Executive Director - Academic & Program Excellence

About the Organisation

Our partner is a pioneering organisation dedicated to building inclusive, high-quality education systems for children and communities across India.

They are looking for an Executive Director – Academic & Program Excellence who will partner closely with their Founder/CEO to strengthen operations, academic delivery, and fundraising—while ensuring their work stays rooted in feminist and inclusive values.

Role Overview

The Executive Director – Academic & Program Excellence will serve as second-in-command, providing strategic and operational leadership across the organization's diverse programmes. This role demands a leader with classroom credibility, large-scale operational experience, and strong fundraising acumen.

The role will directly oversee programme quality, staff performance, fundraising strategy, and stakeholder engagement, while representing the organization with donors, government, and partners.

This is a full-time, on-site role, requiring a long-term commitment of 5+ years.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Executive Support

- Act as Deputy to the Founder/CEO, driving both operational and academic excellence.
- Support the CEO in setting and executing organizational strategy to achieve mission and long-term goals.
- Serve as a strategic partner to the CEO, providing operational and policy-level leadership, and deputizing in the CEO’s absence when required.
- Drive innovation while ensuring scalability and sustainability of programs.

Team Leadership & Culture

- Manage, mentor, and inspire large, cross-functional teams while building internal leadership capacity.
- Oversee programme delivery, staff performance, budgets, and systems that enable scale (350–600 staff).
- Strengthen institutional capacity, leadership pipelines, and a culture of inclusiveness, collaboration, and high performance.
- Coach and mentor senior staff to build a strong pipeline of future leaders.
- Model inclusive, feminist, and collaborative leadership.

Programme & Quality Education

- Oversee the design and implementation of innovative education programs that deliver measurable improvements in learning outcomes and system effectiveness.
- Champion quality education integrating academic rigor with gender justice, social justice, and active democratic citizenship.
- Ensure academic quality assurance and accountability frameworks are implemented effectively.
- Lead continuous improvement cycles using research, data, and field insights.
- Provide leadership in designing, implementing, and evaluating educational programs and curricula.
- Work hands-on in schools and communities to stay grounded in grassroots realities.

Fundraising & Resource Mobilization

- Shape and execute fundraising strategy, managing donor relations and institutional partnerships.
- Lead efforts to secure diverse funding streams, cultivate long-term donor partnerships, and strengthen financial sustainability.

Governance, Systems & Policy Engagement

- Strengthen organizational governance, compliance frameworks, and policy systems to ensure accountability and transparency.
- Advocate for policy reforms in education and gender equality at state, national, and global levels.
- Serve as a spokesperson when required, maintaining a credible and politically neutral public presence.
- Represent the organization with government agencies, donors, partners, and national/international forums.
- Build partnerships with schools and education systems to advance equity, inclusion, and excellence in teaching and learning.

Operational Oversight

- Provide consistent, on-site leadership from the office to ensure smooth execution of all programs and initiatives.

Candidate Profile

Must-Have Qualifications

- Classroom teaching experience (non-negotiable).
- 10+ years of leadership experience in education or mission-driven organisations.
- Proven track record of managing programmes/operations at scale (350–600 staff).
- Strong fundraising capability, including donor cultivation and institutional fundraising wins.
- Comfort with data, research, and program evaluation frameworks.
- Willingness to relocate to Lucknow and commit full-time, on-site.

Nice-to-Have

- Academic research background or published work in education.
- Experience across both non-profit and for-profit education models.
- Media presence or strong public speaking experience.

Mindset & Values

We are looking for someone who:

- Brings a feminist and inclusion-first lens to leadership and program design.
- Practices collaborative, coaching-based leadership rather than top-down management.
- Maintains a politically neutral public profile to safeguard donor and stakeholder trust.
- Demonstrates loyalty and long-term commitment in previous roles.