About Ummeed:
Ummeed Child Development Center (
https://ummeed.org/) was founded in 2001 by Dr. Vibha Krishnamurthy, a developmental pediatrician, an Ashoka Fellow, and resource person to government and international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO).
Ummeed’s vision is to help children with and at risk of developmental disabilities reach their full potential and be included in society. Over the last 23 years, Ummeed has provided direct services to 15,000+ children and families, trained over 8,500 unique professionals (community workers, as well as doctors, therapists, and teachers) across India, and indirectly influenced the lives of over 0.45 million children and families with or at risk of developmental disabilities. Besides direct clinical services, and training and capacity building, Ummeed’s two other verticals of work include research (to generate evidence of our work) and awareness building (to sensitize people to the cause and shift attitudes).
As Ummeed looks to the future, its goal is to build on this past work to bring about strategic shifts in three key ecosystems – Healthcare, Schools and Early Childhood Development – towards creating a more inclusive society for children with, and at risk, of developmental disabilities in India.
About the Program:
Ummeed’s ECD (Early Childhood Development) ecosystem creates and strengthens capacities in organisations and systems for promotion of early child development. early identification of delays/disabilities and early intervention. The ECD ecosystem achieves this by:
- Capacity building of frontline functionaries working for government departments or Community Based Organizations (CBO) and other key stakeholders in areas outlined above
- Identifying opportunities and pathways for integration of new models into existing systems within CBOs and the government departments
- Facilitating interdepartmental collaboration between government departments in order to achieve mutually agreed upon objectives
- Awareness and advocacy about inclusive ECD and for shifts in practices and policies
Ummeed’s Early Childhood Development (ECD) team is seeking an experienced program coordinator with a strong interest in program implementation in the field. The role requires facilitating coordination and interaction across departments and stakeholders, along with strengths in stakeholder and project management, oversight, documentation, and basic monitoring and evaluation.
About the Position:
The Field Project Coordinator – ECD is a field‑based role embedded in Meghalaya and the base location is Shillong/Garo Hills. The role supports state and district‑level implementation of ECD initiatives in close partnership with government departments and partner organisations, while coordinating closely with Ummeed’s project team and support departments based in Mumbai.
The selected candidate will be engaged on a full-time, fixed-term employment contract.
The candidate will be responsible for coordinating field-related activities and liaising with trainers, participants, government stakeholders, and field teams. The role involves frequent travel across different regions of Meghalaya for atleast 10-15 days each month. The remaining days, the candidate will work out of the client’s office location in Shillong. The candidate will work in an integrated manner with the client’s team, and report to a designated Manager at Ummeed Child Development Center in Mumbai. The candidate would be expected to travel to Mumbai atleast 2-4 times a year.
The ideal candidate will demonstrate strong field-based program coordination and relationship management abilities, structured and thorough planning / coordination skills, excellent communication skills (spoken and written), accurate documentation and reporting, good knowledge of MS Excel, data driven decision making, keen attention to detail, and the ability to collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders, including government departments, ensuring that program activities are implemented as planned on the ground.
This position will functionally report to the ECD team at Ummeed (Mumbai).
Key Areas of Responsibility:
Management of field-implementation & operations
- Manage and support field-level implementation including (but not limited to) trainings conducted and implemented by the trainees
- Lead planning and coordination of operational activities needed to conduct trainings
Monitoring trainings / other implementation activities and reporting
- Regularly monitor trainings and other implementation activities, maintain logs of data and activities, and prepare reports on attendance and participation
- Monitor adherence to SOPs and flag deviations in a timely manner
- Provide input, recommendations and local insights to support effective implementation; review field-level data being collected and liaise with Ummeed team to highlight quality or data collection process related issues.
- Proactively alert and consult with the Ummeed team about changes in any activities with respect to schedules, timelines, pre-decided processes or operations, due to any on-field circumstances or government directives. Submit regular field reports and Minutes of Meetings to Ummeed team and client team as applicable
Stakeholder Coordination & Partnerships
- Coordinate with government departments and on-field partner organizations (NGOs) for all project-related activities
- Facilitate inter-departmental review meetings, feedback sessions, reflection meetings
- Work in an integrated manner with the Client team in Shillong as well as the Ummeed team in Mumbai
Essential Skills & Experience:
- Graduate or Master’s degree in Early Childhood Development, any Health discipline, Public Health, Education, Social Work or related field.
- Minimum experience of 5 years in field-based Program/ Project Coordination
- Strong project management skills and stakeholder relationship-management
- Comfort engaging with government systems and officials to represent Ummeed
- Strong documentation and reporting skills (Expected to document field-level observations, feedback, Minutes of Meetings)
- Strong data management and data completion skills
- Excellent communication skills in English (spoken and written)
- Working proficiency in Khasi and Garo languages (spoken and written)
- Strong Microsoft Excel skills to track trainings, monitor implementation outputs, and maintain accurate records of field activities
Preferred Skills & Experience:
- Prior experience in Early Childhood Development and/or disability is preferred and will be a strong advantage
- Basic budgeting and financial tracking skills (expense documentation, invoices, coordination with finance team).
- Experience working in the social sector and/or the North-East region
Why Ummeed?
Ummeed is unique in the social sector, not just because of the influence it has been able to create, but also because of its work culture and ethos, that includes:
- A challenging but flexible work environment that offers opportunities for growth and creating impact at scale
- A leadership that invests in its people, giving them the freedom to explore, innovate, learn, while responsibly delivering on committed outcomes
- A strong culture of respecting diversity, being inclusive and committed to serving children with disabilities and their families
- An opportunity to work in collaboration with a diverse group of highly passionate, motivated and talented individuals
Others:
Ummeed is committed to enhance diversity in its workforce based on religion, caste, ethnicity, socio-economic background, gender and language. We especially encourage parents and caregivers of children with disabilities to apply.
Ummeed gives preference to a candidate who is interested in putting in at least 40 hours per week. Salary will be commensurate with the role, qualifications, and experience.
