Senior Program Manager – Schools Program, Ranchi

Ground Zero; Ranchi; On-site; INR 1,500,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Ground Zero in Ranchi seeks a Senior Program Manager for the Jharkhand Schools Program to lead state strategy, oversee district-level implementation, and drive government partnerships for large-scale Future Skills education. The role requires senior program leadership, policy engagement, and multi-stakeholder coordination across districts.

Responsibilities include strategic planning, budgeting, monitoring, and ensuring alignment with NEP frameworks while building capacity and partnerships for

Qualifications

• Experience leading large-scale education or EdTech programs.
• Strong government engagement and stakeholder management.
• Ability to plan and manage multi-year state programs.

Responsibilities

• Anchor and drive the state strategy aligned with program priorities.
• Develop annual plans with milestones, budgets and timelines.
• Lead 3–5 year state strategy including scale pathways.
• Pursue partnerships and ecosystem collaborations.
• Ensure donor commitments and reporting are met.

Skills

Strategic Planning

Government Engagement

Program Leadership

Budgeting

Data-driven planning

Digital fluency

Communication

Travel readiness

Stakeholder management

Tools

Google Workspace

Notion

Job description

Role: Senior Program Manager – Schools Program, Ranchi
Experience:10+ Years
Salary: Upto15-18 LPA

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About the program

The Jharkhand Schools Program works to equip adolescents in government secondary schools with essential Future Skills, including Computational Thinking, Foundational Digital Skills, Career Awareness, and AI & Emerging Technology literacy.

The program focuses on long-term systems change by:

• Institutionalizing future skills within curriculum frameworks.
• Strengthening educator capacity through scalable, teacher-led models.
• Building strong partnerships with state education bodies.
• Embedding monitoring and delivery mechanisms directly within government systems.

Role Overview

The Senior Program Manager – Schools Program will lead the state strategy for Jharkhand, oversee high-quality program implementation across districts, and drive deep government partnerships to mainstream future skills education at scale. This role requires strong strategic thinking, government engagement expertise, and the ability to lead complex, multi-stakeholder programs. In addition, the SPM will lead key consortium collaborations and specialized state strategies.

Key responsibilities

1. Strategic Planning, Systems Change & Program Leadership

• Anchor and drive the state strategy in alignment with organizational priorities and long-term systems-change goals.
• Develop annual operational plans with clear milestones, budgets, timelines, and delivery frameworks across program components.
• Lead the development of a 3-5 year state strategy, including resource planning, team structure, and scale pathways.
• Identify and pursue strategic partnerships, advocacy opportunities, and ecosystem collaborations.
• Ensure all donor commitments are met, including timely and accurate narrative and data reporting.
• Lead financial forecasting, track utilization, ensure compliance, and manage risks proactively.

2. Government Engagement & Advocacy

• Build and sustain strong partnerships with key state education stakeholders, state boards, and allied government bodies.
• Represent the organization in state-level forums, consultations, and review meetings.
• Advocate for the institutionalization of Future Skills within curriculum, teacher training, and assessment frameworks.
• Ensure program indicators are integrated into government monitoring systems to enable mainstream implementation.
• Mobilize government resources (budgets, venues, logistics, printing, training infrastructure) to support scale and sustainability.

3. Program Delivery & Quality Assurance

• Work closely with Learning Experience teams to contextualize curriculum and ensure high-quality implementation.
• Coordinate with Associate Program Managers to support district-level rollout and resolve operational challenges.
• Track progress rigorously using dashboards, data systems, and field insights to ensure quality and timely targets.
• Establish, strengthen, and monitor the Master Trainer cadre to enable statewide educator capacity building.
• Conduct regular field visits and integrate M&E learnings into design, delivery, and planning.

4. Internal Collaboration & Governance

• Actively contribute to organizational planning and cross-team alignment processes.
• Coordinate with Finance and internal teams, tracking interdependencies using tools like Notion.
• Maintain high standards of internal documentation, compliance, and governance.

5. Team Leadership & Development

• Lead and mentor the state team, ensuring role clarity, performance goals, and accountability.
• Promote inclusion, gender sensitivity, and equitable workplace practices.
• Conduct regular performance reviews and build team capabilities in monitoring and evaluation (M&E).
• Maintain a culture of respectful, open, and professional communication.

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Experience: 10+ years of experience leading large-scale education or EdTech programs.
• State-Level Management: 5-6+ years of experience managing complex, state-level initiatives with multiple stakeholders.
• Ecosystem Knowledge: Strong understanding of the state education ecosystem, NEP 2020, and SCERT/DSERT frameworks.
• Language Proficiency: High proficiency in Hindi with the ability to engage Hindi-speaking government stakeholders.
• Government Engagement: Proven experience in educator capacity building and facilitating workshops with government officials.
• Core Skills: Strong financial management, budgeting, compliance, data-driven planning, and high digital fluency (Google Workspace, project management tools).
• Travel: Willingness and ability to travel extensively across the state.

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Hiring Note: Applications will be reviewed on rolling basis. This job is first posted on August 28, 2026 on Ground Zero For any questions, ping us on WhatsApp chat: [phone]