Manager, National Government Relations

Teach For India is on a journey to reach an India free of poverty and filled with love by ending educational inequity in our country. Fifteen years into our journey we are a movement of ~5000+ Alumni working at all levels of the education system, who are reaching 1 in 10 children across the country. These Alumni have graduated from our two-year Fellowship Program where they taught in under-resourced classrooms to put ~33,500 low-income children on a different life path. Today, we have ~1000 Fellows and are the largest pipeline of driven, skilled talent into the educational ecosystem in India. Over 16,000 Teach For India students have appeared for the 10th grade board examinations till date, with an impressive 95% pass rate across cities as of November 2024.

In 2022, we embarked on Phase 4, our fourth strategic phase. We have a bold and ambitious ten-year journey ahead of us that aims to grow 50,000 leaders, who will work collectively, and with love, to transform the lives of 1 in 10 low-income children in our regions, through an education that unleashes the potential of self, others and India. In this decade, five key priorities will lead us to this vision.

Our work will only be completed when we have built a movement of leaders that is large enough to ensure that every child in India attains an excellent education.

We pride ourselves as being a passionate, idealistic, mission-driven team of individuals. We’re committed to learning and excellence in our roles, and to being deeply rooted in our core values.

Reporting to: Senior Manager, Government Relations

The Manager of Government Relations will support the Senior Manager in leading a nimble team to implement the vertical strategy by leading collaborative projects and forming partnerships – both internally and externally. S/he will play a key role in supporting our regions to sustain the infrastructure needed for strong relationships and partnerships with governments. S/he will also help to build a strong foundation for the vertical and will be responsible for executing the following activities:

Teach For India is currently establishing a new Government Relations (GR) vertical to lead and coordinate its growing public partnerships across the country. The GR vertical will lead the organization’s advocacy and public partnerships strategy through five strategic priorities for Phase 4:

• Improve Government Understanding of Teach For India's Model, TFIs understanding of Government, and show value created by the organization.
• Support the Government’s increased use of our expertise.
• Become a major thought partner to the Government on all major ed-related decisions that reduce inequity.
• Build a multiplier mindset to allow at least 3.5% of our stakeholders join the movement.
• Work with our Alumni and other Government leaders to transform the lives of all children through systemic change in the education system.

As a Strategic Thinker and Implementer [60%]

• Contribute to decision-making and long-term strategy development for the vertical.
• Act as a thought partner to the vertical head i.e. help refresh vertical strategy, create annual goals, and brainstorm new initiatives for the vertical, our regions, and TFI.
• Advise and support each regional team to ensure they are working towards a common goal and achieving their annual goals/outcomes.
• Take complete ownership of designing and executing 2-3 national-level projects, including special projects which may come up from time to time (For e.g – Teacher Accreditation, research on policies impacting TFI, etc).
• Support in key operational areas for the vertical including but not limited to, fundraising, budget management, impact reporting, etc.

As a Relationship Manager [40%]

• Internal

• Drive internal alignment and support for Teach For India’s advocacy efforts.
• Act as a thought partner to Government Relations Managers and Senior Manager, Regional Partnerships; provide inputs to regional roadmaps and support in designing operational plans for each initiative.
• Collaborate with other verticals (e.g., Kids Education Revolution, Alumni Impact, Firki, Training & Impact, etc) to align on cross-vertical initiatives and share stakeholder sensitivities.
• Co-Lead internal calls, reflections, and team step-backs for the vertical; ensure team members have a platform to exchange ideas and learn from one another.

• External

• Establish and own relationships with government officials at all levels, based on need.
• Identify and support the regional team in cultivating high-potential collaborative projects with local and national government bodies.
• Understand regional requirements and support individual government stakeholders in designing effective initiatives to address challenges.
• Advocate for issues important to TFI (e.g. student partnership) and provide consistent messaging to external stakeholders across all regions.
• Ensure GR Managers have regular touchpoints with regional decision-makers.

As a Manager at Teach For India

• Contributing to the team goals and priorities beyond individual goals and priorities.
• Serving as an ambassador of the Teach For India brand and an advocate for our work and for educational equity in our country through both internal and external communication after committing time in our classrooms to understand our work more deeply.
• Supporting with key organizational areas such as Recruitment, Selection, Fundraising, Volunteering, Movement Building.

• Graduate/Postgraduate in any field.
• 4+ years of relevant work experience in external-facing roles (e.g. public relations, government relations, management consulting, business development).
• Experience in managing, executing, and taking complete ownership of multiple projects at the same time.
• Ability to work independently and make strategic decisions in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to quickly build relationships and influence others without authority.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.

• Previous experience working in the development/education sector.
• Experience in working in high-functioning teams to reach targeted outcomes.
• Willingness to travel frequently to Teach For India sites.

Note: We want to hear your unique voice and perspectives through the process, hence all applicants are expected to personally author statements of purpose/essays in the application form. Any use of AI or Chat-GPT based tools may lead to disqualification from the process.