SPL – EdTech and AI

Central Square Foundation; Delhi; On-site; INR 2,800,000 - 5,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Central Square Foundation invites applications for Senior Project Lead – EdTech and AI to drive government adoption, implementation and policy across education technology initiatives in India. You will lead 3–4 state partnerships, build relationships with senior government stakeholders, oversee budgets and teams, and translate evidence into scalable policy and practice.

The role demands strong program management, stakeholder engagement, and a passion for improving learning outcomes through

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience with Indian state or central government systems.
• Track record leading complex multi-stakeholder programmes from design to implementation.
• Experience managing portfolios, budgets, teams and external partners with execution discipline.
• Demonstrated ability to build senior government relationships and translate insights into policy.

Responsibilities

• Translate CSF's EdTech and AI strategy into government priorities, workplans and outcomes.
• Lead 3–4 state partnerships from opportunity identification to procurement and institutionalisation.
• Strengthen government capabilities with TSUs, PMUs and technical-assistance structures.
• Engage with the Ministry of Education and national institutions on EdTech and AI.
• Design governance, contracting, monitoring and course correction for programmes.
• Develop knowledge outputs like case studies, playbooks and policy notes.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Program management

Public policy

Education sector

EdTech

Education

Master's degree in public policy or related field

Job description

Founded in 2012, Central Square Foundation is a non-profit philanthropic foundation working with the vision of ensuring quality school education for all children in India. We believe that effective foundational learning is essential for better learning outcomes for all children in school. Development of foundational literacy and numeracy skills can help children progress to higher levels of learning and is an essential building block in a child's life.

We are driven by our mission to enable the school education system to adopt solutions that are scalable, sustainable and effective, so that all children get equal access to opportunities needed for leading a better life. CSF has prioritised five critical areas of work: Foundational Literacy & Numeracy (FLN); EdTech and AI; Early Childhood Education (ECE); Schools Governance; and High Potential Students (HPS).

CSF's EdTech and AI initiative focuses on leveraging technology to enhance teaching and learning, both in classrooms and at home, through student-focused and teacher-directed interventions. Our goal is to improve foundational learning in primary grades and provide remediation support in middle school using evidence-based, scalable technology solutions.

Since 2012, CSF has played a pivotal role in shaping India's EdTech ecosystem by bridging demand and supply, backed by rigorous research. We drive impact by:

• Supporting EdTech organisations to build contextually relevant, pedagogically sound products for low-income learners.
• Generating evidence on what works, how it works, and how to scale effective EdTech interventions.
• Partnering with governments to adopt and effectively implement evidence-backed EdTech solutions, strengthen the utilisation of public investments in technology, and influence policy and system priorities.
• Creating public goods to drive innovation and strengthen the broader ecosystem.

In the last five years, CSF has collaborated with 15+ EdTech organisations, 11+ state governments, and leading academic institutions, reaching over 10 million learners across India.

Position Summary

The Senior Project Lead – EdTech and AI will lead CSF's government adoption, implementation and policy portfolio across EdTech and emerging AI-enabled opportunities in school education.

The role will translate CSF's EdTech and AI strategy into government adoption and sustained implementation at scale by:

• Leading partnerships across 3-4 states, from opportunity identification and programme design through procurement, implementation and institutionalisation.
• Building relationships with senior government stakeholders and supporting states to use technology investments effectively.
• Strengthening implementation systems, including Technical Support Units (TSUs), Programme Management Units (PMUs) and other technical-assistance structures.
• Contributing to CSF's engagement with the Ministry of Education and other central institutions.
• Managing teams, budgets and complex programmes while converting evidence and field insights into policy and system-level action.

The Senior Project Lead will report to the Associate Project Director – EdTech and AI.

Key Responsibilities

Translate CSF's EdTech and AI strategy into priorities, workplans and measurable outcomes.

Lead a portfolio of 3-4 state partnerships, ensuring clear strategies, milestones, ownership, risks and resource plans.

Identify opportunities for evidence-backed EdTech and AI-enabled interventions and contribute to CSF's thinking on AI in education, digital infrastructure and technology-enabled governance.

Build demand for evidence-backed EdTech approaches and lead engagements from opportunity identification through scale-up and institutionalisation.

Support quality-led procurement through programme specifications, technical requirements and implementation frameworks.

Diagnose implementation bottlenecks using data and field insights, and strengthen government capabilities, ownership, monitoring and sustained usage.

3. Government Engagement, Advocacy & Salience Building

Build trusted relationships with senior state and central government stakeholders.

Lead engagement with the Ministry of Education and other national institutions on EdTech, AI and digital education.

Develop government-facing narratives and outputs, including concept notes, policy memos, guidelines, procurement language and implementation frameworks.

4. Programme Management, Governance & Technical Assistance

Lead programme design, partner selection, contracting, implementation planning, risk management, monitoring and course correction.

Establish effective governance systems, including workplans, reviews, decision logs and deliverable tracking.

Design or strengthen TSUs, PMUs and other technical-assistance structures, working with Evidence/M&E, Finance, Communications, State Reform and other CSF teams.

5. Evidence, Knowledge & Thought Leadership

Use evidence, implementation data and field learning to guide programme decisions and recommendations.

Develop case studies, implementation playbooks, policy notes, frameworks and other knowledge outputs.

Contribute to CSF's thought leadership on evidence-backed EdTech, AI in education, technology for governance and public investment in education technology.

6. Team Leadership, Budgeting & Organisational Management

Lead, coach and performance-manage a high-performing team while building ownership and execution capability.

Own portfolio planning, budgeting, resource allocation, reporting and decision materials for leadership and other stakeholders.

Coordinate across CSF teams and contribute to talent reviews, capability building and organisational priorities.

Required Qualifications & Experience

10+ years of relevant experience, including significant work with Indian state and/or central government systems. Preference will be given to applicants from Education, EdTech, or adjacent social sectors.

Track record of leading complex, multi-stakeholder programmes from design through implementation and institutionalisation.

Experience managing portfolios, budgets, teams and external partners with strong execution discipline.

Master's degree in business, public policy, education, engineering, development studies or a related field.

Demonstrated ability and track record in building senior government relationships and translating evidence and programme insights into policy, strategy and system-level outcomes.

Desired Qualities

Strong commitment to improving learning outcomes and equity through public education systems.

Systems thinker who connects policy, programmes, implementation, evidence and government incentives while remaining execution-focused.

Entrepreneurial, self-directed and comfortable creating structure in ambiguous and evolving environments.

Strong influencing, relationship-building, judgement and prioritisation skills across diverse stakeholders.

Excellent synthesis and communication skills, with curiosity about emerging technologies and their responsible application to education and government systems.

Compensation

Remuneration will be competitive with Indian philanthropy and social-impact sector benchmarks, commensurate with experience.