Project Manager - Project Annapurna

ACCESS Development Services; Thane; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

ACCESS Development Services in India is seeking a field-focused Programme Lead for the Annapurna initiative across Thane, Pune and Raigad. You will translate approved plans into calendars, mobilise 12,000 women from 1,200 SHGs, and supervise ARC rollout with budget oversight.

The role requires strong governance, donor compliance, and the ability to escalate issues early. You will engage state and district stakeholders, ensure FSSAI registrations, and report to the Programme Lead.

Qualifications

• Postgraduate in Rural Management, Agribusiness, Development Studies, Social Work or Management.
• 8-10 years in the sector, including 5+ years managing multi-district livelihoods or women’s enterprise programmes with line responsibility for teams of 10 or more.
• Demonstrated work with SHGs, VOs and CLFs and with NRLM/SRLM convergence; Maharashtra and UMED/MAVIM experience strongly preferred.
• Managed CSR-funded projects - instalment funding, utilization certificates, statutory reporting and audit. Exposure to food processing micro-enterprise and FSSAI compliance is an advantage

Responsibilities

• Delivery and Field Management: Convert the approved plan into annual and quarterly operating calendars and drive the ARC rollout.
• Partnership, Compliance and Convergence: Manage the UMED/MSRLM relationship at state, district and block level and service the Steering Committee.
• Budget, Risk and Reporting: Manage a budget; track burn against the instalment schedule and flag drawdown, refund and interest exposure early
• Deliver donor and internal reports on time, with every figure traceable to an approved source, and maintain the risk register, clarification tracker and decision log.

Skills

Marathi fluency

Donor-grade English

Stakeholder liaison

Budgeting & MIS

Data-driven planning

Education

Postgraduate in Rural Management

Job description

ACCESS Development Services is a national livelihoods promotion organization that incubates innovations and builds sustainable models of livelihood promotion for the poor - implementing programmes on the ground (Tier I); partnering civil society, government, the corporate sector and multilateral agencies (Tier II); and shaping national policy and the enabling environment (Tier III). Headquartered in New Delhi, ACCESS works across 14 project offices.

Project Summary

Annapurna - Catalysing Women Entrepreneurship in Food Processing is a 36+3-month initiative supported by Bajaj Holdings & Investment Limited, administered by the Bajaj Finserv CSR team, running from to . It works with 12,000 women from 1,200 Self Help Groups across 15 blocks of Thane, Pune and Raigad districts of Maharashtra - 4,000 women, 400 SHGs and 5 Annapurna Resource Centres (ARCs) per district, each ARC serving about 80 SHGs through centralised (at-ARC) and decentralised (home-based) support. Maharashtra State Rural Livelihoods Mission (UMED) is proposed as a facilitation partner.

Position Summary

Day-to-day operational command of Annapurna across three districts and fifteen blocks - delivery calendar, field team, ARC rollout, budget burn and HQ reporting - under the Programme Lead. This is a field-anchored role, not a desk role. ACCESS wants someone who has built a multi-district women s enterprise programme from inception, can hold a CSR donor s compliance calendar without slippage, and will say early and plainly when something is not going to plan.

Responsibilities

• Delivery and Field Management
  • Convert the approved plan into annual and quarterly operating calendars and drive the ARC rollout.
  • Lead a ground team member; set work plans, review performance and hold the weekly, fortnightly, monthly and quarterly review rhythm
  • Own mobilisation of 12,000 women from 1,200 SHGs, the centralised/decentralised delivery split, and ARC premises identification, right-to-use, fit-out and commissioning
• Partnership, Compliance and Convergence
  • Manage the UMED/MSRLM relationship at state, district and block level and service the Steering Committee
  • Ensure every ARC food business runs on an FSSAI registration or licence held by the community institution or enterprise group that operates the premises
  • Ensure sales revenue is transacted by community institutions and individual entrepreneurs
  • Drive convergence with PMFME, MUDRA, Udyam, MSME registration and social security entitlements
• Budget, Risk and Reporting
  • Manage a budget; track burn against the instalment schedule and flag drawdown, refund and interest exposure early
  • Deliver donor and internal reports on time, with every figure traceable to an approved source, and maintain the risk register, clarification tracker and decision log.

Education & Experience

• Postgraduate in Rural Management, Agribusiness, Development Studies, Social Work or Management (IRMA / TISS / XISS / IIFM or equivalent)
• 8-10 years in the sector, including 5+ years managing multi-district livelihoods or women s enterprise programmes with line responsibility for teams of 10 or more
• Demonstrated work with SHGs, VOs and CLFs and with NRLM/SRLM convergence; Maharashtra and UMED/MAVIM experience strongly preferred
• Managed CSR-funded projects- instalment funding, utilization certificates, statutory reporting and audit. Exposure to food processing micro-enterprise and FSSAI compliance is an advantage

Skills and Competencies

• Fluency in Marathi essential, with Hindi and donor-grade written English
• Strong planning, budgeting and MIS discipline; argues from data, not impression
• Equally credible with district officials, CLF leaders and a corporate CSR team
• Judgement under pressure, and honesty to escalat e bad news early.

Travel Requirement

Extensive travel across Thane, Pune and Raigad; 12-15 field days a month.

ACCESS is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and is committed to providing an environment of fairness, and mutual respect where all applicants have access to equal employment opportunities. ACCESS values diversity and inclusion, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, caste, color, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, national origin, marital status, age and disability.