National Lead – Vocational Education

Description

• Lead the development of guidelines, frameworks, and operational manuals on curriculum, assessment, training delivery, teacher/VT deployment, and industry engagement.
• Strengthen quality assurance processes—including industry validation, school readiness protocols, and program monitoring frameworks.
• Support State teams in strategic planning and implementation of vocational education courses in secondary schools across select states in alignment with NEP, NSQF and industry standards.
• Coordinate with the relevant government departments and bodies to align school vocational initiatives with national skill missions.
• Prepare high-quality reports, briefs, and research papers to support efforts and contribute to public discourse on skill-based education leading to education continuity and girls’ empowerment.
• Leverage education schemes such as Samagra Shiksha, PM SHRI, and allied schemes to showcase results of vocational education in reducing dropout rates and improving retention of girls in secondary education
• Develop a national roadmap for vocational education expansion in schools, aligned with NEP 2020 and national skills ecosystem reforms.
• Provide technical mentorship and build team capacity for effectively delivering programme objectives.
• Represent the programme at national and international forums, sharing knowledge and steering a case for investing in actions to combat early marriages.
• Build and sustain strong partnerships with government agencies at national and State levels.
• Promote adoption of technology-enabled instruction, digital content, and MIS systems to improve monitoring and accountability.
• Lead a multidisciplinary team, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and accountability.
• Support in evidence generation: pilots, cost analyses, and documentation of best practices.
• Collaborate with private sector partners, NGOs, and development agencies to mobilize resources and strengthen vocational education infrastructure.
• Advise on new program design elements including multi-disciplinary pathways, work-based learning models, credit frameworks, and school-to-work transition mechanisms.
• Manage resources, budgets, and timelines to ensure effective and timely program delivery with measurable impact.
• Analyse regional educational needs and student aspirations to design targeted, evidence-based interventions that encourage continued schooling.
• Facilitate effective coordination with States, including review meetings, and knowledge exchange.
• Establish monitoring and evaluation systems to track enrolment, retention, skill development, and employment outcomes, adapting strategies as needed.

Requirements

Educational Background

Master’s degree or higher in Education, Social Sciences, Public Policy, or a related field.

• Strategic Leadership: Demonstrated capacity to lead complex, multi-stakeholder programmes at scale.
• Experience in designing gender-responsive, large-scale in-school programmes that enhance vocational skills, employability, and life skills for adolescents.
• Strong understanding of the socio-cultural, economic, and policy factors influencing school dropout rates and school based vocational education, including poverty, gender discrimination, social norms, and systemic barriers within the education system.
• Atleast 15 years of experience leading multi-state or national-level programmes related to education and/or skilling and promoting student retention.
• Communication and Negotiation: Exceptional verbal and written communication skills; ability to engage and persuade diverse stakeholders.
• Team Building: Ability to lead and inspire a multidisciplinary team, fostering a culture of excellence and innovation.
• Proven experience working with government education departments, skill development ministries, civil society, and community stakeholders.
• Analytical Thinking: Strong data interpretation skills, academic content decoding, and evidence-based decision-making.
• Strong understanding of NEP 2020, NSQF, and national and state frameworks guiding vocational education in schools.

Benefits

Training + Development

Interview process

Visa Sponsorship

Security clearance