Program Operations Professional

Deshpande Skilling.hubli; Hubli; On-site; INR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

EarlySpark, an initiative of Deshpande Foundation, seeks a Program Operations lead for Hubli-Dharwad. You will guide a 2–3 member field team, drive institutional partnerships, and ensure smooth program rollout with strong stakeholder engagement. Extensive travel (~50–60%) is required to achieve enrolment and partnership targets.

The role demands persuasive outreach, relationship-building, and execution excellence in a high-ownership, target-driven environment.

Qualifications

• This role requires strong people and relationship management skills.
• Prior experience coordinating field teams and partner engagements is preferred.
• Proven ability to drive programs and meet enrolment/onsite targets.

Responsibilities

• Lead a small field team (2-3 members) and drive institutional partnerships and enrollments.
• Mobilize outreach to schools and teacher education institutions within assigned geography.
• Manage employer outreach to secure placement partnerships for trained teachers.
• Maintain relationships with principals, college management, and government liaisons.
• Coordinate onboarding, scheduling, and logistical support for training programs.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Team leadership

Partnership development

Field operations

Job description

JOB DESCRIPTION

Role - Program Operations

Level: L2/L3

Location: Hubli, Dharwad, Karnataka.

Travelling: Extensive field travel required (~50 - 60% of time)

Reports To: Program Director

Team size: 2 - 3 field team members reporting to this role

About EarlySpark: EarlySpark, an initiative of Deshpande Foundation, focuses on improving students learning outcomes through high-quality teacher training. We are currently running two new teacher training program models - pre-service (B.Ed./D.Ed./M.Ed students) and in-service (private school teachers) - with ambitions to scale across multiple geographies.

About the role: This role will serve as the single point of contact (SPOC) for all on-ground operations in the assigned geographies. She/He/They will lead a small team of 2 - 3 field members and be responsible for driving institutional partnerships, managing stakeholders, and ensuring smooth program rollout from the ground up.

This is a high-ownership, target-driven role that demands strong persuasion, relationship-building, and execution skills. You will be expected to meet monthly and quarterly targets on enrolment, onboarding, and partnership closures.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Institutional Partnerships, Mobilisation Outreach

Lead your team in outreach activities to build and maintain a strong pipeline of prospective partner schools and teacher education institutions within the assigned geography. Conduct meetings, presentations, institutional visits, and outreach activities to generate interest and convert prospects into active partners. Lead negotiations and facilitate timely closure of institutional partnerships and agreements. Own monthly and quarterly targets related to institutional onboarding, enrolments, and related partnership closures.

2. Placement Partnerships Employer Outreach

Identify and reach out to potential hiring partners - schools, education institutions, and organisations looking to recruit trained teachers. Build and maintain a pipeline of employer contacts in the assigned geography. Coordinate handover of confirmed hiring partners to the internal placements coordinator for further process management. Track and report on employer pipeline status as part of regular field reporting.

3. Stakeholder Management, Retention Satisfaction

Build trusted relationships with school principals, college management, and government liaison contacts. Act as the primary SPOC for all external institutional stakeholders. Track satisfaction levels of partner institutions and act on feedback promptly. Drive continued engagement and re-enrolment of institutions across program cycles. Maintain the credibility and reputation of EarlySpark in every stakeholder interaction.

4. Program Onboarding Execution Support

Coordinate onboarding processes - institutional agreements, enrollments, scheduling of training etc.. Liaise with the internal academic/training team to ensure availability of infrastructure, participant readiness and engagement. Resolve operational gaps before and during program delivery.

5. Field Operations Monitoring

Plan and assign field activities across the geography; oversee day-to-day work of your reportees. Ensure logistical readiness for training sessions - venue, materials, coordination. Conduct regular monitoring visits; document and report insights to the program team. Proactively identify risks, delays, or gaps and take corrective action before escalation is needed.