Location: Maharashtra (base location Mumbai / Pune/Pimpri-Chinchwad cluster, with travel across assigned ITI clusters in the state
Lend A Hand India is hiring a Project Lead to
own the day-to-day leadership of ITI transformation operations across Lend A
Hand India's assigned ITI clusters in Maharashtra. This is a state-level
leadership role that sits at the heart of the State PMU: the Project Lead will
coordinate with the state skills department, manage cluster teams and their
delivery of the 10-pillar playbook, coordinate ecosystem and technology
partners, track outcomes against milestones, and represent Lend A Hand India in
engagements with the Central PMU. The role suits someone who can operate
comfortably across strategy, field execution, government liaison and
data-driven program management.
Key Responsibilities:
1.
State & Cluster Program Leadership
- Lead the overall
planning, rollout and day-to-day management of ITI transformation operations
across Lend A Hand India’s clusters in Maharashtra (e.g., Pimpri and other
assigned districts).
- Own delivery at the
cluster level, from student mobilization and aspiration-building through to
post-placement mentorship and tracking.
- Manage and mentor
Cluster Project Coordinators/field teams (approx. 15 ITIs per cluster), setting
clear targets, reviewing progress and unblocking implementation issues.
- Drive the baseline
data assessment process for target ITIs and ensure findings feed into
cluster-level planning and prioritization.
2.
Government & Ecosystem Coordination
- Serve as the primary
point of coordination with the Maharashtra state skills department and relevant
government stakeholders on ITI transformation matters.
- Coordinate with the
Central PMU on strategy alignment, reporting requirements and cross-state
learning.
- Build and maintain
relationships with ecosystem and implementation partners — industry bodies,
other NGOs and technology partners — to ensure coordinated delivery across
pillars.
- Support ITI
principals, faculty and administration in strengthening institutional processes
under the Admin Strengthening and Faculty Development pillars.
3.
Industry Engagement & Placements
- Lead local industry
engagement efforts, particularly with employers in Maharashtra’s manufacturing
and industrial corridors, to strengthen demand-supply mapping and Dual System
of Training (DST)-style partnerships.
- Oversee placement
support and apprenticeship pipelines, working with industry to convert exposure
and training into quality job or apprenticeship outcomes.
- Support design and
delivery of post-placement mentorship, monitoring and retention efforts, given
known drop-off risk in the first year after placement.
4.
Data, Technology & Monitoring
- Ensure timely,
accurate data reporting from cluster to State and Central PMU levels, and use
data to identify anomalies, delays and areas needing intervention.
- Track progress
against the program roadmap and milestones (baseline assessment, pilot
rollout, scale-up phases) and flag risks early.
5.
Team & Stakeholder Management
- Build, lead and
develop a high-performing state team, including hiring, coaching and
performance management of cluster staff.
- Represent Lend A Hand
India and the state program in reviews with the Central PMU, donors, and
government counterparts.
- Contribute to the
continuous refinement of the ITI playbook and operating model based on
on-ground learning.
Requirements
- 8–10+ years of
experience in program/project management, with significant exposure to
skilling, vocational training, education, or livelihoods program.
- Demonstrated
experience managing multi-stakeholder program involving government
departments, NGOs/implementation partners, and industry.
- Prior experience
working with or within the ITI/vocational training ecosystem (DGT, MSDE, State
Skill Development Missions) is strongly preferred.
- Experience managing
field teams and driving delivery across multiple sites/districts
simultaneously.
Skills & Competencies:
- Strong stakeholder
management and government liaison skills; comfortable engaging with state
department officials, ITI administration, and corporate partners.
- Data-driven program management — able to work with dashboards/MIS tools, interpret outcome data,
and translate it into action.
- Strong people
leadership: hiring, coaching and managing distributed field teams.
- Structured
problem-solving and the ability to operate in an evolving, build-as-you-go
program environment.
- Excellent written and
verbal communication in English and Marathi/Hindi.
- Willingness to travel
extensively within Maharashtra to ITI clusters and district offices.
- Relationship - Oriented
- Proactive and Self - driven
- Adaptable and resilient
- Strong ownership and accountability
About Lend A Hand India
: Lend A Hand
India (LAHI) is a leading
national Think Tank/NGO with over 20 years of
experience in strengthening India’s skill and vocational
education ecosystem. LAHI works closely with 20+ State and UT
governments through long-term partnerships, providing
technical advisory and Project Management Unit (PMU)
support to drive systemic reforms. In Uttar Pradesh,
LAHI partners with the Directorate of Training (DTE)
and the State Council for Vocational Training (SCVT)
to support large-scale improvements in ITIs, skill
education curriculum, assessments, certification, and
policy implementation .
- Direct
implementation in schools
- Partnership with
central-state governments to define, and scale
policy
- Building of Centres
of Excellence that act as lighthouses for innovation
- Resource
organisation for the skilling ecosystem
Through the design
& execution of innovative models from training
centres, innovation hubs to mobile outreach initiatives,
LAHI’s innovative knowledge resource drives both
grassroots learning and systemic transformation across
India. With 250+ LAHI staff embedded in state education
systems across 20+ states, we provide technical and
project management support, enabling governments to translate
policy into action.
LAHI’s current
scale of work includes -
- 20+ States and UTs
- 15000+ Schools
- 15 Lakh+ Students
- 250+ Team Members
