Job Description
Job Title: Program Coordinator
Location: Dharashiv, Maharashtra
Reporting to: Program Manager
About the Role:
We are seeking a dynamic and experienced Project Coordinator to lead our skill development and women's empowerment project in Dharashiv. You will be the eyes and ears of this project on the ground—setting up our base in the region, mobilizing and training 300 women beneficiaries across food processing and handicraft domains, coordinating trainers, and most importantly, handholding these women from training to enterprise establishment. This isn't just a training coordination role; you'll build relationships with communities, facilitate the complete journey from skill acquisition to income generation, and create an enabling ecosystem for women's entrepreneurship. If you're passionate about women's empowerment, have strong community mobilization skills, and can envision trained women becoming successful entrepreneurs, this role is for you.
About the Project:
This is a comprehensive women's livelihood project in Dharashiv district aimed at training 300 women beneficiaries in marketable skills and supporting them to establish sustainable micro-enterprises. The project covers:
Food Processing Domains:
- Pickle making (traditional and innovative varieties)
- Spices processing and blending
- Jaggery making and value-added jaggery products
Handicraft Domains:
- Banjara/Lambani embroidery and craft
- Jute products (bags, home décor, utility items)
- Lac bangles making
The project doesn't end at training—we aim to establish enterprises (individual or collective) for beneficiaries to generate sustainable income.
Key Responsibilities:
Project Setup & Ground Establishment
- Establish project presence and operations in Dharashiv from ground up
- Set up project office/base with necessary infrastructure and systems
- Identify and finalize training venues across villages/blocks
- Build relationships with local administration, district officials, and community leaders
- Create project visibility and credibility in the region
- Establish coordination mechanisms with relevant government departments (Women & Child Development, Industries, Rural Development)
Beneficiary Identification & Mobilization
- Identify and mobilize 300 women beneficiaries across Dharashiv district
- Conduct village-level meetings with women's groups, SHGs, Panchayats to explain project and enroll beneficiaries
- Ensure selection criteria are followed—prioritize marginalized women, women from vulnerable communities, women seeking livelihoods
- Build trust and rapport with beneficiaries and their families
- Address community concerns, family hesitations, or cultural barriers to women's participation
- Maintain detailed beneficiary database with complete information
Training Coordination & Management
- Coordinate all training batches across food processing and handicraft domains
- Liaise with external trainers—schedule trainings, arrange logistics, provide support
- Ensure training venues are ready—equipment, materials, seating, facilities
- Monitor training quality—attendance, participation, skill acquisition, trainer performance
- Address training-related issues promptly—beneficiary concerns, material shortages, logistical problems
- Ensure all 300 beneficiaries complete training successfully across their chosen domains
- Maintain comprehensive training documentation—attendance, curriculum, assessments, photos
Community Engagement & Mobilization
- Build strong relationships with village communities, women's groups, and local leaders
- Conduct community awareness sessions on women's empowerment and economic independence
- Engage men and families to build support for women's participation and entrepreneurship
- Address social and cultural barriers that may prevent women's economic participation
- Create peer support networks among beneficiaries for learning and mutual support
- Organize community events, exhibitions, or demonstrations to showcase women's products
Enterprise Development Support
- Guide and support trained women in establishing enterprises—individual units or producer groups
- Facilitate formation of producer groups/SHG-based enterprises where beneficial
- Help beneficiaries with business planning—costing, pricing, production planning, marketing strategies
- Support with licensing and registrations—FSSAI for food products, udyam registration, GST
- Connect beneficiaries with government schemes for enterprise support—subsidies, credit linkages, market access programs
- Coordinate procurement of equipment/raw materials for starting production
- Facilitate linkages with microfinance institutions or banks for credit access
- Monitor initial production batches and provide troubleshooting support
Market Linkage & Sales Support
- Identify market opportunities for products—local markets, exhibitions, retail stores, online platforms, bulk buyers
- Facilitate participation in exhibitions, haats, and trade fairs
- Build connections with retailers, wholesalers, and institutional buyers
- Support product packaging, branding, and presentation for market competitiveness
- Coordinate bulk orders and manage quality-quantity fulfillment
- Create platforms for collective marketing if producer groups are formed
- Gather market feedback and help beneficiaries adapt products accordingly
Team Leadership & Coordination
- Lead and guide project team on ground—field coordinators, community mobilizers, admin support
- Coordinate with external trainers and consultants visiting for training delivery
- Conduct regular team meetings for planning, problem-solving, and learning
- Assign responsibilities, monitor performance, provide feedback
- Foster collaborative, women-centric work culture in the team
- Act as bridge between field team and management
Government Coordination & Convergence
- Liaise with district administration—Collector's office, Women & Child Development department, District Industries Centre (DIC)
- Coordinate with relevant government schemes—NRLM/Umed, PMFME, PMEGP, Stand-Up India, Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana
- Facilitate convergence—linking trained women to government support, subsidies, market platforms
- Participate in district-level meetings on women's development, skill development, livelihoods
- Maintain good working relationships with government officials and frontline workers
Quality Monitoring & Impact Tracking
- Monitor skill acquisition quality—ensure beneficiaries actually learn and can produce independently
- Track enterprise establishment—how many women have started production, income generation levels
- Monitor product quality being produced by trained women
- Identify challenges faced by beneficiaries post-training and provide solutions
- Document success stories, challenges overcome, lessons learned
- Track income levels, household impact, and women's empowerment indicators
Data Management & Reporting
- Maintain comprehensive project data—beneficiary details, training records, enterprise status, income data
- Prepare monthly, quarterly, and annual project reports with quantitative and qualitative updates
- Support MIS team with accurate, timely data submission
- Document project activities through photographs, videos, case studies
- Maintain organized filing—physical and digital—of all project documents
- Prepare reports for donors, government, and management
Financial & Administrative Management
- Manage project budget at field level—track expenditures, ensure cost-effectiveness
- Handle procurement for trainings—raw materials, equipment, supplies
- Process bills and vouchers with proper documentation
- Ensure financial transparency and compliance with organizational policies
- Maintain asset registers and inventory
- Coordinate with finance team for fund flow and expense management
Strategy, Planning & Problem-Solving
- Contribute to project planning—activity scheduling, target setting, resource allocation
- Adapt implementation strategies based on field realities and community feedback
- Identify challenges early and develop practical solutions
- Innovate approaches for better beneficiary engagement and enterprise success
- Share field insights to inform organizational strategy
Essential Qualifications:
- Master's degree in Rural Development, Rural Management, Social Work, Women's Studies, Development Studies, or related field
- Minimum 3-4 years of progressive experience in skill development, livelihoods, or women's empowerment projects
- Proven experience in community mobilization and working with women's groups/SHGs
- Understanding of enterprise development, market linkages, and value chain development
- Experience in project setup and establishing operations in new geographies
- Strong team management and coordination skills
- Comfortable working in rural/semi-urban settings
Must-Have Skills & Competencies:
- Community Mobilization: Proven ability to mobilize rural women, build trust, address cultural barriers
- Project Setup: Experience establishing project operations from scratch in new locations
- Women's Empowerment: Deep understanding of gender issues, women's economic empowerment, social barriers
- Enterprise Development: Knowledge of business planning, market linkages, credit access, producer groups
- Training Coordination: Ability to manage multiple training batches, coordinate trainers, ensure quality
- Government Liaison: Comfortable navigating government systems, building relationships with officials, accessing schemes
- Team Leadership: Can lead, motivate, and coordinate diverse teams in field conditions
- Market Understanding: Awareness of markets for food products and handicrafts; understands buyer requirements
Travel Requirements:
This role requires 50-60% field time
Pay: ₹25,000.00 - ₹38,500.00 per month
Work Location: In person
