The posting
Programme Manager
Central Team · New Delhi · Full-time
Level: Programme Associate
Experience: 3-5 years (any sector)
Base: New Delhi (travel to project states)
Reports to: Senior Programme Managers, Atithi Foundation
About Atithi Foundation
Atithi Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation working to transform India's tourism sector into a key engine of economic growth. We partner with government bodies, industry leaders, knowledge institutions and community stakeholders to design evidence-based policies and strategies to create livelihoods, safeguard heritage, and strengthen India's position on the global tourism stage.
Our vision: To make India a $490 billion tourism economy by 2035, with inclusive growth, preserving heritage, and showcasing the nation's culture and natural beauty to the world.
Tourism as an Economic Engine
Tourism generated over $200 billion for India in 2023 — 5.5% of GDP — and supports nearly 40 million jobs (8% of national employment). 54% of the tourism workforce comprises women, making it one of India's most inclusive growth sectors.
India's Untapped Global Potential
Despite extraordinary geography and heritage, India attracted only 10 million foreign visitors in 2023 — against China's 66 million (2019), Thailand's 40 million, and Vietnam's 18 million. Closing even half that gap is a multi-billion dollar opportunity.
Key Challenges We Are Solving
- Inadequate tourism infrastructure: Most high-potential destinations lack the accommodation, connectivity, and on-site facilities needed to convert visitors into multi-night stays
- PPP gap: Tourism assets remain underinvested because transaction structures, risk allocation, and bankable project formats are not yet in place at scale
- Fragmented governance: Infrastructure development, land, environment, and culture sit across multiple departments — a single coordination failure stops a project
- Narrow brand and distribution: India's top six destinations absorb the bulk of tourism spend; 90% of the country's potential goes unmonetised
The Role
This is an early-career role for someone who wants to do real work on a hard problem.
We are not looking for a particular background in a specific space. We are looking for someone who is genuinely curious, takes ownership instinctively, and is energised by the idea of working on something that matters. Someone who wants to learn fast, roll up their sleeves, and be in the room where decisions get made, not wait to be invited.
This person will work across Atithi's programmes - supporting destination strategy, government engagement, research, investor outreach, and programme management, and grow into whatever they are best at. The role is deliberately broad at the start. What it becomes depends on you.
What You Will Actually Do
1. Research and Analysis That Actually Gets Used
- Build the evidence base for Atithi's work: tourism data, destination benchmarks, international case studies, policy and regulatory landscapes across states
- Translate research into crisp, decision-ready outputs - strategy notes, briefing papers, presentation decks for government counterparts, investors, and leadership
- Own specific analytical questions end-to-end: frame the problem, gather the data, synthesise findings, present recommendations. No handing off to someone else
- Support financial analysis on destination projects: build models, run scenarios, interrogate assumptions alongside senior colleagues
2. Government and Stakeholder Engagement Support
- Help prepare Atithi's teams for meetings with state governments, Tourism Departments, and Development Authorities - briefs, decks, follow-up trackers
- Sit in on government meetings and take ownership of follow-through: action items, correspondence, documentation
- Coordinate with counterparts across multiple states - track commitments, flag delays, and help unblock things before they become problems
- Over time, build your own relationships with government officials at the working level, the ones who make things happen day to day
3. Programme and Project Management
- Keep Atithi's destination workstreams organised and moving: track milestones, maintain project dashboards, surface blockers early
- Coordinate across Atithi's internal teams and external partners to ensure work is sequenced and nothing falls through the cracks
- Build the internal infrastructure that helps the organisation scale: templates, playbooks, process documentation, meeting notes that are actually useful
- Work across 2-3 destinations simultaneously – examples, MP (Khajuraho, Orchha), Rajasthan (Jaipur, Shekhawati), Delhi monuments corridor, and manage your own time across them
4. Investor and Partner Outreach Support
- Help prepare materials for corporate, CSR, and investor engagement: one-pagers, information memos, destination briefs
- Support relationship development with private sector partners, philanthropic institutions, and multilateral agencies (IFC, JICA, World Bank)
- Assist in organising site visits, roundtables, and stakeholder events, end-to-end, not just logistics
5. Strategic and Policy Contributions
- Contribute to Atithi's thought leadership: policy notes, sector briefs, impact reports, written to a high standard and published under Atithi's name
- Track policy and regulatory developments across tourism, land, infrastructure, and heritage, and flag what matters for Atithi's work
- Represent Atithi at relevant events and forums as you build confidence and expertise
Who We Are Looking For
What We Actually Care About
- Ownership mindset. You treat a task as yours until it is done well, not until it is handed off. You follow up without being asked. You notice what needs doing and do it.
- Intellectual horsepower. You think clearly, structure your ideas, and can explain a complex issue simply. You learn fast and retain what you learn.
- Quality of output. The work you produce is clear, well-structured, and accurate. You care about getting things right, not just getting things done.
- Drive for meaningful work. You want to work on something that has real impact. The public and social sector genuinely interests you - not as a fallback, but as a deliberate choice.
- Willingness to operate with ambiguity. Atithi is a young organisation. Roles are not fully defined. Problems do not come pre-packaged. You are comfortable figuring things out.
- Collaborative and grounded. You work well with others, take feedback seriously, and bring energy to the team without needing the credit.
What We Don't Require
We are deliberately open on background. You do not need to have worked in tourism, infrastructure, government, or the development sector.
We have hired from consulting, engineering, economics, liberal arts, environment management, social work, public policy. What matters is not where you come from but how you think, how you work, and what you want to build.
If you are 2-3 years into your career and you are wondering whether a role like this is for you - it probably is. Apply.
Useful But Not Required
- Some exposure to policy, public sector, or development sector work - internships, research, fieldwork, advocacy
- Experience with data analysis, financial modelling, or quantitative research
- Strong writing - the kind that is clear, direct, and actually read
- Comfort working in multiple Indian states and engaging with government counterparts
Why Join Atithi Foundation
Steep learning, fast
You will work directly alongside senior leaders, sit in on high-stakes government meetings, and contribute to work that actually gets used. No years of waiting your turn.
Real ownership from day one
This is not a support role. You will own workstreams, manage deliverables, and be held accountable for outcomes, in the way that actually builds a career.
Work that is genuinely consequential
The destinations Atithi works on, the PPP frameworks we help design, the government decisions we inform - these have real economic impact on real communities. That is not an abstraction.
Build for the long term
Atithi is early. You will be one of a small central team, which means what you build here will shape the organisation. The trajectory for the right person is fast.
