Senior Program Manager

About Us

About Quest Alliance:

Quest Alliance is a not-for-profit organization working across India, dedicated to equipping young people with the skills they need to thrive in a rapidly evolving world of work. Since 2008, we've been reimagining how young learners, especially those from underserved communities experience education, career readiness, and lifelong learning. We have been enabling equitable school-to-work transitions by building future-ready learning ecosystems that prioritize access, inclusion, and innovation.

Through strong collaboration with government systems, educators, communities, and civil society, we co-create tech-enabled learning experiences that empower young learnersespecially those from disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds to build dignified, thriving and future-ready careers.

We envision a world where education goes beyond access, becoming a powerful tool for self-empowerment, social mobility, and lasting impact.

About The Program

The Karnataka Schools Program works to equip adolescents in government secondary schools with Future Skills essential for thriving careers. These include Computational Thinking, Foundational Digital Skills, Career Awareness, and AI & Emerging Technology literacy.

The program focuses on long-term systems change by Institutionalizing future skills within curriculum frameworks , Strengthening educator capacity through scalable, teacher-led models, Building strong partnerships with state education bodies, Embedding monitoring and delivery mechanisms within government systems

Role Overview

The Senior Program Manager Schools Program will lead the Karnataka state strategy, oversee high-quality implementation across districts, and drive deep government partnerships to mainstream future skills education at scale. This role requires strong strategic thinking, government engagement expertise, and the ability to lead complex, multi-stakeholder programs.

Key Responsibilities

Requirements

Required Skills & Experience

Salary: The pay band for the position starts at Rs. 1,25,000/- per month (cost to company) ( The salary offered will be commensurate with the experience and expertise of the candidate)

Benefits

Benefits:

In Addition To Your Compensation, You Are Also Eligible For a Suite Of Benefits Designed To Support Your Well-being And Growth:

At Quest Alliance, we pride ourselves on being an Equal Opportunities employer, embracing applications from all segments of the community. We are committed to ensuring that every applicant and employee is treated with fairness and respect, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, marital status, social status, caste, religious belief, age, or any other factor that is irrelevant to performance. Your individuality is valued and respected within our organization.

• Strategic Planning, Systems Change & Program Leadership
• Anchor and drive the Karnataka state strategy in alignment with organizational priorities and long-term systems-change goals.
• Develop annual operational plans with clear milestones, budgets, timelines, and delivery frameworks across program components.
• Lead the development of a 35 year state strategy, including resource planning, team structure, and scale pathways.
• Identify and pursue strategic partnerships, advocacy opportunities, and ecosystem collaborations to advance future skills for career readiness.
• Ensure all donor commitments are met, including timely, accurate narrative and data reporting.
• Lead financial forecasting, track utilization, ensure compliance, and proactively manage deviations and risks.
• Government Engagement & Advocacy
• Build and sustain strong partnerships with key state stakeholders, including:
• Karnataka Residential Educational Institutions Society (KREIS)
• DSERT / SCERT
• Samagra Shikshana Karnataka
• State Boards and allied institutions
• Represent Quest Alliance in state-level forums, consultations, and review meetings.
• Advocate for institutionalization of Future Skills within curriculum, teacher training, and assessment frameworks.
• Ensure program indicators are integrated into government monitoring systems to enable mainstream implementation and reduce parallel processes.
• Mobilize government resources (budgets, venues, logistics, printing, training infrastructure, etc.) to support scale and sustainability.
• Program Delivery & Quality Assurance
• Work closely with the Learning Experience team to contextualize curriculum and ensure high-quality implementation.
• Coordinate with the Associate Program Manager to support district-level rollout and resolve operational challenges.
• Track progress rigorously using reviews, dashboards, data systems, and field insights to ensure timely achievement of targets with quality.
• Establish, strengthen, and monitor the Master Trainer cadre to enable statewide educator capacity building.
• Conduct regular field visits to gather qualitative insights and inform continuous program improvement.
• Ensure data-driven decision-making by integrating M&E learnings into design, delivery, and planning.
• Internal Collaboration & Governance
• Actively contribute to organizational planning and cross-team alignment processes.
• Ensure coordination with FAIT and other internal teams, tracking interdependencies using systems such as Jira.
• Maintain high standards of internal documentation, compliance, and governance.
• Team Leadership & Development
• Lead and mentor the state team, ensuring role clarity, performance goals, and accountability.
• Foster a culture of ownership, collaboration, inclusion, and alignment with Quest values.
• Conduct regular performance reviews and support access to learning, capacity-building, and exposure opportunities.
• Ensure staff welfare, adherence to HR processes, and inclusive workplace practices.
• Build strong M&E capability within the team and ensure insights are consistently applied to delivery and planning.
• Uphold a culture of respectful, open, and professional communication.
• Drive self-learning by setting annual development goals and completing planned learning journeys.
• 10+ years of experience leading large-scale education or EdTech programs (Future Skills, STEM, Computational Thinking, or AI preferred).
• 56+ years of experience managing complex, state-level initiatives with multiple stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of the Karnataka education ecosystem, NEP 2020, and SCERT/DSERT frameworks.
• Proven experience in educator capacity building and facilitating workshops with government officials.
• Strong financial management, budgeting, compliance, and data-driven planning skills.
• High digital fluency, including Google Workspace and project management tools.
• Willingness and ability to travel extensively across Karnataka.
• Comprehensive Personal Accident Insurance covering up to 10,00,000 annually
• Mediclaim Insurance covering up to 3,00,000 annually, supported through our insurance partner, Loop, which also offers additional wellness benefits
• Reach for the Stars (RFS) amount of up to 5,000 to support your self-learning and knowledge-building efforts
• Internet allowance of up to 750/month, reimbursable based on actual usage to support flexible and hybrid working arrangements
• For employees with children under the age of 6 years, Quest offers childcare or day care fee support through a monthly matching contribution of up to 3,000, helping you create a supportive work-life balance
• Access to emotional health and wellbeing programs such as:
• Group sessions worth 7,500 per session fully covered by the organisation
• 1:1 counselling sessions (worth 1,800 per session), fully covered by the organisation