Assistant Manager – Government Partnerships in Gandhinagar | Lend A Hand India

Lend A Hand India (LAHI)

Lend A Hand India is a national think tank and NGO that has spent over 20 years strengthening India's skill and vocational education system. Its mission is to equip school students to make the most of their potential through skill education. It works in three ways at once: running programmes directly in schools, partnering with central and state governments to shape and scale policy, and building Centres of Excellence that act as lighthouses for new ideas. Today LAHI works with 20 or more states and union territories, reaching 15,000 or more schools and over 15 lakh students, with more than 250 team members embedded inside state education systems. This role sits within LAHI's government partnerships function in Gujarat, which provides technical advisory and Project Management Unit support so the state can turn skill education policy into action.

Role

The Assistant Manager for Government Partnerships supports the day to day implementation and coordination of vocational education work across Gujarat. You will work closely with state education departments, LAHI project teams and ecosystem partners so that programmes under Samagra Shiksha and related initiatives run well, are tracked properly, and keep getting stronger. The work mixes programme coordination, stakeholder engagement, reporting and follow through on state priorities, while supporting senior colleagues in building steady relationships with government. It suits someone who is organised, comfortable inside government systems, and interested in how school students move from classroom to work.

Responsibilities

• Support the rollout of LAHI's vocational education projects in Gujarat, including on ground coordination for the National Education Policy 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework 2023 for Vocational Education.
• Assist in carrying out state level plans under Samagra Shiksha and related programmes.
• Coordinate with internal teams and field staff so that programme delivery happens on time and works well.
• Track progress against workplans and help solve problems as they come up during implementation.
• Support engagement with state education departments and other government stakeholders, and follow up regularly with key officials on activities, deliverables and reporting.
• Prepare for and take part in review meetings, consultations and coordination forums with government departments, including the documentation and submissions these need.
• Build and maintain partnerships with institutions such as NSDC, Sector Skill Councils, Vocational Training Providers, SCERT, State Education Boards, PSSCIVE and NCVET.
• Work with industry and ecosystem partners to open up internships and exposure opportunities that strengthen school to work links for students.
• Organise stakeholder meetings, workshops, consultations and capacity building sessions.
• Compile, review and analyse programme data, strengthen MIS use and documentation practice, and prepare presentations, dashboards, review notes and progress reports.
• Coordinate with PMU members, project coordinators, instructors and field teams to keep delivery quality high, and support senior colleagues in mentoring the team.
• Support budget tracking, resource planning, drafting of official notes and proposals, and timely follow up on action items and approvals.

Requirements

• A Master's degree in Social Work, Public Policy, Management, Education, Development Studies or a related field.
• 4 to 6 years of relevant experience in one or more of these areas: government engagement, programme implementation, education, skilling or livelihood work, stakeholder coordination, or coordinating teams and field teams.
• Fluency in Gujarati is mandatory, and working knowledge of Hindi is required.
• Excellent written and spoken communication in English.
• A strong understanding of government schemes and policy frameworks in education, skilling or vocational education is preferred.
• Strong relationship building skills with government and ecosystem stakeholders.
• Good coordination and follow through across several workstreams at the same time.
• Strong writing, presentation and documentation skills.
• An analytical mind, comfortable reviewing data and drawing useful insights from it.
• Ability to manage competing priorities with attention to detail.
• Proficiency in MS Office, especially Excel, PowerPoint and Word.
• Ability to work independently in a fast paced setting while collaborating with many stakeholders.
• Willingness to travel within and outside Gujarat as the project needs.
• Based in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, or willing to move there.

Benefits

• A permanent position with an organisation that has worked in skill education for over 20 years.
• Direct working relationships with state government departments and national institutions such as NSDC, NCVET and PSSCIVE.
• Work that reaches school students at scale, alongside a team of 250 or more people embedded in education systems across 20 or more states.
• Exposure to national policy work under the National Education Policy 2020 and Samagra Shiksha.
• Learning and knowledge sharing across LAHI's state teams and Centres of Excellence.

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