Program Lead - STEP Bihar (State)

Mantra Social Services; Patna; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 2,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Mantra Social Services seeks a State Program Lead to design, implement, and monitor two linked state workstreams in Bihar: the Project-Based Learning programme for Grades 6–8 and the Margdarshak academic-mentoring cadre for Grades 1–8, in partnership with SCERT, DPE, BEPC and DIETs. You will coordinate internal teams and government stakeholders to ensure field-level execution.

The role requires strong organisational skills and the ability to work with guidance from the Senior Program Lead and

Qualifications

• Must have a master s degree with 2-6 years of experience in leading educational design projects.
• Experience with PBL and teacher professional development is advantageous.
• Understanding of Bihar education policies such as NEP 2020 and PARAKH is preferred.
• Strong ability to coordinate with government stakeholders and CSOs.

Responsibilities

• Support the design, implementation, and monitoring of PBL for Grades 6–8 statewide.
• Support Margdarshak mentoring cadre for Grades 1–8 with mentor selection and reviews.
• Establish monthly state and district review structures using dashboards and data.
• Coordinate with SCERT, DPE, BEPC, DIETs and other partners for capacity building.
• Draft notes, proposals, and communications; maintain records of activities.

Skills

Communication skills (Hindi & English)

G-Suite tools

Canva

DIKSHA

Data dashboards

AI tools

Education

Master's degree

Job description

Job Summary

The State Program Lead will support the design, implementation, and monitoring of two connected state workstreams: the Project-Based Learning programme for Grades 6 to 8, and the Margdarshak academic-mentoring cadre for Grades 1 to 8, in partnership with SCERT, DPE, BEPC, and DIETs. The role involves coordinating internal teams and government stakeholders to ensure field-level execution, documentation, and review. The position requires strong organisational skills and the ability to work with guidance from the Senior Program Lead and the Program Manager.

Roles and Responsibilities

1. Project-Based Learning Programme (Grades 6 to 8), Statewide

• Support the implementation of PBL workstream goals, including printed TLM and handbooks, training, mentoring, reviews, and recognition systems, in partnership with SCERT, BEPC, and Samagra Shiksha.
• Support the training cascade (SCERT and State Resource Group to District Resource Group to school) and the use of the Grade 6-8 Classroom Observation Tool (COT), with focus on the Check for Understanding domain, to strengthen classroom practice.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for 5 to 7 districts, supporting District leadership (DIETs, DEOs, DPOs) in planning, delivery, and review of the PBL programme.

2. Academic Mentoring: Margdarshak Cadre (Grades 1 to 8)

• Support DPE, SCERT, and DIETs to operationalise the Margdarshak cadre, including mentor selection, orientation and practice, monthly review, and the three-tier SCERT/SRG to DRG to complex and panchayat structure.
• Anchor stage-wise academic focus within the mentoring model, FLN and NIPUN for Grades 1 to 5 and PBL for Grades 6 to 8, aligned to the National Mission for Mentoring and PARAKH.
• Coordinate with other CSO/partners (PRATHAM, Central Square Foundation, and KPMG) and DIETs to align mentor capacity building and continuous professional development.

3. Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

• Establish and enable monthly review structures at state and district levels, using the Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK) and programme dashboards to facilitate data-driven decision-making.
• Conduct regular field visits with state and district officials to review the quality of implementation, gather evidence of impact, and identify improvement areas, drawing on COT and Micro-Improvement Project data.
• Support SCERT and DIETs in conducting annual endline student assessment surveys, and frame progress against the Bihar SQAAF (Domains 2 and 3) and PARAKH benchmarks.

4. Stakeholder Engagement and Partnership

• Build and maintain strong relationships with key state and district officials, including HODs at SCERT, the Director and Joint Director of Primary Education (DPE), the BEPC State Project Director and State Program Officers, District Magistrates, DEOs, and DIET Principals.
• Represent the programme in key state-level review meetings and consultations, and support coordination across government and civil society partners.

5. Documentation, Knowledge Management and Communication

• Draft concept notes, proposals, presentations, and other communication materials for internal and external stakeholders.
• Maintain clear records of programme activities, decisions, and learnings.

6. Team Coordination and Operational Support

• Support the Senior Program Lead and Program Manager in planning, strategy, and coordination across workstreams.
• Coordinate logistics for meetings, events, and field activities.

Experience Competencies Required

• Must have a master s degree with 2-6 years of experience in leading educational design projects, preferably with SCERT and DIETs.
• Familiarity with Project-Based Learning (PBL) and academic mentoring or teacher professional development structures is an advantage.
• Prior experience in the education or consulting sector is preferred.
• Must have an understanding of Bihar s education system and key policies/frameworks such as NEP 2020, NCF-SE 2023, PARAKH, and Mission NIPUN Bihar.
• Must have functional knowledge of G-Suite tools, Canva, DIKSHA, data dashboards, and basic AI-based tools.
• Must have excellent written and verbal communication skills in both Hindi and English.
• Must have the ability to negotiate and work effectively with government stakeholders.