Job Opportunity for Program Officer, Youth Program at Quest Alliance in Surat

At Quest Alliance, we transform learning ecosystems through education technology, capacity building, and collaboration to build 21st-century skills for learners and facilitators.

We are a not-for-profit trust that focuses on research-led innovation and advocacy in the field of teaching and learning. We engage with educators, civil society, government institutions and corporate organizations to demonstrate and enable scalable and replicable solutions in school education and vocational training.

At Quest you will get the opportunity to apply your skills and contribute to addressing issues around quality education and skills training. The organization gives you the space to learn and grow in a fun and engaging environment. We have an eclectic group of people working at Quest drawn from diverse disciplines including Education, Technology, Design, Youth Development and Business.  

About the Program:

MyQuest’s objective is to provide a holistic development platform for young people as well as provide a lifelong, continuous learning opportunity to disadvantaged youth. We use content, pedagogy and technology, to drive the delivery of teaching and learning. Through our signature blended learning approach we develop critical life-work skills that are critical for success in the 21st century. Our curriculum includes media elements like games, videos, audio, and visuals as well as the use of dictionaries for vernacular translations.

The Role:

The role will work as part of the Youth program team and coordinate with other members of the QUEST team to ensure efficient and effective implementation of projects undertaken by QUEST Alliance.   

Program Implementation and Quality

• Operational oversight of work with Skill Development Department
• Support in the development of operational plans to achieve high quality delivery against program objectives, quality standards and targets.
• Support the Sr. Program Manager to regularly review processes and materials.
• Lead on identifying and evaluate potential risks related to impact of the program and take necessary steps to include risk mitigation in program reviews and design
• Anchor content deployment, feedback and improvement for the state
• Develop and manage training calendar for all partners and projects
• Create Master Trainers amongst partner organizations
• Enhance QUEST’s trainer support system for the state (which includes offline and online methods to help trainers improve their practice)
• Ensure Life Skill & Gender becomes integral part of the program
• Building Employers network through meetings

Partnership Building, Management and Capacity Building  

• Build and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders of the designated geography
• Build partner network and looking to onboard knowledge partner to execute long term engagement through partner network
• Organise and lead the capacity-building activities in coordination with the Training & Content Manager 
• Ensure additional support needs of the Institutes are identified, assessed and any reasonable adjustments are made to their journey. 
• Support the development and implementation of innovative engagement and retention processes.
• Support with the donor visits
• Ensure to meet the data reporting standard by giving them the necessary inputs,  support and having agreed timelines in place for reporting
• Co-ordinating & facilitating Industry Engagement activities – Inviting employers to do guest lectures at Institutes & organizing placement events.

People Management  

• Provide leadership and high-quality performance management to a team of Program Associates/ Facilitators, empowering them to deliver to a high standard. 
• Build the capacity to excel in their roles, supporting their professional development.  Support, mentor and coach them as part of their professional development and help them to be highly effective in their work.
• Conduct periodic performance management meetings and reviews as per the Organisation requirement
• Lead the recruitment and induction of new member for your team you manage
• Ensure that the team works together to share learning and to exchange skills
• Visit their centers to support your team with curriculum planning, delivery of content etc; 
• Implement all relevant People policies and procedures.
• Ensure all employees managed have updated C.Vs, professional goals and they receive periodic feedback on their performance.  

Data Management, Monitoring and Evaluation

• Lead the data management of the region
• Ensure all the relevant data is available on time
• Ensure the monitoring tools are understood by the team and is used for reporting
• Support the M&E focal point with baseline, end line and other relevant assessments
• Submit all the relevant monitoring reports on time
• Ensure the program process is documented and enough case studies are in place to show the impact or progress of the program.
• Ensure the data is analysed and feeds into the planning and review meeting 

Other

• Other duties as required.
• Participate  and contribute to team meetings and reviews
• Seek regular capacity building support from team
• Adhere to all the finance and HR policies of the Organisation
• Be a role model for others to Uphold the values of Quest Alliance

Requirements

• A Master’s degree in Social Work/Rural Management with minimum 4-5 years’ work experience preferably in the Education / Vocational Training sector
• Good communication skills
• Program management and evaluation skills
• Ability and interest to train facilitators and youths
• Knowledge of issues in youth employability and the social development sector in India.
• Fluency in spoken and written English
• Should be willing to travel 1-2 weeks a month
• Proficient in MS Office tools, and Internet
• Most importantly, candidate should be self-motivated, enthusiastic and an energetic team player