State Project Manager

Role: State Project Manager (Education),Raipur Chattisgarh
Experience: 12-15 years
Salary: 12-16 LPA
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Role Purpose :
The State Project Manager is the core operational lead for program work across the assigned districts in Chhattisgarh. The role is responsible for ensuring effective, timely, and high-quality implementation of district-level programs by closely monitoring field operations, supporting district teams, strengthening coordination across functions, and resolving operational challenges on the ground.

These districts represent mature program geographies at different stages of implementation and transition. The State Project Manager will ensure sustained program quality, institutionalization of processes, effective stakeholder engagement, and smooth execution of state priorities across these districts.

While academic leadership (FLN/MLE/Numeracy) continues to be anchored with the State Head and academic specialists, the State Project Manager ensures that plans translate into execution, systems function smoothly, and implementation risks are identified and addressed proactively using field insights and M&E data.

Key Responsibilities :

1. Program Implementation & Strategic Support

• Oversee day-to-day implementation of programs across assigned districts — Balod (FLN), and Bastar, Dantewada, and Jashpur (MLE) — ensuring adherence to approved plans, timelines, deliverables, and quality standards across districts.
• Anchor demo-level cadence meetings and actively participate in monthly central-level review meetings, contributing to both the implementation and the strategic planning of FLN and MLE initiatives.
• Support the State Head in the finalization of donor reports and the annual work plan, ensuring these accurately reflect on-ground progress and priorities.
• Track implementation progress across districts and blocks on an ongoing basis, proactively identifying bottlenecks and driving their timely resolution in coordination with relevant teams.
• Conduct frequent field visits to districts and blocks to monitor implementation quality, mentor district teams, and provide hands-on problem-solving support where challenges arise.
• Ensure close coordination and alignment between district-level plans and state-level priorities, so that field execution reflects the broader program strategy.

2. District & Team Management

• Serve as the overall district-level anchor for organizational processes, government partnerships, and briefings with the District Education Office and DIET.
• Provide direct supervision, guidance, and mentoring support to District Program Managers (DPMs), building their capacity to manage program delivery independently.
• Conduct regular review meetings with DPMs to track progress against plans, flag emerging risks, and identify support needs.
• Strengthen district-level planning processes, execution discipline, and reporting practices to improve overall program quality.
• Facilitate coordination between district teams and state-level academic, M&E, and operations staff to ensure cohesive program delivery.

3. Monitoring, Review & Use of Data

• Work closely with the M&E Officer to regularly review program data, dashboards, trends, and field-level insights.
• Use M&E findings to identify implementation gaps, course-correct strategies, and continuously improve program effectiveness.
• Ensure timely and accurate submission of program data, reports, and reviews to the State Manager and central teams.
• Support district teams in strengthening data quality practices, promoting data-driven decision-making, and ensuring compliance with M&E processes.
• Support the State Head in planning monthly and quarterly program reviews with SCERT and the Education Department, ensuring these are well-prepared and evidence-based.

4. Operations, Finance & Administrative Coordination

• Coordinate closely with the Sr. Accounts and Admin Associate to ensure smooth logistics, timely printing and material approvals, travel arrangements, and operational planning for workshops and field activities.
• Monitor operational expenditure in coordination with the finance function to ensure spending remains within approved budgets.
• Support the planning and execution of Internal Capacity Building sessions, trainings, workshops, reviews, and field activities from an operational standpoint.
• Ensure full compliance with organizational policies related to procurement, travel, payments, and documentation across all districts.

5. Risk Management & Escalation

• Proactively identify operational risks, implementation challenges, and interdependencies across districts before they escalate.
• Act as the first point of escalation for operational issues, working with relevant internal teams to resolve them quickly and effectively.
• Support the State Head in maintaining implementation continuity during high-pressure periods, leadership transitions, or other periods of organizational change.

6. Coordination with Central and State Team

• Work closely with the State Head to ensure academic priorities and field execution remain tightly aligned.
• Coordinate regularly with central program, MLE, M&E, finance, and operations teams as required to support smooth cross-functional delivery.
• Support state-level reporting, program reviews, and donor or government engagements from an operational perspective, ensuring these are backed by accurate field data.

Qualifications & Experience

Education

• Master's degree in Education, Social Sciences, Management, Public Administration, or a related field.
• Additional certification in Project Management, Operations, or Monitoring & Evaluation is an advantage.

Experience

• 10–15 years of relevant experience managing large-scale education or development programs.
• Strong track record of field-based program implementation, preferably within government school systems.
• Demonstrated experience managing multi-location teams and district-level operations.
• Prior experience working directly with district and state government systems is highly desirable.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong operational and execution-focused mindset, with close attention to detail.
• Excellent people management and cross-team coordination skills.
• Ability to analyze program data, identify trends, and translate insights into concrete operational actions.
• Strong problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage ambiguity in fast-changing field contexts.
• High level of comfort with extensive travel and sustained on-ground engagement.
• Proficiency in MS Office (especially Excel) for tracking, reviews, and reporting; working knowledge of Google Workspace; and effective use of AI tools to support program work.
• Strong communication skills in both English and Hindi; familiarity with the local context and languages of Chhattisgarh is a plus.
• High sense of ownership, resilience, and the ability to work effectively under tight timelines.

Hiring Note: Applications will be reviewed on rolling basis. This job is first posted on July 14th, 2026 on Ground Zero

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