Manager — Skilling

Role Overview

ACSEL is looking for a programme designer and ecosystem convener who can build AI skilling initiatives from the ground up. This is not a delivery-only role — the ideal candidate will identify gaps, design curricula, source expert faculty, and drive participation across startups, civil servants, youth, and corporate professionals. The 1,000-person target by March 2027 is real, and this role owns it.

The role draws directly on ACSEL’s partnership with all 23 IITs to anchor a modular curriculum (Awareness, Practitioner, and Advanced tracks), and extends to large-scale data annotation training, government AI readiness, and a Train the Trainer programme with a multiplier effect.

Key Responsibilities

1. Curriculum Design & Programme Architecture: ╼╼╼

• Design a modular AI curriculum across three tracks — Awareness, Practitioner, and Advanced — in collaboration with IIT faculty and industry practitioners.
• Develop course frameworks covering applied AI, data readiness, prompt engineering, model development, AI tools, and real-world deployment.
• Identify skill gaps in existing AI training offerings and build learning pathways that prepare individuals for industry roles or AI-driven entrepreneurship.
• Ensure all programmes emphasise hands-on learning, practical use cases, and real-world problem solving over theoretical instruction.

2. Large-Scale Training Delivery: ╼╼╼

• Plan, structure, and execute workshops, bootcamps, and training programmes with clear learning outcomes, targeting 1,000+ individuals trained in AI by March 2027.
• Lead the youth data training track — designing and delivering sessions to train 1,000+ youth in data collation and annotation.
• Deliver AI awareness programmes to 100+ civil servants, building government capacity to understand and deploy AI applications.
• Develop and execute a Train the Trainer programme to certify 30-40 educators, creating a multiplier effect across institutions.
• Design specialised modules for government departments on making their data AI-ready and leveraging AI for public service delivery.

3. Avinya Accelerator — Cohort Skilling: ╼╼╼

• Design and deliver targeted AI skilling for Avinya Accelerator cohort startups — covering data strategy, AI tooling, model selection, and deployment best practices.
• Work closely with the Partnerships and Accelerator teams to align skilling content with the real challenges Avinya startups face.
• Curate domain-specific tracks (Healthcare, Agritech, Fintech, Climate) that map to the sectors represented in the Avinya cohort.

4. Faculty, Mentors & Ecosystem Coordination: ╼╼╼

• Identify and onboard industry experts, IIT researchers, and practitioners to deliver sessions across all programme tracks.
• Leverage ACSEL’s IIT network — all 23 IITs — to source faculty, co-design curriculum modules, and validate programme quality.
• Coordinate with ecosystem partners, corporates, and government bodies for programme co-delivery, sponsorship, and participant sourcing.
• Drive outreach and enrolment for all skilling programmes, engaging target audiences across startups, corporates, colleges, and government.

5. Programme Management & Impact Tracking: ╼╼╼

• Manage the full programme lifecycle from design and scheduling to delivery, feedback, and iteration.
• Track participation, completion rates, and outcomes; report progress toward ACSEL’s 1,000-person training goal on a quarterly basis.
• Build a structured pipeline of upcoming programmes, faculty, and partnerships to ensure continuity across FY 2026-27.

Experience & Qualifications

Essential: ╼╼╼

• 7+ years of experience in technology education, AI/data skilling, corporate learning, or startup ecosystem programmes.
• Demonstrated experience designing or delivering technology training programmes, workshops, or bootcamps — not just coordinating them.
• Good working knowledge of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, data workflows, and the AI tools landscape.
• Experience managing multiple programmes simultaneously with strong attention to structure, timelines, and outcomes.
• Ability to engage and coordinate with a diverse set of stakeholders — IIT faculty, government officials, corporate L&D teams, and startup founders.

Strongly Preferred: ╼╼╼

• Prior experience running large-scale skilling initiatives with measurable impact (number of people trained, certifications issued, etc.).
• Exposure to government capacity building or civil service training programmes.
• Familiarity with curriculum frameworks, learning outcome design, and assessment structures.
• Experience working with or within accelerators, innovation hubs, or Centers of Excellence.

Personal Attributes: ╼╼╼

• Builder mindset: energised by creating programmes from scratch rather than maintaining existing ones.
• Ecosystem convener: comfortable working across academia, government, startups, and industry without being limited to one.
• Impact-oriented: motivated by the number of people skilled and careers changed, not just events delivered.
• Curious and continuously learning about emerging AI tools, pedagogy trends, and workforce transformation.