Head of Ei Shiksha

Educational Initiatives

ABOUT US

Educational Initiatives (Ei) has spent over two decades asking one question : how do we help children actually understand what they're learning, not just memorize it? We've built two things that work at scale : assessments that reveal where students truly struggle (not just test scores), and Mindspark—a personalized learning platform that meets each child exactly where they are. We've reached millions of students across India, working primarily with government schools and underserved communities.

Ei Shiksha

is our social impact vertical. We partner exclusively with state governments, multilateral organizations, CSR teams, foundations, and NGOs to transform learning in low-income schools. Think : 350,000+ students using Mindspark across 10 states, assessment reforms in places like Haryana and Nagaland that actually change what happens in classrooms, and research partnerships with J-PAL and Oxford that help others learn from what works.

Current scale : $10M+ portfolio, 100+ team members, 17 states, partnerships with everyone from World Bank to small local NGOs doing exceptional work.

THE ROLE

This isn't a program management job. It's the leadership position for the entire Ei Shiksha vertical—strategy, growth, delivery, people, money, everything.

You'll spend roughly :

30-35%

on fundraising and partnership development—building relationships with CSR heads, foundation program officers, government secretaries, multilateral donors

25%

on government relations—you're the face of Ei to state education departments, the person who makes partnerships actually work

20%

on program strategy and delivery—ensuring quality at scale, solving complex operational problems

15%

on team leadership—building capability in a 100-person distributed team

10%

on thought leadership, policy influence, and representing Ei in the sector

What success looks like :

Growing the portfolio from ~$10M to $25M+ over 3-4 years through a mix of government contracts, CSR partnerships, and foundation grants

Expanding proven programs (Mindspark, assessment reforms) to new states while maintaining quality

Building a funding model that's sustainable—not overly dependent on any single source

Creating systems so we can scale without everything breaking

Developing a leadership team that can eventually run programs independently

WHAT YOU'LL ACTUALLY DO

Fundraising & Partnership Development

You'll build and manage relationships that fund our work. This means :

Sitting across the table from CSR heads at companies like Cognizant, P&G, or Titan, understanding their priorities, and showing them how partnership with us achieves their goals

Navigating foundation landscapes—knowing who funds what, building relationships with program officers, writing (or overseeing) compelling proposals

Structuring multi-year government partnerships worth ₹10-50 crores, managing everything from initial conversations to MoU negotiations to budget approvals

Exploring innovative funding—Development Impact Bonds, blended finance, whatever unlocks resources for impact

Being comfortable in both worlds : presenting to boards in Bangalore and meeting with education secretaries in state capitals

Most of our funding comes from a mix of sources. You need to be equally comfortable talking to a foundation program officer about learning outcomes data, a CSR lead about employee engagement opportunities, and a government official about budget lines and administrative procedures.

Government Relations & Systems Change

State education departments are our most important partners. You need to understand how government actually works—not the org chart version, but the reality of who decides what, how budgets move, what motivates different stakeholders.

You'll :

Build genuine relationships with secretaries, mission directors, and district officials across multiple states

Navigate the political economy of education reform (what sounds good vs. what's actually possible)

Represent Ei on Ministry of Education committees

Manage complex partnerships where success requires coordinating across education department, NIC, procurement, and district administration

Program Strategy & Delivery

We're implementing in 2,400+ schools across diverse contexts—tribal areas in Rajasthan, urban slums in Maharashtra, inaccessible districts in Himachal Pradesh. You ensure these programs actually deliver learning gains, don't just look good on paper.

This means :

Designing implementation models that can scale without diluting quality

Making tough calls about when to slow down vs. when to push forward

Building feedback loops so we actually learn from what's happening on the ground

Managing a $10M+ budget where you're accountable for both impact and efficiency

Team Leadership

You're building and leading a 100+ person team across states—program managers, field coordinators, M&E specialists, partnership leads. Many are young, most are incredibly dedicated, some need development.

What matters :

Creating clarity about what we're trying to achieve and why

Building systems so people aren't constantly firefighting

Developing talent—your program managers should be capable of running state-level operations independently

Making hard decisions about performance while treating people with dignity

Bridging between field realities and organizational expectations

WHO WE'RE LOOKING FOR

Must-haves : Experience :

15-20 years in education / development / corporate sector, with at least 8-10 years in senior leadership

Proven fundraising / sales / managing P&L track record —you've raised ₹25+ crores in your career from diverse sources (government, corporates, foundations)

Direct experience managing government partnerships, preferably with state education departments

Led large-scale programs (₹10+ crore budgets, multiple geographies, complex delivery)

Built and managed teams of 50+ people

Capabilities :

You can walk into a meeting with a state secretary and build credibility in 15 minutes

You can look at a complex implementation challenge and figure out what's actually causing the problem

You write proposals and partnership pitches that win—not just technically sound, but compelling

You can read a P&L and make strategic resource allocation decisions

You're comfortable being the face of the organization—speaking at conferences, representing Ei in policy forums

Attributes :

Genuine commitment to education equity—this work requires conviction during tough stretches

Intellectual honesty—can look at data showing we're not working and say "we need to change"

Comfort with complexity and ambiguity—most problems we tackle don't have obvious solutions

Resilience—government partnerships move slowly, funding environments shift, you need persistence

Cultural intelligence—ability to work effectively from Delhi board rooms to rural schools in Bihar

Strongly preferred :

Female candidates strongly encouraged to apply

Understanding of EdTech / personalized learning (you don't need to be technical, but should understand why it matters)

Existing relationships with CSR leaders, foundation program officers, or government officials

Experience with multilateral organizations (World Bank, USAID, FCDO)

Published work, speaking engagements, or sector thought leadership

Working knowledge of Hindi plus one regional language

What probably won't work :

You're great at delivery but uncomfortable with fundraising and relationship-based work

You prefer depth in one state over managing complexity across multiple geographies

You need clarity and structure—this role requires navigating ambiguity constantly

You're not willing to travel 40-50% (this is non-negotiable given the work)

WHY THIS ROLE MATTERS

Near-term :

We're at an inflection point. Government interest in learning outcomes is higher than ever (NIPUN Bharat, NEP 2020). EdTech is moving from experiments to mainstream. CSR teams have budgets and want partners who can deliver. The opportunity to scale is real.

Long-term :

We have evidence—multiple RCTs, rigorous evaluations—showing significant learning gains from our work. The question isn't whether our approach works, it's whether we can reach enough children to change the trajectory of Indian education. That requires the kind of leadership this role represents.

Personal :

You'll influence learning outcomes for hundreds of thousands of children. Shape education policy through MoE committees. Build a team doing some of the best work in the sector. Work with partners from village schools to Oxford University. Have bad days where nothing seems to work and incredible moments when you see a child finally understand something they've struggled with for years.

COMPENSATION & LOGISTICS

Package :

Competitive with senior leadership roles in education / social sector. We'll be transparent about range once we understand your experience level.

Location : Bangalore.

Travel :

40-50% to partner states. This is real—not aspirational, not flexible.

Start date :

Within 2-3 months of offer.

A final note :

We're looking for someone who can grow this from a $10M operation to something significantly larger while making it better, not just bigger. Someone who sees fundraising not as a necessary evil but as strategic relationship-building. Someone who can hold space for both the ambitious vision (quality education for every child) and the messy reality (implementation is hard). If that's you, we'd love to talk.