Manager - Program Design And Development

Magic Bus India Foundation, founded in 1999 by Matthew Spacie, stands among the top five NGOs in India dedicated to education and skill development. Our organisation equips adolescents and young individuals with essential life skills and knowledge to thrive during the transition from childhood to livelihood.
Our mission is to create a world where young people break free from poverty, leading fulfilling and rewarding lives while making positive contributions to their communities. We achieve this by enabling adolescents to complete their secondary education, providing them with the necessary skills for employment, and connecting them to job market opportunities. Our target age group ranges from 12 to 24 years.

We operate two flagship programs: the Adolescent Programme and the Livelihood Programme.

1.In our Adolescent Programme, we prioritise the instillation of life skills and the enhancement of education. Through our network of 2,770 connected schools operating in 72 districts across 24 states, we have positively impacted the lives of over 1 million adolescents, with an impressive 51% participation rate of girls.
2.The Livelihood Programme focuses on enhancing employability by providing specialised skills training and connecting young individuals to sustainable livelihood opportunities. Through our 95 Livelihood Centres and 825 Colleges, we offer sector-specific training, job placements, and post-placement support. This programme, operational in 13 states, has achieved an impressive 56% participation rate among girls and has successfully facilitated the placement of 2,02,429 youths to date.

Magic Bus India Foundation has offices in India, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Singapore.

Job Profile
As a Manager – Program Design and Development within our Livelihood Vertical, the incumbent will be responsible for designing and developing various livelihood development programs and products on youth skilling, self-employment, women’s economic empowerment, etc. by keeping an eye on national and international development in livelihood and economic development sector. The job roles include secondary and primary data collection, data analytics, field observation and studies, desk review, technology, social media, and AI use, program and project modelling, designing, field application, etc. You will play a pivotal role in driving positive social impact by leveraging social programming and technology to empower young individuals on their journey to sustainable livelihoods. Moreover, you will also be responsible for driving the growth of the program and products by collaborating with other players in the ecosystem to enable more young people to get benefits out of the livelihood programs of Magic Bus.
If you are a visionary and passionate about making meaningful differences in youth’s lives, Magic Bus welcomes you to be part of our dynamic team.

Job Responsibilities

•Design, model, develop, and test cohesive programs and products targeting youth skilling, livelihood development, economic empowerment, and self-employment that align with Magic Bus Livelihood vertical’s vision, mission, and strategy. This involves setting clear, long-term goals for the program and product and defining the roadmap to achieve them.
•Lead preparation of project proposal/DPR/RFP writings, budget, monitoring, and evaluation frameworks and tools in line with MB policies and priorities.
•To conduct regular field and desk research and analyses including closely scanning the changes in national and international development in skilling and livelihood to identify opportunities and trends to design appropriate programs and products.
•Manage the entire program and product development lifecycle, from conceptualization and planning, testing and piloting, and ensuring the success of the program.
•Work closely with the MB livelihood and technology team.
•Build and maintain strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including youth, partners, third-party service providers, employers, and job portals.
•Foster a collaborative work environment by working closely with program operations, curriculum, training, designers, developers, and other cross-functional team members.
•Facilitate effective communication and cooperation among team members to ensure that product development remains on track and within scope.
•Regularly report on program performance to the leadership team and stakeholders, highlighting areas of success and areas requiring attention.
•Collaborate with like-minded peer organizations, national and international organizations, and academic institutions to make MB as a strong ecosystem player.

Desired Competencies

•Strategic mindset, networking, collaboration, and team player
•Knowledgeable in social sector program product design
•Research, analytical skills, and critical thinking.
•Strong skills in stakeholder management, fostering collaboration within cross-functional teams, and exhibiting strong leadership qualities.
•Positive attitude and social.
•Remaining adaptable, customer-centric, and ethically aware in their approach to a dynamic business environment.

Qualification and Experience

•Postgraduates (Preferably from Social Science, Business, Rural Development, Development Studies)
•Proven track record of designing, developing, and managing programs and products related to livelihood/skilling/economic empowerment for at least 5 years.
•Strong understanding of social development programs linked with skilling, livelihood development, economic empowerment, self-employment, system design, etc.
•Ability to gather and interpret qualitative and quantitative data. Knowledge of research methodology and the use of statistical tools will be an added advantage.
•Strong problem-solving skills and strategic thinking
•Excellent leadership and influencing skills including being able to work with cross-functional teams.
•Excellent communication and negotiation skills
•Ability to work effectively with diverse stakeholders.
•Familiarity with the NGO sector and experience in system thinking approaches that target education/skilling would be a plus.
•Working on the government’s economic empowerment/skilling related programs.