State Program Officer

Wadhwani AI; Patna; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 2,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Wadhwani AI in Bihar seeks a Local Program Officer to bridge between the government and our education solutions, starting with ORF initiatives. You will coordinate with the Education Department, manage day-to-day activities, and ensure smooth deployment.

The role demands strong stakeholder relationships, problem-solving, and the ability to document learnings and progress for central teams. Travel within Bihar will be required as projects scale.

Qualifications

• Stakeholder management and relationship-building skills.
• Excellent coordination and follow-up capabilities.
• Strong problem-solving and execution skills.
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to synthesize field feedback into actionable insights.
• Good documentation and reporting skills.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders across the Education Department, Government of Bihar.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for day-to-day coordination between Wadhwani AI and government stakeholders.
• Facilitate meetings, reviews, approvals, and follow-ups for successful implementation.
• Support deployment and scale-up of education solutions across Bihar.
• Coordinate activities with government officials, schools, and other stakeholders.
• Ensure timely completion of activities, milestones, and deliverables.
• Support teacher orientation, training coordination, field visits, monitoring, and state-level reviews.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Coordination

Problem-solving

Execution skills

Written and verbal communication

Independent work

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Education/Public Policy/Development Studies/Technology

Job description

Wadhwani AI is a non-profit institute building and deploying applied AI solutions to solve critical issues in public health, agriculture, education, and urban development in underserved communities in the global south. We collaborate with governments, social sector organizations, academic and research institutions, and domain experts to identify real-world problems, and develop practical AI solutions to tackle these issues with the aim of making a substantial positive impact.

We have over 30+ AI projects supported by leading philanthropies such as Gates Foundation, Google.org and Walmart. With a team of over 200 professionals, our expertise encompasses AI/ML research and innovation, software engineering, domain knowledge, design and user research.

Job Description

The Local Program Officer (Bihar) will serve as the primary liaison between Wadhwani AI and the Government of Bihar, supporting the implementation and scale-up of AI-enabled education solutions, with an initial focus on the Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) solution.

The individual will be responsible for coordinating with state government stakeholders, facilitating program implementation, identifying and resolving operational bottlenecks, collecting field-level insights, and ensuring effective communication between the Bihar government and Wadhwani AI's central teams.

The role requires strong stakeholder management, problem-solving ability, and familiarity with the education ecosystem in Bihar.

Government Liaison and Stakeholder Management

• Build and maintain strong working relationships with key stakeholders across the Education Department, Government of Bihar.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for day-to-day coordination between Wadhwani AI and government stakeholders.
• Facilitate meetings, reviews, approvals, and follow-ups required for successful implementation.

Program Implementation and Operational Support

• Support deployment and scale-up of Wadhwani AI's education solutions across Bihar.
• Coordinate implementation activities with government officials, schools, and other stakeholders.
• Ensure timely completion of agreed activities, milestones, and deliverables.
• Support teacher orientation, training coordination, field visits, monitoring activities, and state-level reviews.
• Facilitate adoption and integration of solutions within existing state systems and processes.

Problem Solving and De-bottlenecking

• Identify operational, administrative, and implementation bottlenecks.
• Work closely with government officials and internal teams to resolve issues promptly.
• Escalate critical risks and dependencies to the central team when required.
• Ensure smooth communication and coordination across stakeholders.

Monitoring, Feedback, and Reporting

• Collect feedback from government officials, teachers, schools, and end users.
• Document implementation learnings, challenges, and success stories.
• Track progress against agreed implementation plans and milestones.
• Prepare regular status updates and reports for both internal and external stakeholders.
• Share field insights with Product, Program, MEL, and Pedagogy teams to inform solution improvements.

Support for Future Education Initiatives

• Support exploration and implementation of additional AI for Education initiatives in Bihar as required.
• Assist with stakeholder engagement, pilots, workshops, demonstrations, and partnership-building activities.
• Provide state-level intelligence and ecosystem insights to support future opportunities.

Requirements

Education

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Education, Public Policy, Development Studies, Technology, or a related field.
  

Experience

• 5 years of professional experience working with government departments, education programs, development sector organizations, EdTech organizations, or implementation partners.
  
• Experience working within Bihar's education ecosystem will be strongly preferred.
  
• Experience supporting large-scale education or technology deployments is desirable.
  
• Familiarity with government processes, stakeholder management, and program implementation.
  

Skills and Competencies

• Strong stakeholder management and relationship-building skills.
  
• Excellent coordination and follow-up capabilities.
  
• Strong problem-solving and execution skills.
  
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment.
  
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
  
• Ability to synthesize field feedback into actionable insights.
  
• Good documentation and reporting skills.
  

Language Requirements

• Fluency in Hindi and English (written and spoken) is strongly preferred.
  
• Ability to engage confidently with government officials and school-level stakeholders.
  

Travel

• Willingness to travel extensively within Bihar for stakeholder engagement, implementation support, and monitoring activities.
  

Preferred Profile

• Prior experience working with Education Department in Bihar, Foundational Literacy and Numeracy initiatives and/or related education initiatives.
  
• Strong understanding of Bihar's education ecosystem.
  
• Experience managing government relationships and navigating administrative processes.
  
• Passion for improving learning outcomes through technology and innovation.