Programme Associate (Skills Up Program) – Thriving Centre, Bommanahalli

Dream A Dream; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 525,000 - 703,000; Full time

Job summary

Dream a Dream in Bengaluru, Karnataka seeks a Programme Associate for the SkillsUp program at Thriving Centre. The role focuses on coordinating learning experiences, engaging youth, and connecting activities to future opportunities. Requires 1–3 years in youth development and fluency in Kannada & English.

Travel may be required. Full-time position with monthly salary of ₹55,000. The role reports to the Centre Manager and involves building trainer networks, maintaining data, and ensuring safe,

Qualifications

• 1–3 years of experience in youth development, education, skilling or programme coordination.
• Experience working with young people and building trusting relationships.
• Curious and proactive with ability to identify and curate opportunities for young people.
• Good documentation and basic data-management skills.

Responsibilities

• Build trusting relationships with young people and understand their interests and needs.
• Curate learning and exposure opportunities by researching networks of trainers and organisations.
• Plan and coordinate workshops, registrations, schedules, and logistics.
• Engage trainers and partners, align expectations and gather feedback for improvement.
• Support youth to connect learning with future steps and track engagement.
• Maintain accurate programme data on enrolment, attendance and completion.
• Collaborate with Thriving Centre team and other departments to strengthen the SkillsUp model.
• Travel as required to support field activities.

Skills

Youth engagement

Coordination

Stakeholder management

Kannada & English fluency

Job description

Programme Associate (Skills Up Program) – Thriving Centre, Bommanahalli

Job Description

About Dream a Dream

Dream a Dream is an Indian non-profit organisation working to transform the experience of education for the 130+ million children living in poverty in India. Our aim is to change the purpose of education towards the idea of Thriving for every child. Since 1999, Dream a Dream has mainstreamed life skills as a critical approach to help children overcome adversity and learn to thrive. Today, the organisation is transforming the Indian education ecosystem through its own programmes, through curriculum and pedagogical innovations and through the development of holistic assessment frameworks while also shifting the narratives around the purpose of education. Dream a Dream’s work is spread across 6 Indian states reaching over 2.2 million children through strategic partnerships with state governments and collaborations with other non-profits and funders in India.

Department/Programme Direct Impact – Thriving Centre
Reporting to Centre Manager – Hemalatha A
Location Thriving Centre -Bommanhalli Bangalore
Employment Type Full-time
Salary ₹55,000 per month
Last date of application 05-10-2026

ROLE PURPOSE

The Programme Associate – SkillsUp will lead the coordination and delivery of SkillsUp, a foundational skills and exposure programme that enables young people to explore possibilities, build agency and make informed choices about education, work and life.
The role will understand young people’s interests, aspirations and emerging needs and translate these into relevant learning, vocational and exposure opportunities. The Programme associate will work closely with young people, trainers and partners to curate meaningful experiences, ensure smooth delivery and support young people to connect learning with possible next steps.
The role requires strong relationship-building, coordination, curiosity, ownership and the ability to turn youth needs and emerging opportunities into meaningful programme experiences.

1. YOUTH ENGAGEMENT & UNDERSTANDING NEEDS

• Build trusting and respectful relationships with young people.
• Understand their interests, aspirations, needs, challenges and emerging areas of curiosity.
• Identify participation barriers and work with the team to address them.
• Ensure young people’s voices and feedback shape SkillsUp planning and delivery.
• Support young people to reflect on their interests and explore possibilities.

2. CURATING LEARNING & EXPOSURE OPPORTUNITIES

• Research and curate relevant vocational, foundational, life and employability skills opportunities.
• Build a network of trainers, practitioners, institutions and organisations.
• Respond to youth demand while introducing new ideas, pathways and possibilities.
• Assess opportunities for relevance, quality, accessibility and alignment with SkillsUp’s purpose.
• Maintain and continuously strengthen the SkillsUp opportunity pool.

3. PROGRAMME COORDINATION & DELIVERY

• Plan and coordinate workshops, courses, exposure visits and other learning experiences.
• Manage registrations, schedules, attendance, communication and logistics.
• Coordinate with trainers and partners for effective programme delivery.
• Support young people throughout participation and follow up on engagement and completion.
• Ensure programme experiences are safe, inclusive, participatory and meaningful.

4. TRAINER & PARTNER ENGAGEMENT

• Build and maintain relationships with trainers, practitioners, vocational institutes and organisations.
• Orient trainers and partners to the context, aspirations and needs of young people.
• Ensure clarity on programme expectations, roles, schedules and delivery requirements.
• Gather feedback and use it to strengthen future learning opportunities.
• Identify and develop new partnerships that expand opportunities for young people.

5. SUPPORTING THE YOUTH JOURNEY

• Help young people connect learning experiences with their interests and aspirations.
• Facilitate reflection on what they have learned, enjoyed and want to explore further.
• Support young people to identify possible next steps and pathways.
• Track engagement, interests and emerging support needs beyond attendance.
• Connect young people with relevant opportunities within and beyond the Thriving Centre.

6. DATA, DOCUMENTATION & LEARNING

• Maintain accurate programme data on enrolment, attendance, participation and completion.
• Capture young people’s feedback, experiences and learning.
• Prepare regular programme updates and reports.
• Document stories, learnings, challenges and emerging trends.
• Use data and youth feedback to continuously improve SkillsUp.

7. TEAM & ORGANISATIONAL CONTRIBUTION

• Work closely with the Thriving Centre team to strengthen the overall youth journey.
• Collaborate with MEL, Operations and other Direct Impact teams.
• Contribute to strengthening the SkillsUp model and approach.
• Participate actively in team planning, reflection and learning.
• Work flexibly across responsibilities as part of a small, agile team.

8. PROFILE & REQUIREMENTS

• 1–3 years of experience in youth development, education, skilling or programme coordination.
• Experience working with young people and building trusting relationships.
• Strong coordination, spoken communication, articulations skills Fluency in Kannada & English and stakeholder-management skills.
• Curious and proactive, with an ability to identify and curate opportunities for young people.
• Good documentation and basic data-management skills.
• Alignment with Dream a Dream’s belief in the agency, potential and voice of young people.
• Willingness to travel as required.

Dream a Dream is committed to upholding diversity and inclusion in our workplace, and we strongly encourage people from underrepresented groups, within the organisation and outside, to apply to open positions. We embrace our employees’ differences of religion or belief, caste, race, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation gender, gender identity or expression, language differences, family or marital status, physical, mental and development abilities, social or economic class, education, work and behavioural styles, political affiliation, and other characteristics that make us unique.