incubations and institution-building opportunities.
• Support portfolio organisations to advance strategic priorities and growth.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Communication skills

Project management

Ambiguity tolerance

Stakeholder management

Education

Undergraduate or postgraduate degree

Job description

About The Convergence Foundation and TCF Network

The Convergence Foundation (TCF) is an Indian philanthropic foundation dedicated to catalysing rapid and sustained economic growth to enhance the lives of all Indians. Established by Ashish and Manisha Dhawan in April 2021, TCF builds on their legacy of impactful philanthropy, including the founding of transformative institutions like Ashoka University and the Central Square Foundation.

Our mission is clear: to transform the lives of all Indians through rapid, sustained, and inclusive economic growth. To achieve this, we focus on seven key program areas that influence job creation, human capital development through education and skilling, and strengthening state capacity to deliver outcomes.

In each area, TCF works on:

• Building pioneering institutions to address India's most complex socio-economic challenges.
• Shaping the larger ecosystem and sharing knowledge, insights and learning with other philanthropists, governments and key stakeholders

We believe that the government is the key actor for system change, and the role of philanthropy is to strategically support the government.

The TCF Network includes 20 organisations, each committed to addressing specific areas of India's socio-economic development, from school education and governance to women's economic empowerment and export competitiveness.

Position Summary

We are looking to hire an exceptional Program Lead (PL) to anchor our efforts in the area of Human Capital Development by providing strategic and operational support to various projects.

This would involve working with the senior leadership of The Convergence Foundation in diagnosing opportunities and developing hypotheses. The PL would also work with external stakeholders to drive these projects to completion with a strong sense of urgency and ownership. The role may also include providing support to organisations or projects in particular issue areas.

This is a great opportunity for those who enjoy working in a start-up environment, thrive with minimal hand-holding and care deeply about the importance of human capital development in solving key development challenges in India.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy & Opportunity Identification

• Identify high-leverage opportunities that can create systemic improvements across the human capital ecosystem (from Early Childhood Education to Higher Education)
• Conduct landscape analyses, develop hypotheses and translate research into actionable recommendations
• Build investment cases and strategic roadmaps for new initiatives and institutions
• Identify and evaluate high-potential System Support Organisations (SSOs), entrepreneurs and other partners aligned with TCF's strategic priorities.
• Explore and shape new partnerships, incubations and institution-building opportunities.
• Work closely with portfolio organisations to support their strategic priorities, organisational development and long-term growth.

Government Engagement

• Support central and state governments on high-priority reforms in education through policy design, technical assistance, programme management and implementation support.
• Work closely with partner organisations and government stakeholders to strengthen the design, execution and scale-up of large-scale reforms.

Evidence Building & Public Goods

• Support the design and synthesis of research, pilots and evaluations to strengthen evidence for policy and practice.
• Develop public goods including reports, playbooks, implementation toolkits, data platforms and other knowledge products that enable adoption at scale.
• Capture and codify implementation learnings to strengthen the broader ecosystem.
• Identify opportunities for collaboration across TCF's portfolio organisations and the broader ecosystem.
• Convene governments, funders, researchers, practitioners and partner organisations to drive cross-learning and collective action.
• Foster partnerships that strengthen the human capital ecosystem and accelerate impact.

Narrative Building

• Support thought leadership through reports, convenings, op-eds, videos and other strategic communications.
• Build salience around key human capital priorities and establish TCF as a trusted thought partner within the ecosystem.

Required Qualifications

• Undergraduate or postgraduate degree from a top-tier institution
• 6-8 years of experience in consulting, venture building, public policy, philanthropy, startups or another high-performance environment
• Strong analytical and structured problem-solving skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate complex ideas clearly and concisely
• Exceptional project management skills and ability to independently drive workstreams
• High degree of intellectual curiosity and comfort working with ambiguity
• Familiarity with India's education or human capital landscape is desirable but not required

Desired Qualities

• Entrepreneurial mindset with a strong bias for action and the ability to independently drive work from ideation to execution.
• Strong problem-solving skills and sound judgement, with the ability to navigate ambiguity, identify leverage points and develop practical, high-impact, systemic solutions
• Excellent research and synthesis skills, with the ability to distil complex information into clear, structured and actionable insights.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, evolving environment, with the flexibility to adapt quickly as priorities change.
• Strong interpersonal and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships across governments, nonprofits, philanthropy and the broader ecosystem.
• Collaborative working style and ability to work effectively across teams and organisations.
• High degree of ownership, accountability and attention to detail, coupled with a commitment to delivering high-quality work.

Compensation

Remuneration will be competitive with Indian philanthropy pay scales and will depend upon the candidate's experience.