Programme Manager — New Education & Inclusion Initiative, TRINS Group

? Location: Trivandrum, Kerala

? Engagement: Full-time

? Reports to: Founding Director (interim reporting to Group Management Team / SG prior to CEO appointment)

? Compensation: Commensurate with experience; competitive with senior NGO/education sector norms

About the Initiative

We are building a new institution under the TRINS Group to transform how India thinks about and practises Special Educational Needs (SEN). This is not a service-delivery organisation — its outputs are professionals formed, models validated, and knowledge made freely available to any school in India that wants to use it.

The institution integrates three interlocking levers: a Centre of Excellence (a reference practice model serving children from disadvantaged backgrounds), a National Academy of Inclusive Practice (a competency-based training programme for mainstream teachers, SEN specialists, and school leaders), and a Practice Commons (an open knowledge and replication platform). A research function, embedded from Year 1, generates the evidence that keeps all three levers honest and current.

What We're Looking For

We're looking for someone who understands that the distance between a well-designed institution and an effective one is entirely determined by execution. The ideal candidate combines strong programme management discipline with genuine commitment to inclusive education and disability — not as a background interest, but as the reason they do this work. You should be comfortable operating in an early-stage institution where structures are still forming, where initiative is more valuable than hierarchy, and where the ability to think clearly and follow through reliably is what earns credibility.

Qualifications and Experience

Education: Postgraduate degree in Education, Special Education (B.Ed. Special Education or above), Psychology, Social Work, or a related field. RCI-affiliated qualifications are welcomed and valued — an RCI-qualified professional with strong programme management experience is likely an excellent fit.

Experience: 3–5 years in programme coordination, project management, or institutional operations — ideally in education, disability, or a related social sector. Experience in inclusive education, SEN,



or allied health settings is a strong advantage but not mandatory; intellectual curiosity about these fields and willingness to develop deep working knowledge are.

Not required: An MBA or generic management qualification alone, without grounding in education or disability, is unlikely to be a strong fit for this role.

Primary Accountabilities The Programme Manager owns four areas:

1️⃣ Institutional Programme Management — Make the plans work.

- Develop and maintain project timelines, activity trackers, and milestone schedules across all workstreams
- Coordinate all activities — meetings, workshops, training programmes, consultations, board preparations
- Track progress against milestones and deliverables; proactively identify delays and gaps, and bring them to the CEO's attention with recommended solutions
- Maintain organised records of decisions, action points, follow-ups, and institutional documentation
- Prepare regular progress updates, board reports, and governance/accountability documentation

2️⃣ Training Programme Operations — Ensure every training cohort runs excellently, from logistics to learning.
- Coordinate all training programme logistics: scheduling, venue, resource persons, participant communications, materials, and feedback collection
- Maintain participant records, certification tracking, and post-training follow-up across all three training tracks (mainstream teachers, SEN specialists, school leaders)
- Support development of training materials, resources, and skilled learning tools under the academic team's direction
- Coordinate with resource persons, trainers, researchers, and subject experts
- Support development of the practitioner community network across cohorts and geographies

3️⃣ Research and Evidence Support — Keep the knowledge loop closed.
- Support the Research Director with data collection, documentation,



literature reviews, and basic research activities
- Maintain the institution's evidence base: case studies, outcome data, feedback records, and impact documentation
- Assist in developing research reports, policy briefs, practice playbooks, and an annual State of Inclusion in India report
- Support collection and synthesis of data from the demonstration unit, training graduates, and affiliate schools
- Help coordinate Academic Advisory Council meetings and a practitioner journal editorial process

4️⃣ Stakeholder Coordination and External Relationships — Build and maintain the relationships the institution depends on.
- Serve as a professional, responsive first point of contact for the network of schools, educators, therapists, researchers, and partner organisations
- Coordinate with government bodies (DIET, BRC, state education departments) as the government engagement strategy develops from Year 3
- Support technology and assistive technology workstreams: coordinating with AT partners, documenting use in real settings, supporting AT lab operations in the demonstration unit
- Support development of CSR proposals and funder documentation
- Represent the initiative professionally at events, conferences, and stakeholder meetings as required

Key Skills and Competencies

Core Skills

- Strong project and programme management — planning, tracking, follow-through
- Excellent written and verbal communication
- Documentation and report-writing at institutional standard
- Ability to manage multiple concurrent workstreams without losing detail
- Digital literacy: project management tools, productivity software, data management
- Working knowledge of or strong interest in inclusive education and disability

Character:
- Ownership orientation: identifies what needs doing and does it
- Proactive, not reactive: anticipates problems before they arrive
- Comfortable with ambiguity in an early-stage institution
- Reliable follow-through: does what they commit to doing
- Collaborative: works through influence, not hierarchy
- Discretion: handles sensitive stakeholder and family information responsibly

? Interested candidates should apply with a resume and a short note on why this work matters to them.

📌 Program Manager (Thiruvananthapuram)
🏢 Trivandrum International School
📍 Thiruvananthapuram