Project Lead

This role is for one of the Weekday's clients

Salary range: Rs 2200000 - Rs 3000000 (ie INR 22-30 LPA)

Min Experience: 9 years

Location: Delhi

JobType: full-time

The Project Lead will be responsible for the overall planning, execution, monitoring, and coordination of a large-scale initiative focused on enhancing critical thinking, industry engagement, and employability across 1,000 engineering colleges in India. This role demands proactive collaboration with government bodies, partner organizations, industry stakeholders, and participating institutions to ensure smooth nationwide implementation and achievement of project outcomes.

Requirements

Key Responsibilities

Project Management & Coordination

- Lead end-to-end execution of the project as per approved timelines, milestones, and deliverables.
- Serve as the central point of contact between key stakeholders, partner organizations, and participating institutions.
- Supervise the Project Management Unit (PMU), including MIS/data management, reporting, and quality assurance.
- Organize project review meetings and provide regular status updates to leadership and partners.

Stakeholder Engagement

- Collaborate with partner organizations and higher education institutions on faculty development, bootcamps, innovation programs, and mentoring.
- Coordinate with national, zonal, and state-level mentors to ensure effective deployment and performance monitoring.
- Facilitate partnerships with industry bodies to strengthen program outcomes.

Administrative Management

- Oversee project budgeting, fund utilization, and compliance with approved allocations.
- Ensure adherence to government and partner protocols for documentation, certification, audits, and procurement.

Monitoring, Evaluation & Reporting

- Oversee the deployment and usage of MIS/dashboards to track KPIs (e.g., students/faculty trained, placements, innovation).
- Analyze data to enable course correction, risk management, and evidence-based decision-making.
- Prepare and submit periodic narrative and financial reports for review by steering committees and funding bodies.

Communication & Advocacy

- Represent the project in forums, seminars, and coordination meetings.
- Lead the development of newsletters, case studies, and knowledge products to highlight impact and share best practices.

Key Qualifications & Experience

- Master’s degree or higher in Engineering, Management, Public Policy, or Education.
- Minimum 10 years of experience in leading large-scale education, skills, or innovation projects at national/state level.
- Strong understanding of higher education policies, faculty development, and industry-academia linkages.
- Proven expertise in project management, team leadership, monitoring, and reporting, preferably within government, multilateral agencies, or reputed NGOs.
- Experience managing multi-stakeholder partnerships and large budgets.
- Excellent communication skills in English; proficiency in Hindi is desirable.

Essential Skills

- Leadership and team management
- Strategic planning and problem-solving
- Strong organizational skills with attention to detail
- Data analysis, dashboard/MIS usage, and reporting
- Stakeholder relationship management and communication
- Proficiency with digital tools and project management platforms

Preferred

- Experience working with/within national higher education bodies, ministries, or large-scale institutional programs.
- Familiarity with innovation platforms (e.g., IDEA Labs, SWAYAM, NPTEL) and industry internship/placement protocols.