Role Purpose:
To operationalise and strengthen self-employment, entrepreneurship, and gig work pathways within the Youth Program by supporting implementation, ecosystem building, learner transitions, pilot development, and evidence generation. The role will work closely with state teams, institutions, ecosystem actors, and youth to create scalable and context-responsive models that enable meaningful work transitions beyond traditional wage employment.
Key Responsibilities:
Self-Employment and Gig Pathway Design & Operationalisation
Support operationalisation of Quest's Self-Employment and Gig Pathway strategy across Youth Program interventions.
Design and strengthen learner journeys, transition pathways, and support structures for youth pursuing self-employment, entrepreneurship, freelancing, and gig work.
Develop implementation frameworks, SOPs, operational processes, and review systems for pilots and pathway interventions.
Support identification and design of pilot contexts, implementation plans, and readiness frameworks.
Document implementation learnings, assumptions, risks, dependencies, and recommendations for scale.
Learner Support and Transition Enablement
Provide handholding support to youth exploring self-employment and gig work opportunities.
Support youth in identifying viable business, freelancing, platform-based, and livelihood opportunities.
Enable youth to build digital and online presence for business growth, visibility, and customer acquisition.
Support implementation of mentorship, peer learning, alumni engagement, and community-based support mechanisms.
Work with placement and transition teams to strengthen pathways beyond wage employment.
Facilitate platforms for showcasing youth enterprises, products, services, and success stories.
Ecosystem Building and Partnerships
Build and nurture relationships with Financial Institutions, Banks, District Industries Centres (DICs), incubation centres, entrepreneurship support organisations, and ecosystem enablers.
Build partnerships with gig platforms, industry associations, market linkage organisations, and livelihood support agencies.
Develop and maintain a mentor network that supports youth entrepreneurs and gig workers.
Support ecosystem mapping and identify opportunities for collaboration across states.
Establish networks with government departments, NGOs, industries, and community organisations to strengthen youth transition support systems.
Capacity Building and Learning Experience Design
Design and develop content, tools, and resources related to self-employment, entrepreneurship, and gig work pathways.
Collaborate with Training and Capacity Building teams to strengthen trainer readiness on self-employment and gig work themes.
Facilitate workshops, learning spaces, reflection workshops, and state-level capacity-building initiatives.
Support integration of digital tools and blended learning approaches into pathway delivery models.
Monitoring, Learning and Evidence Generation
Support implementation reviews and monitor program delivery within agreed standards.
Develop mechanisms to capture learner feedback, implementation insights, and ecosystem learnings.
Track pathway outcomes and contribute to evidence generation on self-employment and gig work transitions.
Support dashboard usage, data review processes, and action-oriented decision-making.
Others
Support planning of reflection workshops, implementation reviews, and state engagement calendars.
Collaborate effectively with state teams, thematic teams, trainers, fellows, and external partners.
Contribute to recruitment, onboarding, mentoring, and development of team members where required.
Act as a role model and ensure adherence to organisational human resource policies and practices.
Required Skills & Competencies:
5+ years of experience in youth livelihoods, employability, entrepreneurship, self-employment, skilling, livelihood promotion, or related social sector programs.
Exposure in designing and operationalising programs rather than only implementing activities.
Demonstrated ability to manage multi-stakeholder partnerships involving NGOs, industry, or ecosystem partners.
Experience facilitating capacity-building workshops and developing learning resources for trainers or field teams.
Ability to translate strategy into implementation frameworks, SOPs, pilot plans, and scalable operational models.
Experience using data, implementation reviews, and evidence to improve program quality and decision-making.
Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities across states or geographies.
Proven ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with cross-functional teams.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including documentation, reporting, and stakeholder presentations.
Salary:
The pay band for the position starts at Rs. 60,000/- per month (cost to company) (The salary offered will be commensurate with the experience and expertise of the candidate)
Benefits:
At Quest Alliance, we believe that our investment in people extends well beyond compensation. Alongside your salary, the organisation continues to invest in your wellbeing, learning, and long-term growth through a range of benefits, including:
Comprehensive Personal Accident Insurance covering up to ₹10,00,000 annually.
Mediclaim Insurance covers up to ₹3,00,000 annually through our insurance partner, Anand Rathi, together with additional wellness benefits.
Reach for the Stars (RFS) support of up to ₹5,000 each year to encourage your self-learning and professional development.
Internet reimbursement of up to ₹750 per month, based on actual usage, to support our flexible and hybrid ways of working.
Childcare support of up to ₹3,000 per month for employees with children below six years of age, through a matching contribution towards childcare or daycare expenses.
Access to Quest Alliance's emotional health and wellbeing programmes, including:
Group sessions valued at approximately ₹8,000 per session, fully sponsored by the organisation.
One-to-one counselling sessions, valued at approximately ₹2,000 per session, fully sponsored by the organisation.
Gratuity Allowance, reflecting Quest Alliance's long-term commitment to your financial security and social security. This amount is specifically earmarked by the organisation and becomes payable upon retirement or separation in accordance with applicable laws.
