Manager - Education & Skilling Advisory Practice: Government & Public Sector (G&PS) | Education & Skilling Location: Delhi | Chennai | Bangalore Experience: 8 Years About the Role We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Manager to drive consulting engagements in the Education & Skilling sector. The role involves leading project teams, managing client relationships, overseeing end-to-end project delivery, and supporting business growth initiatives. The selected candidate will work with central and state government departments, multilaterals, development agencies, educational institutions, skilling ecosystem stakeholders, and private sector organizations on strategy, policy, transformation, and implementation engagements. Key Responsibilities: 1. Client Management & Stakeholder Engagement - Serve as the primary point of contact for client stakeholders across engagements. Build and maintain relationships with senior government officials, institutional leaders, development partners, and industry stakeholders. Facilitate workshops, steering committee meetings, consultations, and executive presentations. Understand client priorities and proactively develop solutions that address business and policy challenges. Ensure high levels of client satisfaction through effective engagement management and delivery excellence. 2. Project & Program Management - Lead multiple consulting engagements simultaneously across Education, Higher Education, School Education, Skills Development, TVET, and EdTech domains. Manage end-to-end project delivery including planning, execution, monitoring, quality assurance, and closure. Develop project workplans, implementation frameworks, governance mechanisms, and monitoring structures. Track project budgets, timelines, resource utilization, and risks. Ensure delivery of high-quality outputs within agreed timelines and commercial parameters. Manage project governance and reporting to clients and internal leadership. 3. Team Leadership & People Management - Lead and mentor cross-functional consulting teams. Manage performance and development of consultants and analysts. Review team outputs and provide strategic guidance on analyses and recommendations. Drive knowledge sharing, capability building, and professional development initiatives. Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performing team culture. Support staffing decisions and resource allocation across projects. 4. Strategy & Advisory Delivery - Lead development of policy frameworks, sector strategies, implementation roadmaps, business cases, and transformation initiatives. Oversee quantitative and qualitative research, market assessments, ecosystem diagnostics, benchmarking studies, and stakeholder consultations. Translate complex analyses into actionable recommendations for senior decision-makers. Review and enhance client deliverables including reports, presentations, policy papers, and strategy documents. Ensure analytical rigor and quality across all workstreams. 5. Business Development & Practice Growth - Support account management and revenue growth within the Education & Skilling practice. Lead proposal development, RFP responses, concept notes, and pitch presentations. Identify opportunities to expand existing client relationships and generate new engagements. Develop thought leadership on emerging trends in education reform, future of work, skilling ecosystems, digital learning, and workforce development. Contribute to practice development initiatives and internal knowledge assets. 6. Quality Assurance & Risk Management - Establish quality review mechanisms for project deliverables. Ensure compliance with organizational methodologies, risk protocols, and engagement standards. Identify project risks and implement mitigation strategies. Maintain engagement profitability, resource efficiency, and delivery excellence. Desired Experience - Candidates should have experience in one or more of the following areas: Education Sector Transformation School Education Reforms Higher Education Policy Technical and Vocational Education & Training (TVET) Skill Development Missions Employment & Livelihood Programs EdTech and Digital Learning Program Management Office (PMO) Monitoring & Evaluation Qualifications - Essential: MBA / Master's in Management, Economics, Public Policy, Education, Business Administration, or related fields from a reputed institution. Minimum 6 years of relevant consulting, advisory, strategy, program management, or transformation experience. Preferred: Prior experience in a consulting firm. Experience working with government, multilaterals, donor agencies, or public sector organizations. Exposure to large-scale transformation or implementation programs. Required Skills & Competencies - Core Consulting Skills: Strategic problem-solving Structured thinking and analytical capability Quantitative and qualitative research Financial and business analysis Hypothesis-driven consulting approach Project Management Skills: Project planning and execution Resource allocation and management Budget tracking and governance Risk management Program monitoring and reporting Leadership Skills: Team leadership and mentoring Stakeholder management Conflict resolution Decision-making ability Influencing and negotiation skills Communication Skills: Executive-level presentation skills Report writing and business communication Workshop facilitation Client-facing engagement management Technical Skills: Advanced PowerPoint, Advanced Excel, Data analysis and visualization tools, Project management tools Why Join Us? Opportunity to work on high-impact education and skilling transformation programs. Exposure to government, development sector, and institutional leadership stakeholders. Leadership opportunities across strategy, policy, and implementation engagements. Dynamic consulting environment with significant growth potential and learning opportunities.