Project Lead - ITI Transformation

Job Title: Project Lead – ITI Transformation
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.
  

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 .

Our Approach

• 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
  

Requirements

Minimum Experience:

• 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.
  

Educational Background:

• 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