JOB DESCRIPTION
Senior Program Officer
Location: Visakhapatnam / Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh
Work mode: Hybrid
Role Purpose:
The Senior Program Officer – Program Implementation will be responsible for planning, managing, and strengthening the implementation of Quest Alliance’s Future Skills curriculum across one or two assigned districts in Andhra Pradesh.
The role will focus on building a strong district-level implementation system by managing and supporting the district team, strengthening Master Trainer (MT) and teacher networks, ensuring effective cascade training, and driving curriculum implementation across schools.
The Senior Program Officer will translate state-level program priorities into actionable district plans, ensure that teachers and Master Trainers have the capacity and resources required for effective classroom implementation, and establish robust mechanisms for monitoring, data-based reviews, and continuous improvement. The role will also lead the implementation of the program’s recognition strategy to celebrate and encourage exemplary practices among teachers, Master Trainers, schools, and other stakeholders. Working closely with the Program Manager, Senior Program Manager, Learning Experience team, and Monitoring and Evaluation team, the Senior Program Officer will ensure quality implementation, strengthen team capabilities, and contribute to achieving program outcomes at scale.
Key Responsibilities:
District Program Planning and Implementation
- Own the planning, execution, and review of the Future Skills program across one or two assigned districts.
- Translate state-level program goals and implementation priorities into district-level annual plans, quarterly milestones, monthly work plans, and school-level implementation targets.
- Lead the district team in executing planned activities, ensuring timely completion of deliverables and alignment with program quality standards.
- Develop and maintain a district implementation calendar covering teacher training, Master Trainer engagement, classroom rollout, school visits, reviews, and recognition activities.
- Ensure timely delivery, distribution, and utilization of curriculum materials for Grades 7, 8, and 9 across assigned schools.
- Identify implementation challenges, risks, and bottlenecks and work with relevant teams to develop timely solutions.
- Anchor demonstration schools in assigned districts to model effective Future Skills curriculum implementation, test innovative approaches, and generate practices that can be scaled.
- Coordinate with relevant government stakeholders and school leadership to enable implementation, address operational barriers, and sustain program activities.
Master Trainer Strategy
- Implement the state’s Master Trainer strategy at the district level, ensuring the identification, onboarding, development, and ongoing engagement of Master Trainers.
- Develop district-level plans for Master Trainer capacity building, mentoring, classroom support, and periodic performance reviews.
- Establish clear roles, responsibilities, and performance expectations for Master Trainers in supporting teachers and improving classroom implementation.
- Facilitate regular Master Trainer review meetings to assess training effectiveness, teacher engagement, curriculum adoption, and implementation challenges.
- Strengthen Master Trainers’ capabilities to facilitate training, mentor teachers, demonstrate classroom practices, and use implementation data for improvement.
- Build a strong district-level network of Master Trainers who can independently support teacher development and sustain the curriculum implementation process.
- Track Master Trainer engagement, effectiveness, and contribution to teacher capacity building and classroom adoption.
Teacher Cascade Strategy and Curriculum Implementation
- Lead the implementation of the teacher cascade strategy to ensure that teachers are trained, supported, and enabled to deliver the Future Skills curriculum effectively
- Work with Master Trainers and the district team to plan and execute teacher training, refresher sessions, peer-learning opportunities, and ongoing classroom support.
- Ensure teachers understand the curriculum’s objectives, pedagogical approach, classroom processes, and expected learner outcomes.
- Monitor the regularity, quality, and depth of curriculum implementation across assigned schools through school visits, classroom observations, teacher interactions, and review mechanisms.
- Support teachers in addressing classroom-level implementation challenges and adapting facilitation practices while maintaining curriculum intent.
- Promote peer learning and the sharing of effective classroom practices across teachers, schools, and clusters.
- Identify gaps in teacher capacity, engagement, and curriculum adoption and develop targeted support plans in collaboration with Master Trainers and the Learning Experience team.
- Ensure that classroom implementation moves beyond activity completion towards meaningful learner engagement and the development of Future Skills.
Recognition Strategy and Motivation
- Implement the program’s recognition strategy across assigned districts to acknowledge and encourage effective practices among teachers, Master Trainers, schools, and learners.
- Develop and operationalize a recognition calendar aligned with program milestones, curriculum implementation, teacher engagement, and learner achievements.
- Establish transparent criteria for identifying and recognizing exemplary implementation and innovation.
- Work with the district team, Master Trainers, and school leadership to identify promising practices and document success stories.
- Facilitate recognition forums, peer-sharing platforms, showcases, and other opportunities that motivate teachers and strengthen ownership of the program.
- Ensure recognition efforts reinforce desired behaviours, improve participation, and encourage sustained adoption of the Future Skills curriculum.
- Track participation in recognition activities and assess their contribution to teacher motivation, peer learning, and program implementation.
Data-Based Monitoring, Reviews, and Continuous Improvement
- Establish a regular system of data-base d reviews at district, team, Master Trainer, teacher, and school levels.
- Ensure timely, accurate, and complete collection and reporting of program data related to access, engagement, implementation quality, training, and learner outcomes.
- Lead monthly district program reviews to assess progress against targets, identify implementation gaps, and agree on corrective actions.
- Facilitate periodic reviews with the district team and Master Trainers using dashboards, monitoring tools, school visit observations, and teacher feedback. Analyse implementation trends to identify underperforming schools, gaps in teacher engagement, training needs, and opportunities to improve curriculum adoption.
- Ensure that review meetings result in clear action points, assigned responsibilities, timelines, and follow-up mechanisms.
- Work closely with the Monitoring and Evaluation team to strengthen data quality, reporting practices, and the use of evidence for program decisions.
- Document emerging insights, effective practices, implementation challenges, and lessons that can inform district and state-level program improvements.
Team Management and Capacity Building
- Manage, guide, and support district-level team members responsible for working with schools, teachers, and Master Trainers.
- Translate program priorities into clear team responsibilities, individual work plans, performance expectations, and review mechanisms.
- Conduct regular team meetings and one-on-one check-ins to review progress, provide feedback, resolve challenges, and support professional development.
- Build team capacity in program planning, teacher engagement, facilitation, monitoring, data interpretation, documentation, and stakeholder management.
- Conduct field visits with team members to observe implementation, provide on-the-job coaching, and strengthen the quality of school and teacher support.
- Identify individual and collective capacity gaps and develop targeted learning and development plans.
- Foster a collaborative team culture that encourages ownership, problem-solving, accountability, and continuous learning.
- Ensure coordination across program implementation, Learning Experience, Monitoring and Evaluation, and state-level teams.
Documentation, Reporting, and Cross-Team Collaboration
- Prepare timely monthly, quarterly, and annual district implementation reports highlighting progress, achievements, challenges, and corrective actions.
- Maintain updated district work plans, school implementation trackers, Master Trainer records, teacher training data, review documentation, and action trackers.
- Document classroom practices, case studies, teacher and learner stories, and implementation insights, ensuring appropriate consent for photographs, videos, and other documentation.
- Work closely with the Program Manager and Senior Program Manager to communicate district progress, escalate risks, and align implementation with state priorities.
- Collaborate with the Learning Experience team to incorporate classroom feedback into curriculum and training improvements.
- Partner with the Monitoring and Evaluation team to strengthen monitoring tools, data quality, and outcome tracking.
- Share promising practices and lessons from assigned districts to inform program strategy and implementation across other districts.
Required Skills and Experience
- Minimum 4–6 years of relevant work experience in education, program implementation, teacher development, capacity building, or related development-sector roles.
- Experience managing field teams, coordinating multiple stakeholders, and delivering program outcomes across schools or geographical areas.
- Experience working with government schools, teachers, Master Trainers, education functionaries, or district-level education systems is highly desirable.
- Strong understanding of teacher professional development, cascade training models, curriculum implementation, and school-based support mechanisms.
- Ability to plan, coordinate, and monitor multiple implementation activities while maintaining timelines and quality standards.
- Strong analytical skills and the ability to interpret program data, facilitate review meetings, identify gaps, and drive corrective action.
- Experience in team management, coaching, mentoring, and building the capacity of colleagues and field teams.
- Strong interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills in Telugu (mandatory) and English.
- Ability to build relationships with teachers, school leaders, government functionaries, Master Trainers, and internal teams.
- Proficiency in digital tools such as Google Workspace, spreadsheets, dashboards, virtual meeting platforms, and digital monitoring systems.
- Willingness to travel extensively within assigned districts and periodically outside the district.
- Strong ownership, problem-solving, collaboration, and execution skills, with the ability to work independently and as part of a team.
Desirable Experience
- Experience implementing Computational Thinking, Artificial Intelligence, coding, 21st-century skills, or other Future Skills curricula.
- Experience developing or managing Master Trainer networks, teacher cascade models, or communities of practice.
- Experience implementing teacher or school recognition programs and facilitating peer-learning platforms.
- Familiarity with hackathons, ideathons, EdTech tools, and technology-enabled learning approaches.
- Experience using data and evidence to improve program quality and strengthen implementation at scale.
Key Success Indicators Success in this role will be assessed through:
- District implementation: Achievement of district-level program milestones, school coverage, and implementation targets.
- Master Trainer effectiveness: Active and capable Master Trainers who consistently train, mentor, and support teachers.
- Teacher cascade and curriculum adoption: Timely teacher training and sustained, quality implementation of the Future Skills curriculum in classrooms.
- Recognition and motivation: Effective execution of recognition activities that encourage participation, exemplary practices, and peer learning.
- Data-based management: Timely, accurate reporting and regular reviews that lead to documented corrective actions and measurable improvements.
- Team effectiveness: Improved team capacity, accountability, collaboration, and delivery against agreed plans.
- Program quality and learner engagement: Evidence of meaningful classroom engagement and progress towards intended learner outcomes.
- Continuous improvement: Effective documentation and application of implementation insights to strengthen program delivery and sustainability.
Salary:
The pay band for the position starts at Rs. 47,000 /- per month (cost to company) (The salary offered will be commensurate with the experience and expertise of the candidate)
Benefits:
At Quest Alliance, we believe that our investment in people extends well beyond compensation. Alongside your salary, the organisation continues to invest in your wellbeing, learning, and long-term growth through a range of benefits, including:
- Comprehensive Personal Accident Insurance covering up to Rs.10,00,000 annually.
- Mediclaim Insurance covers up to ?3,00,000 annually through our insurance partner, Anand Rathi, together with additional wellness benefits.
- Reach for the Stars (RFS) support of up to ?5,000 each year to encourage your self-learning and professional development.
- Internet reimbursement of up to ?750 per month, based on actual usage, to support our flexible and hybrid ways of working.
- Childcare support of up to ?3,000 per month for employees with children below six years of age, through a matching contribution towards childcare or daycare expenses.
- Access to Quest Alliance's emotional health and wellbeing programmes, including:
- Group sessions valued at approximately ?8,000 per session, fully sponsored by the organisation.
- One-to-one counselling sessions, valued at approximately ?2,000 per session, fully sponsored by the organisation.
- Gratuity Allowance, reflecting Quest Alliance's long-term commitment to your financial security and social security. This amount is specifically earmarked by the organisation and becomes payable upon retirement or separation in accordance with applicable laws.
To Apply:
Interested candidates are requested to apply for the role by filling up the application form via the ATS (Zoho Recruit) platform:
About Quest Alliance:
Quest Alliance prepares young learners in India with the skills, mindsets, and support systems they need to thrive in life, learning, and work.
A social impact organization with close to two decades of experience, Quest Alliance works at the intersection of technology and future skills to make learning more equitable and relevant, especially for socially and economically vulnerable learners.
The organization influences systems to empower young learners in government high schools and trade and vocational institutes to holistically navigate their education to career transitions.
Quest Alliance works across 12 Indian states and is partnered with nine state governments, over 80 CSOs, national ministries, and funders. It has impacted 1.8 million young lives to date.
At Quest Alliance, we pride ourselves on being an Equal Opportunities employer, embracing applications from all segments of the community. We are committed to ensuring that every applicant and employee is treated with fairness and respect, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, marital status, social status, caste, religious belief, age, or any other factor that is irrelevant to performance. Your individuality is valued and respected within our organization.