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About Bal Raksha Bharat
Bal Raksha Bharat (also known as Save the Children) is India's leading independent child rights organisation. It is a member of the Save the Children movement that operates globally with the mission to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and achieve immediate and lasting changes in their lives. We are working towards three breakthroughs in how the world treats children by 2030:
- No child dies from preventable causes before their fifth birthday
- All children learn from a quality basic education and
- Violence against children is no longer tolerated
We run programs in the remotest corners of India and urban areas in the areas of Health & Nutrition, Education, Child Protection and Livelihood & Economic Wellbeing in order to facilitate quality education, healthcare and protection from harm and abuse and life-saving aid during emergencies to children
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ROLE PURPOSE
The Project Lead will lead the day-to-day management and coordinated implementation of Project, SMART LEARN School initiatives across 5 government schools in Thiruvanandapuram. The role will translate the approved program strategy into high-quality, timely and integrated implementation across the schools in STEM, WASH and SMART and Health interventions.
The Project Lead will oversee the implementation team, coordinate with the PIU Lead, PACT, District Coordinator, MEAL/Data support, Finance & Admin and technical experts, and maintain effective linkages with school leadership, School committees, relevant line departments and other partners. The role will ensure program quality, budget and resource management, progress tracking, documentation, reporting, learning, risk mitigation and sustainability/hand-over, while ensuring child safeguarding, gender equality, inclusion and child-centred implementation throughout the project.
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SCOPE OF ROLE
Scope: The Project Lead will be responsible for operational leadership and coordination of Project across 5 schools in Thiruvananthapuram. The Project Lead will lead implementation planning and review, supervise the program team, facilitate government and school engagement, oversee quality assurance and data use, and ensure timely delivery against annual milestones and quarterly targets.
Reports to: State Lead
Staff reporting to this post: STEM & WASH Facilitators
Budget Responsibilities: Yes – responsible for project budget planning, utilization monitoring, expenditure tracking and compliance within delegated authority.
Role Dimensions: Development context; Specialized in project management - Education, multi-school and multi-district implementation; government and private school engagement; cross-functional program management.
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KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:
The key area of accountability required will be as follows:
- Lead annual, quarterly and monthly implementation planning for Project across Thiruvanandapuram ensuring sequencing of school, family/community and system-level activities in line with the approved proposal, budget, workplan and milestones.
- Oversee engagement and handholding of 5 participating schools, ensuring establishment and effective functioning of School maintenance and management committees with clear roles, timelines and indicators.
- Ensure timely completion and quality of baseline, midline and endline processes
- Build and maintain effective working relationships with state, district and school-level stakeholders, including Education and Health departments, DEOs, DIET, FSSAI, Fit India coordinators, school leaders, SMCs/PTAs and local service providers.
- Supervise, mentor and support field staff through regular review meetings, school visits, joint supportive supervision and performance follow-up; ensure implementation fidelity, problem solving and timely course correction.
- Coordinate with the MEAL/Data Lead and research/evaluation partner to ensure data quality, indicator tracking, data validation, analysis and use of evidence for program decision-making, learning and reporting.
- Ensure timely and accurate donor, internal and government-facing progress reporting, including narrative updates, indicator performance, milestone status, challenges, mitigation actions, case studies, innovations and best practices.
- Monitor project budget and resource utilisation in coordination with Finance & Admin; ensure adherence to BRB financial, procurement, travel, documentation and compliance requirements.
- Maintain an up-to-date risk register and lead mitigation actions related to school participation, staff turnover, community engagement, implementation quality, approvals/coordination and other operational risks identified during implementation.
- Support development, refinement and contextualisation of implementation tools, training materials, school wellness resources and communication approaches based on field learning, Technical Advisory Group guidance and stakeholder feedback.
- Lead documentation and dissemination of program learning, including annual reflection processes, success stories, case studies, best practice compendiums and inputs to policy briefs, scale-up toolkits and district/state dissemination platforms.
- Drive capacity transfer and sustainability by progressively strengthening school ownership, supporting government convergence and preparing schools and districts for handover and scale-up beyond the project period.
- Ensure that all implementation is child-centred, gender-responsive, inclusive, ethical and compliant with BRB safeguarding, accountability, confidentiality and data protection standards.
- Any other task assigned by the line Lead.
Key Performance Indicators
- Timely achievement of annual and quarterly project milestones across schools in Thiruvananadapuram.
- % of participating schools meeting agreed implementation quality standards and maintaining functional School comittees, Charters and Action Plans.
- Quality and completeness of program data, MIS, monitoring reports and donor submissions; timely corrective action on data-quality issues.
- Budget utilisation against approved plan and compliance with BRB financial/procurement requirements.
- Frequency and quality of supportive supervision, review meetings and stakeholder engagement mechanisms.
- Documented use of monitoring/evaluation evidence, stakeholder feedback and learning for program improvement.
- Progress towards institutionalisation, sustainability and handover readiness of participating schools and government stakeholders.
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BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)
- Accountability - Takes ownership for program quality, timely delivery, team performance, stakeholder commitments and responsible use of resources; uses review mechanisms to identify and address gaps.
- Ambition - Demonstrates commitment to achieving measurable improvements in school health and well-being and to positioning as a credible, scalable model for Kerala.
- Collaboration- Works effectively across BRB functions and with government, schools, technical experts, research partners, communities, parents and children to achieve shared outcomes.
- Creativity - Solves implementation challenges proactively, encourages innovation and adapts program approaches to different school contexts without compromising technical quality or program intent.
- Integrity Acts with honesty, transparency and strong ethical principles in program management, financial stewardship, data handling, stakeholder engagement and decision-making.
- Empathy and child-centredness: Demonstrates active listening, respect for children and caregiver realities, and ensures that decisions and implementation remain child-centred, inclusive and non-stigmatising.
- Learning orientation: Uses monitoring data, research, supervision findings, school feedback and implementation evidence to improve quality, strengthen systems and inform adaptation and scale-up.
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QUALIFICATIONS
Preferred qualifications: Master's degree in Social work / sociology / psychology/ Education with a minimum knowledge in STEM, SMART, WASH & Health and Nutrition
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EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS
Minimum 5 years of relevant professional experience, preferably, school education, nutrition, child/adolescent well-being, education, community development or related programs, with demonstrated experience managing multi-stakeholder and/or multi-site projects. Experience in government engagement, school systems, health promotion, behavior change, program planning, budgeting, team management, monitoring and reporting is required.
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KEY COMPETENCIES
Technical competencies
- Strong program/project management skills, including planning, implementation, budgeting, risk management and review.
- Ability to translate evidence and technical guidance into practical school-level implementation, training and supportive supervision.
- Strong government liaison, stakeholder management, negotiation, networking and partnership-building skills.
- Ability to lead and motivate multi-disciplinary teams and coordinate across program, MEAL, finance/admin, research and technical functions.
- Strong data literacy, including use of MIS/monitoring data, interpretation of indicators, quality assurance and evidence-based decision-making; proficiency in MS Office/Excel and relevant digital platforms.
- Strong report writing and communication skills, including donor reporting, presentations, review documentation and knowledge products.
- Ability to facilitate adult learning, capacity building, school review meetings and participatory stakeholder processes.
- Strong understanding of safeguarding, accountability, gender equality, inclusion, confidentiality and responsible data protection in programs involving children.
Generic Competencies:
- Being the Voice of Children: Utilizes being part of a global movement to promote change in the policy and public sphere on child-related issues.
- Advancing Equality & Inclusion: Drives an enabling environment for gender equality and inclusion, prioritizing the most deprived and marginalized children.
- Builds & Strengthens Partnerships: Inspires others to embrace the values and principles that underpin partnerships and the localization agenda.
- Child Rights: Promotes the rights of children in own work and in work with colleagues and peers.
- Empathy, active listening and non-judgmental engagement with children, families, teachers and school stakeholders.
- Commitment to confidentiality, data protection, safeguarding and ethical engagement with children and communities.
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Additional job responsibilities
The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.
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CHILD SAFEGUARDING (Strike out whichever is not applicable)
Level 1: NOT APPLICABLE for this role.
Level 2: NOT APPLICABLE as the primary safeguarding classification for this role.
Level 3: The role holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work in programs or visit programs; therefore a police check will be required.
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Child Safeguarding
We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.
The role holder must comply with all BRB child safeguarding policies and procedures and immediately report any safeguarding concern through the prescribed mechanisms.
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Safeguarding our Staff
The post holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the BRB's anti-harassment policy.
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Equal Opportunities
Bal Raksha Bharat aims to be an equal opportunity employer. We welcome all applications irrespective of age, race, colour, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, belief or creed. Women candidates are encouraged to apply.
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