Program Manager - Partnership & Outreach (Bangalore)

This is a senior level position at Lakshya to build and scale skilling and educational initiatives with external partners (Government, Universities and Educational institutes). You will be the face of our skilling vision to the ecosystem and the person accountable for turning it into impactful outcomes.

• 10+ years in project/program management, with 2-3+ years in skilling, L&D or corporate training.
• 3+ years in a managerial role leading team
• Proven track record of planning and delivering large-scale training programs
• Demonstrated ability to build partnerships, negotiate, and close deals, ideally in B2B or B2G settings
• Strong communication, presentation, and negotiation skills
• Well versed with budgeting, financial modelling, and P&L.
• Strong advantage: experience in creative industries like gaming, animation, VFX; working with government agencies, skill councils (NSDC, NCVET), and academia.

Key Responsibilities

A. Program Management & Delivery

1. Program strategy to execution: Convert management's skilling vision into operational plans, program structures, budgets, financial models, and delivery roadmaps.
2. End-to-end delivery: Plan and run large-scale skilling programs on time, within budget, and to global standards, covering cohort planning, trainer deployment, infrastructure, and milestones.
3. Curriculum and quality: Work with Production Leadership to design and update industry-aligned curricula (art, animation, game development, QA, and related disciplines), ensuring compliance with government and regulatory frameworks.
4. Outcome measurement: Define KPIs for training effectiveness, report on them regularly, and drive corrective action.
5. Market intelligence: Conduct regular research on industry trends, talent gaps, and the skilling ecosystem to keep programs relevant and high impact.
6. Stakeholder Management: Maintain clear communication, reporting, and collaboration with internal teams and external partners throughout delivery.
7. L&D leadership: As part of the L&D leadership team, own the growth and development of the L&D team.

B. Business Development & Partnerships

1. Partnership growth: Identify and close partnerships with government agencies, skill councils, universities & colleges, and own the financial sustainability and scalable model for expanding across regions and institutions.
2. Agreements and contracts: Understand, scope out and work on partner agreements, MoUs, SLAs, with working knowledge of legal terms and implications.
3. Branding and thought leadership: Represent Lakshya as a Champion of Learning at industry events, government forums, and academic platforms, and support co-branding. Further, chalk out outreach activities and awareness programs for promoting the industry and talent needs.