Manager - State Partnerships

Rocket Learning is one of India's fastest-growing ed-tech non-profits, focused on transforming early childhood education at scale. Working closely with central and state governments, we reach over 6 million children across the country. Our approach combines simple, accessible technology with deep community engagement, empowering caregivers and educators to build strong early learning habits. With a diverse, high-performing
team and support from leading funders, we are on a mission to reimagine early learning for every 0–6 years old in India.

Manager-State Partnerships
New Delhi

Overview: This position is a full-time team management role, reporting to the Lead, State Initiatives and Policy. The work will be at the intersection of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), policy, and ecosystem development. Rocket Learning has been providing support to the state WCD
Departments on a variety of initiatives for the Anganwadi system - these will be supported by the senior manager. The candidate will work directly with the State Initiatives and Policy Lead and State Senior Program Managers, to support crucial partnerships with WCD Departments in Delhi, Odisha, Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Rajasthan & Uttarakhand. The candidate will also help to meet requests, coordinate and mobilize internal resources across functional teams and state government partnerships.

Key Results
1. Catalyzing a high-quality ECCE system that leads to improved outcomes for children.
2. Impactful policies and initiatives for structural reform to drive action at the national and state level.
3. Strong relationships and partnerships with key government officials and civil society stakeholders.Key Activities
1. Provide the state teams with quality review & inputs for presentation decks, policy
documents, draft speeches and other communication and knowledge products to support
government action on early childhood education in the states.
2. Supervise the team for stakeholder engagement, research, report writing, M&E etc. related
to the advancement of ECCE in India, particularly through the Anganwadi system.
3. Collaborate with internal cross-functional teams on government initiatives including policy
input, communication products, comparative state studies, identifying best practices, etc.
4. Partnering with government stakeholders and other development partners to help establish
the ECCE ecosystem in India.
5. Taking ownership and initiative to support the team deliver high-quality results in an
unpredictable environment.
6. Being open to frequent domestic travel for stakeholder meetings across multiple states

Eligibility Criteria:
1. 5-10 years of work experience in the development sector
2. Master's degree or equivalent in a relevant field incl. public policy, economics, development, management etc.
3. Ability to think and communicate with utmost clarity through complex systems
4. Outstanding writing skills including research, structuring, drafting etc. with a quick turnaround
5. Enjoyment and ability to handle multiple workstreams, solve problems in a fast-paced and high-pressure environment
6. Close alignment with RL's core values and principles.

Preferred Criteria:
1. Experience managing government partnerships at scale
2. Experience of internal collaboration with cross-functional teams
3. Experience in early childhood care and education
4. Mission driven, enthusiastic and optimistic - committed to transformation.
5. Enthusiasm and skills to deal with the opportunities and challenges of supporting governments.