Project Manager at Leadership for Equity

Location: Nashik

Leadership For Equity is a systems change and research organization that aims to help strengthen the effectiveness of public education systems. At LFE, the fundamental belief is that Public Education Systems are by definition ‘gatekeepers’ of equity; and effective and sensitive public education systems will ensure that quality education is provided to every child. The team works across hierarchies within the public education system to: CONSULT: Provide strategic and implementation consulting at a policy level to improve the effectiveness of educational programs; ENABLE: Build capacity and support existing officials to operate with increased effectiveness and sensitivity; and SCALE: Support high potential innovations to scale and institutionalise within the system.

We believe that public systems need to be strengthened to tackle adaptive, deep-rooted social problems. We undertake projects in the field of public education, focusing on institutional and policy level reform, empowering middle management and developing models for teacher support through technology and mentor communities.

Currently, to achieve the goal of making public education systems more effective and efficient we are running multiple projects at the state and municipal level that reinforce the belief to work with all stakeholders in the public education system across the government hierarchy. As also, our work extends from schools in Pune Mahanagar Palika to policy building at MSCERT (Maharashtra State Council for Educational Research and Training), providing us with the on-ground experience required to help formulate and implement education policy as well as the opportunity to ensure that teacher voices form an essential part of decision making at MSCERT. Because, after all, “Transforming systems is ultimately about transforming the relationships among people who shape those systems” - Senge Peter

Leadership for Equity is a small yet enterprising team comprising of individuals coming from diverse backgrounds, with varied expertise and life experiences, all of whom add their unique character to shape our collective identity.

About the Role

LFE runs a ‘District Transformation Project’ in the District of Nashik in northern Maharashtra, with the goal of improving learning outcomes for over 2.5 lakh students in 3,500 Zilla Parishad Schools in Nashik. LFE already has a 5 member team based out of Nashik that has been working for the last year towards this goal. We are looking for an experienced leader with deep experience in working with governments and managing teams as well as external stakeholders to lead operations in Nashik.

Job Description and Responsibilities

The Project Manager will work with the leadership team at LFE to ensure project goals are achieved. Additionally, the Project Manager will collaborate with members across teams as and when required as well as be an integral part of the organizational leadership and drive learning across teams.

Project Design and Operations (40%)

Work on the overall vision, strategy, and implementation plan for Nashik District Transformation in conjunction with the Leadership Team

Work with government stakeholders to co-design interventions that align with government needs as well as LFE’s organisational priorities

As part of the extended LFE team, work with state government as necessary to design national and state level government initiatives based on government directives

Design and implement long term and monthly plans to implement priorities defined by functional verticals in alignment with the district strategy/ ToC

Lead operations for the Nashik project, ensuring monthly, quarterly and yearly goals are on track

Create mechanisms, tools etc. to track progress towards goals

Team Management (20%)

Manage a team of 5-7 associates, focusing on their deliverables and professional support and development

Create and lead structures to sustain a culture of collaboration, belief in public systems and strong accountability and delivery

Build and implement the reporting structures that align to LFEs management style to ensure accountability for self and team

Stakeholder Management (20%)

Work with both the District CEO, the District Education Officer as well as the DIET leadership to build long-lasting relationships that aid project operations and expansion plans

Promote collaboration amongst non-profits in Nashik to achieve the larger goal of providing better learning in schools

Conduct regular update meetings with stakeholders and provide progress towards goals of the District Transformation Project in a consumable format to all stakeholders

Maintain funder relations to ensure timely accountability and reporting of funds, resources, project progress, etc

Monitoring & Evaluation (20%)

Design and circulate tools to measure the effectiveness of ongoing projects

Analyze the data to provide ongoing insights to internal and external teams

Compile project impact reports from impact data

Requirements

Education & Experience

4-5 Years of experience executing projects (atleast 2 years of which should include directly working with government stakeholders)

Experience working in Maharashtra would be preferable

Knowledge, Skills & Capabilities

Excellent written and oral communication skills - and a functional knowledge (oral and written) of Marathi would be highly preferred

Experience in project design and M&E (basic)

Belief in the potential of the public sector and that government systems can and will change towards overcoming systemic inequities and ensuring improved outcomes for all citizens

A basic understanding of social equity, development discourse and education policy in India

Being able to take initiative and work in an autonomous, semi-structured environment

Adaptability to changing responsibilities and resourcefulness to respond to them

High openness to learning

Ability to build and sustain relationships with multiple stakeholders & partners across public and private spaces

Strong ability to create outstanding presentations, work with Microsoft Excel, Google Suite, and varied data sets

Patience and resilience to stick it out in the face of setbacks and uncertainties

Location and Compensation

Location: Nashik.

Compensation: Apart from being a part of a young and dynamic learning team, the individual will receive a healthy compensation at par with the sector benchmark for this position, commensurate with the individual’s prior experience and qualifications.

Contact: Kindly email your CVs to madhukar@leadershipforequity.org to apply