Job Description:
Job Title: Program & Strategy Lead - Foundational Learning Collaborative (FLC)
About The Convergence Foundation and TCF Network:
The Convergence Foundation (TCF) is an Indian philanthropic foundation dedicated to catalysing rapid and sustained economic growth to enhance the lives of all Indians. Established by Ashish and Manisha Dhawan in April 2021, TCF builds on their legacy of impactful philanthropy, including the founding of transformative institutions like Ashoka University and the Central Square Foundation.
Our mission is clear: to transform the lives of all Indians through rapid, sustained, and inclusive economic growth. To achieve this, we focus on seven key program areas that influence job creation, human capital development through education and skilling, and strengthening state capacity to deliver outcomes.
In each area, TCF works on:
Building pioneering institutions to address India's most complex socio-economic challenges.
Shaping the larger ecosystem and sharing knowledge, insights and learning with other philanthropists, governments and key stakeholders
We believe that the government is the key actor for system change, and the role of philanthropy is to strategically support the government.
The TCF Network includes 20 organisations, each committed to addressing specific areas of India's socio-economic development, from school education and governance to women's economic empowerment and export competitiveness.
About the Foundational Learning Collaborative (FLC)
Over the past decade, foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) has become a national priority in India. Alongside leading education SSOs, researchers, and government champions, The Convergence Foundation (TCF) has played a catalytic role—shifting the focus from inputs to learning outcomes, expanding access to early learning, contributing to NEP 2020, and supporting large-scale implementation through ASER-based measurement. India is now witnessing strong momentum in foundational learning, demonstrated by a fourfold improvement in Grade 3 reading levels in Uttar Pradesh—from 7% in 2016 to 28% today—alongside high-level political recognition and strong political and financial commitment, including ₹13,000 crore in Ministry of Education funding through the NIPUN Bharat mission.
Yet 56% of late-primary children still face learning poverty. Progress remains fragile—and to sustain it beyond 2027, the sector must double down on aligned efforts across government, NGOs, funders, and—critically—political leaders. To sustain and accelerate impact, TCF is launching the Foundational Learning Collaborative (FLC)—a hub to strengthen technical capacity, funding, and political alignment—with the ambitious goal of halving learning poverty in India by 2032. This is a once-in-a-decade opportunity to lock in gains and build a resilient FLN architecture—by doubling down on technical capacity, funding, and political will.
Below is the same content, restructured to match the standard TCF JD format (clear sections, concise bullets, execution-oriented language), while retaining the broader multi-workstream nature of the role.
Role Overview
The Program Lead – Program & Strategy will drive FLC’s strategic direction, partnership with SSOs, and execution, working closely with the Executive Director. The role will shape collective action across SSOs, define funding priorities, and ensure structured execution across workstreams and stakeholders.
This is a senior execution-focused role requiring strong structured thinking, partnership management, and the ability to translate ambitious system goals into operational plans and measurable outcomes.
Key Responsibilities
1. Anchor FLC’s Programmatic Agenda
Translate FLC’s long-term ambition into clear annual priorities, milestones, and measurable outcomes.
Drive day-to-day execution across priority workstreams, ensuring delivery against goals.
Develop and manage program roadmaps, review mechanisms, and progress dashboards.
2. Lead SSO Engagement & Collective Action
Serve as the primary anchor for FLC’s partnerships with system support organisations (SSOs).
Facilitate structured collaboration across SSOs through working groups, joint planning sessions, and shared learning forums.
Conduct deep dives into SSO delivery models (e.g., state PMUs, teacher support structures, assessments, IEC, capacity-building approaches).
Identify gaps in geographic or thematic coverage and support onboarding/incubation of new partners where required.
3. Support Strategic Positioning & Ecosystem Alignment
Support the Executive Director in articulating FLC’s value proposition within the broader FLN ecosystem.
Shape engagement with anchor funders and government stakeholders around system reform priorities.
Contribute to defining FLC’s next-phase strategic architecture beyond 2027.
Candidate Profile
Experience
6–10+ years of experience in strategy consulting, public systems reform, philanthropy, or large-scale program leadership.
Experience working with or advising government departments or multi-stakeholder coalitions preferred.
Familiarity with India’s school education ecosystem strongly preferred.
Skills
Strong program management and execution capability across complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives.
Ability to synthesise large amounts of information into clear strategic insights.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Strong relationship-building skills across NGOs, funders, and government stakeholders.
Structured, detail-oriented, and able to manage multiple parallel workstreams.
Attributes
Deep commitment to improving learning outcomes and system reform.
High ownership mindset with comfort operating in ambiguity.
Credible, collaborative, and able to build trust with diverse stakeholders.
Willingness to travel to states as required.