Head of Operations – Livelihoods – American India Foundation (AIF)

The American India Foundation (AIF) is committed to improving the lives of India’s underprivileged, with a special focus on women, children, and youth. AIF does this through high impact interventions in education, health, and livelihoods, because poverty is multidimensional. AIF’s unique value proposition is its broad engagement between communities, civil society, and expertise thereby building a lasting bridge between the United States and India.

Working closely with local communities, AIF develops and tests innovative solutions in partnership with NGOs and Governments to create and scale sustainable impact. Founded in 2001, at the initiative of President Bill Clinton following a suggestion from Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee, AIF has impacted the lives of 12.9 million of India’s poor since then. With offices in New York, California and Delhi NCR, twelve chapters across the U.S., AIF is transforming lives across 35 States and Union Territories of India while addressing issues in the field of education, health, livelihoods, and nurturing the next generation of leaders committed to impactful change. Learn more at www.aif.org

Brief about Livelihoods Program: AIF’s Livelihoods program envisions a world where poor and vulnerable communities have access to dignified work opportunities, empowering them with sustainable livelihoods. Since 2006, our Livelihoods program has, directly and indirectly, reached more than 1.2 million beneficiaries. To enable a razor-sharp focus on the country’s livelihood issues, AIF has also initiated the Market Aligned Skills Foundation (MASF), a Section-8 company envisioned as a social start-up. Closely aligned to the Global Sustainable Development Goals, the program’s ‘Vision 2030’ focuses on seven “Pathways to Impact” with the goal of creating two million livelihoods and overall reaching out to ten million lives.

Pathways to Impact

1. MAST 2.0: Provide Market Aligned Skills Training and Employment as per need of the geography

2. ABLE 2.0: Create Career Pathways for Persons with Disabilities

3. Entreprerana: Create Sustainable Income for Street Vendors

4. Engage to Empower: Create Aspirational Career Pathways for Youth and Women

5. Harit Jeevika: Create Sustainable Green Livelihoods

6. Aatmnirbhar: Create Sustainable Rural Livelihoods for Migrant Families or Women

7. Grameen Jobs: Create remote/multi skills jobs for rural youth within their local areas

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Responsible for overall implementation of Livelihoods Program – direct and the partnership, with the support of the State teams.
• Support program director in planning, development, and implementation, of the program, and ensure that it remains focused on the program and organization’s vision and mission.
• Develop and manage annual budgets for the program, perform periodic cost analyses, and ensures timely reporting.
• Establishes and implements operating procedures; monitors and evaluates operational effectiveness and effects changes required for improvement.
• Responsible for Project activities and the outcomes with adherence & diligence to project terms and conditions, as per donor contracts.
• Serves as a point of collaboration, to both internal and external constituencies on operational matters pertaining to the mission, goals, objectives, and work scope of the program.
• Working closely with the Program Director – Livelihoods, designs, implements, and evaluates the staffing to effectively accomplish the goal and objectives of the program; trains, and manages professional/technical and support staff on both a professional and administrative basis.
• Demonstrates good governance within program delivery and financial management, ensuring that all systems and controls are in place and followed to allow accurate reporting and cost effectiveness.
• Plan monthly and quarterly monitoring reviews of the programs to ensure smooth progress. Oversee program tracking processes and organize them to ensure donor satisfaction.
• Undertake monthly monitoring visits to the program field, and address the operational challenges faced by the field team.
• Responsible for quality reporting, as per the agreed frequency, to the external entities like donor, institutions, government and also for the internal consumption.
• Ensure timely collection and collation of data, as per the agreed indicators for all projects and programs.
• Using technology, data, evidence and insights from the program, and create an overall monitoring mechanism

Key Skills and Competencies:

• Minimum 10-12 years of experience in implementing large scale, multi-regional program(s). Experience of working in Education program in nonprofit organization /Corporate; Working with Government schools would be added advantage.
• Post Graduate Degree in International Development or Business Administration / B-Tech[1]MTech/MSC /MCA/Science background in Graduation
• Minimum 8-10 years of leadership experience of working on technology enabled education programs in the NGO sector / Corporates with focus on technology-enabled education; with the demonstrated ability to foster partnerships and work with multiple stakeholders.
• Understanding and experience of Education and its diverse branches.
• Experience and understanding of the working of the government, education systems in diverse states.
• High level of team management and interpersonal skills and exhibits self-awareness
• Excellent written & verbal communication skills; sound representational abilities.
• Strong conceptual and analytical awareness of program quality and other implementation challenges faced by team and partners
• Aptitude for internal and external networking nationally and internationally
• Good research and data analysis skills with program planning and design, monitoring and evaluation techniques
• Good financial and budget management experience
• High personal & professional integrity.
• Willingness to travel extensively to and within project locations upto 7-8 days per month.

Other: Salary shall commensurate with experience.

Position Availability: Immediately

Application Process: To apply for this position, send your CV and covering letter describing how you meet the specifications for this role and what you bring to it along with your current and expected salary to indiarecruitments@aif.org with subject line “Head of Operations – Livelihood” Only applications of shortlisted candidates will be acknowledged