Program Manager (College Based Program)

Role: Programme Manager

Role:

• Lead the delivery of the Magic Bus Livelihood programme at district level ensuring youth engaged with the employment exchange and are successfully placed in work or training.
• Manage a team of Help desk executives, Community engagement Officers, Employer and Placement Officers who will deliver high quality interventions from mobilization through to successful placement and transition support ensuring a sharp focus on outcomes.
• Manage partnerships at District level and contribute to strategic partnerships management at Regional and national levels.

Specific Responsibilities:

• Lead a team of staff at district level and manage all aspects of their performance.
• Achieve targets at each stage of intervention including mobilisation, boarding fresh college graduates, counselling and placement in work
• Support staff to do effective mobilisation of youth, counselling, identification of their strengths & limitations, training and life skills needs and overall targets for the programme.
• Provide high quality career counseling and impartial Information, Advice and Guidance that empowers youth to make positive choices about potential careers.
• Oversee district level community need assessments and mapping exercises of other stakeholders in the local areas (government / NGO/ private and corporate foundations).
• Ensure district level staff record interventions and activities with youth effectively and data is reported and analysed to improve the quality of work on ground
• Identify and respond to risks that could lead to youth dropping out of the programme.
• Work with employers to ensure adequate placement opportunities exist at a local level for youth registered in the programme.
• Documenting the best practices, Narrative reports, Case studies, and provide any other relevant update pertaining to the project.
• Work with colleagues in the Livelihood Programme teams at regional level to continuosly improve the quality of Magic Bus Livelihood (employment exchange and training) and ensure our work is always safe and enjoyable.

Reporting to: Regional Director- South Region (Livelihood)

Staff Reporting: Placement Officer , Training Officer , Mobililzation Officer , MIS / Profiling Officers.

Desired Competencies:

• Strong operational and team management skills that can be tailored to lead Magic Bus staff, on-ground partners, employers and local agencies.
• Excellent organisational, planning and time management skills.
• Strong financial management skills including managing budgets and using staff and centre resources flexibly to meet need.
• Sharp focus on outcomes and how to shape interventions to achieve the maximum impact with youth on the programme.
• Build positive relationships with youth and motivate individuals to achieve defined targets of taking up work or further education.
• Able to undertake need assessments with youth that sensitively identify youths personal strengths and limitations.
• Can implement new processes and ways of working across an operational staff team.
• Can-do attitude and willingness to use own initiative to solve ground level problems
• Willingness to work evenings and weekends occasionally as required by programme.

Qualification and Experience (essential unless otherwise stated):

• Relevant degree or similar professional qualification from a reputed institution. (Graduation is minimum qualification)
• Experience of working with and achieving positive outcomes for disadvantaged youth , out of work adults and education intervention
• Minimum 05 years of experience with 02 years managerial experience of frontline staff delivering interventions to youth and
• Exposure to Govt. departments and their way of functioning (desirable)
• Experience of handling Budget and doing financial and resource planning at local level.
• Direct experience of career counselling and providing Information, Advice and Guidance to youth across a range of issues and education intervention.
• Experience of need assessment and/or creating personal plans and targets with youth.
• Experience of either employability skills, job placement, Livelihood Programme or vocational training programmes either directly or indirectly
• Experience of reviewing progress against individuals performance targets
• Experience of engaging with wider stakeholders in disadvantaged communities including parents, schools, colleges, panchayats, community leaders, civil society organizations, etc.
• Experience of providing guidance and support to young people on a range of development issues including career or education choices.
• Experience of working with Partners and being accountable for youth placementsRole & responsibilities

Preferred candidate profile