Lead- Education

Lead – Education Practice

Employment type: Full-time

Location: New Delhi / Gurgaon / Mumbai / Bengaluru (with travel as required)

About Sattva

We partner to deliver social impact at scale.

Sattva Consulting is a global impact consulting firm from India. Since 2009 we have been engaging with communities, business and government to achieve societal impact at scale.

We believe that civil society, business and government all have a critical role to play in building an equitable and sustainable world, and we actively partner with all stakeholders to enable impact through our advisory and orchestration services, knowledge and data platforms which we have built as public goods for the ecosystem, and collaborative solutions and partnerships.

Our teams are based in India, Singapore, Denmark and the UK, but as a global organisation our work has spanned 25 countries and 5 continents. For more information, please visit: www.sattva.co.in

Education Practice

Sattva’s Education Practice works with leading global, regional and domestic foundations, multilateral organisations and governments to design and deliver large-scale, convergent programmes that drive systemic change in education, life skills and gender. The practice works closely with public education systems – in partnership with philanthropy, civil society and government – to align funding, strategy and implementation toward shared outcomes, and positions this work for global influence through research, evidence-building and policy engagement.

The Opportunity

We are looking for a Lead to anchor and grow Sattva’s Education Practice. This is a senior leadership role for someone with deep expertise in education – particularly public education systems – who can shape the practice’s strategic agenda, provide oversight of complex, multi-donor programmes, build trusted relationships with senior influencers across the education ecosystem, and represent the practice’s work in national and global forums.

Key Responsibilities

Education Leadership & Portfolio Management

• Join the Education Practice leadership team, shaping the practice’s strategic agenda and supporting the growth of the business across government, philanthropy and global institutions.

• Provide strategic oversight for large, multi-donor portfolios (USD 10M+), including allocation strategy, utilisation tracking, funder reporting and risk management across multi-donor grant structures.

• Bring deep, cross-cutting understanding of education – spanning early childhood care and education, primary, secondary, life skills and socio-emotional learning – to guide programme design and establish grant governance, partner accountability and end-to-end Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) frameworks across engagements.

• Anchor the practice’s work with public education systems, drawing on experience of working with states and state education systems to enable performance management, learning and adaptive strategy.

Partnerships & External Representation

• Build and deepen relationships and relational equity with senior influencers and decision-makers across the education ecosystem – foundations and philanthropic funders, multilateral and academic institutions, and central and state government stakeholders.

• Represent the practice’s work at national and global forums and conferences, building strategic visibility and influence, and positioning the practice’s programmes as global reference points through international research bodies and learning networks.

• Conceptualise and lead flagship summits and convenings that bring together senior leaders from government, philanthropy, civil society and academia to influence national discourse and policy alignment.

Team & Client Management

• Build, mentor and manage a high-performing team to deliver on practice priorities and project commitments.

• Develop, manage and grow working relationships with clients and key stakeholders, taking overall accountability for client success.

• Ensure strong project management, financial oversight and overall profitability across the practice’s portfolio of engagements.

Qualifications and Experience

At Sattva, our goal is to realise impact on the ground and drive a collective win by engaging with multiple stakeholders. We are looking for individuals who align with our mission of alleviating poverty in our lifetime and have the following profile:

• Typically 12–18 years of experience in programme design, grant/portfolio management and stakeholder engagement in the education and social sector, with flexibility for exceptional candidates on either side; prior experience leading large teams and complex, donor-funded portfolios.

• Deep understanding of, and experience working with, public education systems, including central and/or state governments and state education systems.

• Breadth across education sub-domains – early childhood care and education, primary, secondary, life skills and socio-emotional learning – rather than a single narrow specialisation.

• Academic credibility in education, such as a Master’s degree in education or a related field, is a strong plus (not mandatory).

• Prior experience in consulting and/or ecosystem organisations (e.g., multilateral or global development institutions), enabling a strong grasp of client context, is an advantage.

• Experience engaging with the philanthropy ecosystem, with an existing network of philanthropic funders, is a strong plus.

• Demonstrated experience designing and managing multi-donor, grant-funded programmes, including fund utilisation tracking, funder reporting and risk management.

• Strong understanding of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) frameworks and systems.

• A genuine education domain expert rather than a primarily administrative or operational profile.

• Exceptional stakeholder management, communication and presentation skills, with experience representing organisations at national and global forums.

• Self-driven, high-energy and entrepreneurial, with the ability to build and grow a practice area.

Why Sattva?

It’s not about us really – because IMPACT is everybody’s business.

• Create Impact: Make an impact with the work you do and the solutions you design.

• Work Environment: Thrive in a diverse, inclusive and collaborative environment.

• Learn & Grow: Challenge yourself to learn, grow and deliver the best you can.

• Future Ready: Work on critical issues of today that will affect our collective tomorrow.

Sattva is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants regardless of race, religion, caste, creed, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, or any other legally protected and/or marginalised characteristics. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are essential to our business and we foster an environment of respect and a culture that celebrates diversity and promotes equity and inclusion. We are committed to providing all employees with education, training, and development opportunities to create a workplace where everyone feels safe, respected, and included.

ected, and included.