AMERICAN INDIA FOUNDATION TRUST
JOB DESCRIPTION
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Position:
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Project Associate-Market cum Financial Linkage
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Program:
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Livelihoods
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Role:
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Market and Financial Linkage
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Reporting
Relationship:
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Project Officer-Skilling & Livelihoods
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Location:
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Bengaluru, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad
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Number of Positions:
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4 (1 at each Location)
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Nature of
Employment
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Fixed term until 31st March 2027 (extendable as per individual’s performance and organization’s need).
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ABOUT AMERICAN INDIA FOUNDATION TRUST
The American India Foundation Trust (AIF) is committed to improving the lives of India’s underprivileged, with a special focus on women, children, and youth. The Foundation does this through high-impact interventions in education, health, and livelihoods because poverty is multidimensional. Founded over two decades ago, in the aftermath of the devastating Gujarat earthquake, as a humanitarian initiative by the then Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji, and the U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton, AIF has impacted the lives of more than 19.63 million of India’s poor across 35 States and Union Territories of India. Registered as a Trust in India, with an independent Board of Trustees, AIF adheres to strict financial and governance standards, ensuring transparency, accountability, and responsible management of resources. As per statutory mandates, AIF is registered under 80G, and 12A. These registrations and certifications are tangible evidence of the organization's existence, credibility, and compliance with the applicable legal and regulatory frameworks while demonstrating a firm commitment to its vision and mission. Learn more at www.aifindia.org
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
AIF’s Livelihoods program envisions a world where poor and vulnerable communities have access to dignified work opportunities, empowering them with sustainable livelihoods. Since 2006, the Livelihoods Program has directly and indirectly served 2.20 million people from vulnerable communities. Leveraging technology to provide financial and market linkages, knowledge, skills, and dignified work opportunities, the program helps the communities secure jobs, manage enterprises, and make a respectable living. Since its inception in 2006, through its flagship programs Market Aligned Skills Training (MAST) and Ability Based Livelihood Empowerment (ABLE), AIF Livelihoods has provided program support to 825,960 disadvantaged youth, women and Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), and impacted 343,727 livelihoods.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Generational Urban Poverty Alleviation Program (GenUP) is conceived to address the persistent cycle of generational urban poverty affecting communities like street vendors, migrant workers, women, youth, and persons with disabilities. Decades of evidence from AIF’s on-ground work revealed that families engaged in low-income urban occupations for generations struggle to break the cycle due to limited skills, low financial access, and inadequate market opportunities. GenUP aims to disrupt this cycle by empowering households through a holistic 5E framework—Employment, Entrepreneurship, Entitlements, Environment, and Ecosystem Building.
The program’s core objective is to enable multi-income, resilient households by providing 21stcentury skills, entrepreneurial support, market linkages, digital inclusion, and access to government schemes.
KEY ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
- Conduct community visits and engage with 2000-2500 project beneficiaries at the community level.
- Identify and map out government and private financial institutions within the project area.
- Create batch plans for women learners for introducing different concepts to ensure effective learning
- Connect project beneficiaries with relevant financial institutions for accessing capital, social security schemes, and various government loans. Assist them in opening bank accounts, ensuring compliance with KYC regulations, and providing guidance on tax compliance related to their entrepreneurial activities
- Assist beneficiaries in opening bank accounts and ensure compliance with KYC regulations.
- Facilitate the generation of QR codes for beneficiaries to streamline transactions and recordkeeping.
- Provide guidance to beneficiaries on tax compliance related to their entrepreneurial activities and link them with relevant institutions for accessing capital (entrepreneurship) and social security and welfare (entitlements) schemes.
- Monitor the proper utilization of credit by beneficiaries to enhance income and facilitate timely repayment to financial institutions
- Organize and arrange technical support for beneficiaries to ensure the continuity and success of their enterprises.
- Assist in maintaining and updating the AIF MIS (Management Information System) database in coordination with the Project Manager.
- Facilitate stakeholder and donor visits to the field as and when required.
- To be involved in any operational activity as and when instructed by the Project Manager.
- Any other task assigned by line manager that might emerge depending upon the need and opportunity decided by AIF
KEY SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES:
- Graduate/Post Graduate in any discipline with at least 3-4 years of experience in urban livelihoods and creating market and financial linkages.
- Experience in working with micro-entrepreneurs and local vendors will be an advantage.
- An understanding of the market with forward and backward integration.
- Ability to develop relationships and engage with multiple stakeholders including Government.
- Documentation and report writing skills with good proficiency in computers.
- Consistently approaches work with positive energy and a can-do attitude.
- Possesses a variety of skill sets including time management, multi-tasking, interpersonal and problem-solving abilities.
- Ability to develop a local level network of useful resources to support project implementation.
- A team player who is supportive, flexible and ready to take on additional tasks.
- Excellent communication skills – both written and verbal excellent and confident communicator.
OTHERS: Salary shall commensurate with experience.
POSITION AVAILABILITY: Immediate
APPLICATION PROCESS: To apply for this position, please click here
Only applications of shortlisted candidates will be acknowledged.
AIFT is committed to fostering an inclusive workplace and ensures equal opportunity for all, without discrimination.
