Manager - Operations

Maadhyam is Udhyam’s initiative to bridge the gap between government school students and opportunities beyond the classroom.

Working with students in Grades 9–12, Maadhyam helps young people discover and access opportunities that can shape their future — from scholarships and internships to exposure visits, mentorships, courses and employment pathways.

The program is currently embedded within government school systems across Haryana, Punjab and Uttarakhand. In its first three months, Maadhyam reached over 4,500 students and generated 14 offers.

We are looking for a Manager to lead Maadhyam’s operations team and help shape the next phase of the program.

The person will manage a team across Maadhyam operations, student engagement and content creation. They will guide and mentor the team, enable independent ownership, and ensure strong execution across functions.

The role will work closely with the Director – Maadhyam to shape strategy, identify opportunities for growth and translate these into execution.

• Work with the Director and define Maadhyam’s strategy, priorities and approach.You will own the operations outcomes across all states. 

• Understand the opportunity ecosystem for young people and identify gaps and potential areas for Maadhyam to build.

• Translate strategy into clear plans across operations, student engagement and content.

• Use insights from students, partners and the team to continuously improve the program.

• Lead, manage and develop the central and state teams for Maadhyam.

• Set clear priorities and outcomes while enabling team members to independently own their areas.

• Coach team members on problem-solving, stakeholder management and quality of execution and build a culture of ownership, collaboration and accountability.

Opportunities & Student Engagement

• Plan daily school & student engagement with field teams, and hold the teams to execution accountability

• Guide the team in taking partners to school, design the interventions, build buzz, follow up with students, and supporting students in understanding about and applying to opportunities & beyond

• Own teacher and student led models in target schools, be outcome focussed and devise execution plans accordingly

• Build a team that is empathetic towards students, and can work with students, teachers, parents and the partners you identify to collectively ensure students can access more opportunities with greater confidence

• Build content & digital media engagement strategies to find ways to engage students, unearth their aspirations, expose them to new learning and career pathways

• Support the team in converting partnerships into meaningful, high-quality opportunities for students.

• Help navigate complex stakeholders and build long-term relationships.

• Build and maintain strong relationships with government officials, partner organisations, resource persons, district officials, school principals and teachers. 

• Establish systems for monitoring program implementation and outcomes. Build the team's capacity to collect, analyse and use data for decision-making, identify gaps and drive corrective actions.

• Foster a culture of experimentation and learning, identifying what is working and what needs to change.

• Drive improvements in how Maadhyam operates and delivers outcomes for students.

• Take overall accountability for performance, proactively identify opportunities and challenges, make informed decisions, and ensure timely achievement of program goals.

• Work closely with State teams, Curriculum, M&E, Product & Tech, HR, Communications and other teams to ensure effective planning, coordination and delivery.

• 7–10 years of experience, with meaningful experience in the development, education, social sector, or a related field.

• Strong understanding of one or more areas relevant to Maadhyam — youth/student engagement, content creation, ecosystem building or program implementation.

• Strong strategic thinking with the ability to get into the details and drive execution.

• Excellent communication in English and Hindi, networking and stakeholder management skills.

• Strong ownership, grit and bias for action and experimentation, with the ability to take initiative, lead teams and drive tasks to completion.

• Comfort working in a fast-paced and ambiguous environment.

• Excited by Maadhyam’s mission of expanding access to opportunities for young people who have limited guidance, exposure and confidence in accessing them.

• Strong experience in team management and large-scale operations, with the ability to experiment, pilot new approaches and deliver results with limited resources.

• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with internal teams, government stakeholders, partners and other external stakeholders.

• Strong problem-solving skills, adaptability, and a continuous willingness to learn, improve, and respond effectively to changing program needs.