Program Director, The Livelihood Collective

The Livelihood Collective (TLC) – ITI Transformation Roadmap Position: Program Director, TLC Location: New Delhi/Bengaluru Reports to: TLC Steering Committee (Funders), STEP Foundation Leadership Job Description: We are seeking an experienced, mission-driven leader to head the Project Management Unit (PMU) of The Livelihood Collective (TLC) – a multi-funder collaborative working to transform India's Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) from qualification factories into employment engines. TLC brings together funders, government and implementation partners behind a single goal: better employment outcomes for every ITI graduate. TLC will prove and codify a 10-pillar transformation playbook across 8 clusters and ~120 ITIs in three states – Maharashtra, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh, reaching ~1.1 lakh youth before scaling nationally. As Program Director, you will be the single-point leader of the TLC PMU – the lean central unit that sets strategy, builds the playbook and tech backbone, engages government at the highest levels, and holds the whole program accountable for outcomes. You will own the relationship with the Steering Committee and Advisory Board, steward the confidence of a multi-funder collaborative, and drive delivery across state teams and lead implementation partners (Medha, LAHI, Tata STRIVE and others). This is a rare opportunity to build a national skilling model from the ground up and to convert a codified model into system-level, sustainable change. Key Responsibilities: Lead and build the TLC PMU – set direction, structure the team, and hold overall accountability for program design, delivery and outcomes across all three states and eight clusters Serve as TLC's primary interface with the Steering Committee and Advisory Board – shaping strategy, reporting on outcomes, and stewarding the confidence of a multi-funder collaborative Work alongside senior TCF and STEP leadership to engage with senior government stakeholders at central and state level – securing policy alignment, institutional buy-in and the access that clusters need to deliver, aligned with PM-SETU and MSDE priorities. Provide domain leadership on ITI transformation and the 10-pillar playbook – bringing skilling and workforce-development expertise to design choices and the continuous refinement of the model across both phases Oversee lead implementation partners and state teams – setting outcome expectations, resolving escalations, and ensuring single-point accountability per cluster Direct the tech-enabled M&E backbone and outcome governance – ensuring the north-star EET (Education, Employment or Training) metric and cascaded accountability from PMU to ITI drive every decision Own program financial oversight, budgets and funder utilisation across an ~₹80 crore program Represent TLC externally – building the collaborative's brand, partnerships and credibility across government, industry, philanthropy and the wider skilling…