Executive Director - FLC

Job Title: Executive Director - Foundational Learning Collaborative (FLC)

About The Convergence Foundation and TCF Network:

The Convergence Foundation (TCF) is an Indian philanthropic foundation dedicated to catalysing rapid and sustained economic growth to enhance the lives of all Indians. Established by Ashish and Manisha Dhawan in April 2021, TCF builds on their legacy of impactful philanthropy, including the founding of transformative institutions like Ashoka University and the Central Square Foundation.

Our mission is clear: to transform the lives of all Indians through rapid, sustained, and inclusive economic growth. To achieve this, we focus on seven key program areas that influence job creation, human capital development through education and skilling, and strengthening state capacity to deliver outcomes.

In each area, TCF works on:

• Building pioneering institutions to address India's most complex socio-economic challenges.

• Shaping the larger ecosystem and sharing knowledge, insights and learning with other philanthropists, governments and key stakeholders

We believe that the government is the key actor for system change, and the role of philanthropy is to strategically support the government.

The TCF Network includes 20 organisations, each committed to addressing specific areas of India's socio-economic development, from school education and governance to women's economic empowerment and export competitiveness.

About the Foundational Learning Collaborative (FLC)

Over the past decade, foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) has become a national priority in India. Alongside leading education SSOs, researchers, and government champions, The Convergence Foundation (TCF) has played a catalytic role—shifting the focus from inputs to learning outcomes, expanding access to early learning, contributing to NEP 2020, and supporting large-scale implementation through ASER-based measurement. India is now witnessing strong momentum in foundational learning, demonstrated by a fourfold improvement in Grade 3 reading levels in Uttar Pradesh—from 7% in 2016 to 28% today—alongside high-level political recognition and strong political and financial commitment, including ₹13,000 crore in Ministry of Education funding through the NIPUN Bharat mission. Yet 56% of late-primary children still face learning poverty. Progress remains fragile—and to sustain it beyond 2027, the sector must double down on aligned efforts across government, NGOs, funders, and—critically—political leaders.

The Foundational Learning Collaborative (FLC) is being launched to play that role. FLC is not an implementing organisation. It is a field-building platform—a national hub that sets direction, mobilises political and philanthropic will, and enables collective action across the ecosystem. Its purpose is to strengthen the architecture for foundational learning in India: building technical capacity, aligning policy and politics, and channeling large-scale funding to what works. With the ambition of halving learning poverty by 2032, FLC represents a once-in-a-decade opportunity to lock in gains and ensure that every child in India acquires the foundational skills they need to thrive.

Role Overview

The Executive Director will serve as the field-builder and platform leader for the Foundational Learning Collaborative (FLC)—shaping the national agenda on foundational learning, mobilising political and philanthropic will, and orchestrating collective action across Indias leading system-support organisations (SSOs). The Executive director will set direction, convene actors, represent the collaborative, and ensure that the right organisations, resources, and political commitments are aligned behind a shared national ambition.

Sitting at the intersection of government, philanthropy, and nonprofit delivery, the role combines:

• External leadership and representation

• Strategic narrative and agenda-setting

• Coalition-building across SSOs

• Fundraising and partner mobilisation

• System-level policy and political engagement

The Executive Director will ensure that FLC operates as a high-leverage platform—one that enables others to deliver at scale, rather than delivering directly.
This is a senior leadership role requiring both content depth and executional rigour—combining content depth and relationship skills across multiple workstreams.

Key Responsibilities

1. Agenda-Setting & Platform Leadership

• Set the overall vision, priorities, and annual plans for the Foundational Learning Collaborative.

• Translate FLCs long-term ambition into clear 12–24 month goals, work plans, and success metrics.

• Ensure coherence across FLCs policy work, SSO partnerships, field engagement, and fundraising.

2. National & State Leadership on Foundational Learning

• Sustain Leadership Buy-in at the Highest Levels: Develop and implement strategies to secure long-term commitment to foundational learning—positioning FLN as a national development priority across administrations.

• Policy Development: Support the articulation and communication of next-gen FLN goals, frameworks, and pathways, ensuring alignment with NEP 2020 and national/state development priorities.

• Political Strategy at the National and State Level: Lead the design and execution of a high-impact policy strategy to secure national-level endorsement for NIPUN 2.0, building on the success of NIPUN Bharat. Facilitate the conceptualization, buy-in, and launch of FLN-focused missions in 3–5 key states, in partnership with the leadership and state education departments.

• Stakeholder Engagement: Engage with senior political leaders, bureaucrats, think tanks, and sectoral experts to drive sustained commitment to FLN.

3. Ecosystem Orchestration & SSO Enablement

• Anchor FLCs engagement with partner SSOs, ensuring alignment on priorities, scale plans, and system levers.

• Facilitate collaboration across SSOs through thematic working groups, joint agendas, and shared learning sessions.

• Identify gaps in the ecosystem and support incubation of new system-capacity where needed.

4. Collaborative Level Fundraising & Partner Mobilisation

• Position and pitch SSO-led initiatives to FLC donors and partners as part of aligned, credible FLN funding propositions.

• Curate and enable strategic collective-action funding opportunities that channel donor support to SSOs.

• Support donor stewardship, updates, and strategic engagement for SSO-funded work in collaboration with SSOs and FLC leadership.

• Facilitate philanthropic and CSR donor connections to mobilise funding for FLCs SSOs working on FLN system reform.

5. Internal Coordination & Platform Building

• Coordinate across TCF teams (policy, partnerships, communications) to support FLCs work

• Establish planning and review rhythms to track progress and adapt strategy

• Build a strong, motivated FLC team with clarity of roles and accountability

Candidate ProfileExperience

• 15+ years of experience in public policy, large-scale education programs, government advisory, or system-support roles.

• Experience building or leading multi-actor platforms, collaboratives, or field-level initiatives.

• Strong understanding of Indias school education ecosystem, particularly foundational learning or primary education reform.

• Track record of mobilising senior stakeholders across government, philanthropy, and civil society.

• Comfort operating through influence rather than authority.

Skills

• Proven ability to work with senior political and bureaucratic leadership and influence high-stakes policy decisions

• Demonstrated commitment to equity and learning outcomes in education

• Exceptional relationship-building skills, capable of establishing credibility and rapport with donors, SSO leaders, senior government officials, and other influencers

• Able to engage with senior corporate leadership and translate complex policy/systemic work into clear donor narratives

• Strong communication and strategic thinking abilities, with a talent for identifying opportunities and "connecting the dots" to drive impactful outcomes

• Analytical acumen, with the ability to conduct deep dives into complex issues and synthesise actionable insights that inform strategic decisions

Attributes

• Passionate about TCF and FLCs mission and driven to make a measurable impact on India's learning outcomes through policy reform and government engagement.

• Proactive in outreach and relationship management, with a deep understanding of the policy landscape and the dynamics of government partnerships.

• A credible and trustworthy demeanour that fosters respect, confidence, and lasting relationships with diverse stakeholders.

• Willingness to travel to states to engage with relevant stakeholders and study NIPUN Bharat implementation.

How to Apply: Please send an email to the following address: vishal@theconvergencefoundation.org or click on "APPLY HERE!" to submit your application.