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Kaivalya Education Foundation, Program Manager/ Senior Program Manager – Productization

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About the portfolio organization

Kaivalya Education Foundation (KEF), a not-for-profit organization has been implementing programs designed around improving learning outcomes since 2008 in some of the most hard-to-reach areas across aspirational districts of the country. We run some of the largest education programs in the country employing both the top down and bottom-up approach to solve the complex and intertwined problems of the public education system in the country. 
 
Target population: 
KEF is dedicated to working with the existing public education system, to improve the quality and access to the most disadvantaged population in the country. Our work is primarily spread across 150 districts, including all 112 aspirational districts of India across 26 states. These districts are home to over 250 million people of which over 80% of the population at an annual income of US$ 500 or lower. The challenges in these areas are multi-fold including seasonal migration, poor access to health and nutrition, flood or draught-prone regions, border & internal insurgency issues, economic conditions, and societal issues like lack of awareness, early marriages, child labor, etc. These conditions ultimately lead to a lack of access and poor quality of education for the children in these districts. Owing to these conditions, these areas have the highest learning gaps in primary school students, which continue in higher classes, leading to higher dropout and failure rates. 
 
Programmatic Approach: 
KEF, through its direct presence across all the aspirational districts with a staff of over 1,500 people supports innovation and geography-specific contextualized solutions and support to the children and teachers in these districts. We work with students, school staff, government systems, and the community to bring long-term sustainable learning gains for the children in these districts. The programs are designed to enhance teachers’ capabilities, classroom teaching methods, course content, school processes, and periodic assessments to ensure superior learning outcomes. These interventions are supplemented by processes to improve school leadership, systems strengthening and community participation to improve the overall learning outcomes.
 
Vision for the next 5 to 7 years:
The foundation thus is involved in reshaping education delivery, such that every child, regardless of background, can avail all the life chances he/she deserves. Out of the 150 districts, we have 25 high-touch districts, covering 300,000 students with high-intensity education programs. These programs are designed to directly improve student learning outcomes for primary-grade students. We aim to reach a total of around ~ 2 million children directly through the pedagogy-based approach in the next 5 years. The cascading model, involving community systems change, has the potential to indirectly impact ~ 15 million children across these districts. 

About the Fellowship role

The Program Manager/ Senior Program Manager – Productization would be responsible for driving transformative initiatives impacting on ground operations, into structured and scalable products or services that can be implemented widely across communities. The incumbent would bridge the gap between community development strategies and product development, ensuring that impactful solutions are accessible, sustainable and adaptable to different contexts and needs. This is a unique opportunity to contribute to nation-building by shaping products that impact local governance and rural economies. 
 
Fellowship location: Remote, with frequent travel to different locations across India
Employment: Full-time, one-year Fellowship
Starting Date: 1st July 2025

Key responsibilities

  • Lead the productization process by ensuring seamless transitions from understanding the problem accurately to conceptualise the most appropriate solution and support implementation. 
  • Develop and implement product strategies to convert prototypes and models into sustainable and scalable products. 
  • Work closely with the Operations teams to attain deep understanding of on ground realities and problem statements and align products with stakeholder requirements. 
  • Collaborate with stakeholders to identify risks or issues related to a new or existing product design. 
  • Conduct research to ensure that products meet stakeholder needs and sectoral standards. 
  • Develop and maintain product roadmaps, timelines, and project plans to track progress and ensure timely delivery. 
  • Collaborate with stakeholders to co-create the right strategies and ensure alignment of appropriate messaging and communication. 
  • Support stakeholders to oversee pilot testing, validation and monitor performance indicators during early stages of the product lifecycle. 
  • Provide ongoing product support after launch, tracking product performance and identifying opportunities for improvements or enhancements. 
  • Communicate productization progress to senior management, highlighting key risks, milestones, and other issues. 

Requirements

Experience   
  • Min 5-8 years of experience in product management, product development or productization, ideally in the development sector, consulting firms or social enterprises. 
  • A Master’s degree in Product Management or related field. 
  • Strong understanding of product development processes, including concept design and implementation techniques. 
Skills/Abilities       
  • Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills. 
  • Strong research and analytical skills. 
  • Ability to work collaboratively with multiple stakeholders, including cross-functional and cross-location/ cultural teams, government and non-government partners. 
  • Passion for bringing about change in rural governance and a deep understanding of stakeholder needs. 
  • Ability to adapt quickly to changing project requirements and priorities. 
Attributes 
  • Passionate about creating impact, driven by pursuit of excellence  
  • Reflective, humble, empathetic and willing to learn, unlearn 
  • Ability to lead teams, support meaning making in a complex and ambiguous environment 
  • Entrepreneurial, quick learner, can adapt to new roles with ease 
  • Demonstrates integrity by modelling values and ethical standards 
  • Displays and practices an inclusive attitude without any discrimination on the basis of gender, religion, caste, race, nationality, age, etc.
  • Extends equitable treatment to all 
Must Haves
  • Min 5-8 years of experience in product management, product development, or productization, ideally in the development sector, consulting firms, social enterprises. 
  • A Master’s degree in Product Management or related field. 
  • Strong understanding of product development processes, including concept design and implementation techniques. 
  • Proficiency in English and Hindi languages 
  • Authorization to work in India 

About the LGT Impact Fellowship

As part of LGT Venture Philanthropy's and Lightrock's strategic efforts to scale positive impact, the LGT Impact Fellowship was established to provide additional know-how and capacity to portfolio organisations and companies. Each year a limited number of professionals are nominated to work full-time for one year with the organisations and companies supported by LGT Venture Philanthropy and Lightrock in Africa, India and Latin America as per the above job description.
LGT Impact Fellows are part of an enriching cohort of like-minded Fellows. They benefit from various program activities, including a 1-week in-person kick-off workshop, webinars, access to the network and know-how of LGT Venture Philanthropy, etc.

How to apply

Submit your application via the "Apply" button. Please note that we only accept online applications and that multiple applications are not allowed. However, you are invited to mention additional preferences in your application.
Moreover, please make sure to read all information in the application form carefully and answer the questions accordingly (additional information about the questions are marked with "i").