Associate, Research and Operations

Teach For India is on a journey to reach an India free of poverty and filled with love by ending educational inequity in our country. Fifteen years into our journey we are a movement of ~5000+ Alumni working at all levels of the education system, who are reaching 1 in 10 children across the country. These Alumni have graduated from our two-year Fellowship Program where they taught in under-resourced classrooms to put ~33,500 low-income children on a different life path. Today, we have ~1000 Fellows and are the largest pipeline of driven, skilled talent into the educational ecosystem in India. Over 16,000 Teach For India students have appeared for the 10th grade board examinations till date, with an impressive 95% pass rate across cities as of November 2024.

In 2022, we embarked on Phase 4, our fourth strategic phase. We have a bold and ambitious ten-year journey ahead of us that aims to grow 50,000 leaders, who will work collectively, and with love, to transform the lives of 1 in 10 low-income children in our regions, through an education that unleashes the potential of self, others and India. In this decade, five key priorities will lead us to this vision.

Our work will only be completed when we have built a movement of leaders that is large enough to ensure that every child in India attains an excellent education.

We pride ourselves as being a passionate, idealistic, mission-driven team of individuals. We’re committed to learning and excellence in our roles, and to being deeply rooted in our core values.

Reporting to: Manager, Research and Operations

Role Overview:

• Executing the Selection model
• Improving the Selection model and processes
• Contributing to team and organisational priorities

What skills and mindsets drive excellent teachers and how are these similar to or different from those that drive our greatest leaders? These are the questions that guide the work of the Fellowship Selection Team at Teach For India. The Fellowship Selection Team is charged with the responsibility of ensuring the best possible makeup of our cohort. We conduct research and analysis to design a selection model, which will lead us to efficiently identify those likely to be excellent teachers and impactful leaders. We design and run systems and processes that ensure efficient and accurate execution of this model across 8 cities in India. All this, by training and supporting over 200 Staff, Fellows, and Alumni to execute their roles as interviewers and reviewers. Outcomes are monitored and evaluated at each stage of our process to ensure all decisions are accurate and that every applicant has an experience that is fair, consistent and leaves them as advocates of our movement.

As Associate, Research and Operations you will be responsible for the following (90%):

Executing the Selection model (65%)

• Reviewing applications and selecting at Assessment Centres.
• Being a Point of Contact (PoC) for Staff and external selectors and reviewers.
• Checking application reviews and Assessment Centre records to ensure accurate and consistent implementation of the Selection model.
• Providing applicants with a state-of-the-art experience at different stages of the selection process.
• Adapting to a dynamic environment which will require you to consistently increase effectiveness in a deadline-driven environment.

Improving the Selection model and process (25%)

• Setting a bold, ambitious and exciting vision for how the Selection model can be enhanced.
• Research & data analysis to strengthen the model and process which selects the best Fellows for our children.
• Collaborating with and investing key stakeholders and external partners in the selection process.
• Designing and executing agile pilots/experiments to work towards enhancing the Selection model in real-time while upholding applicant experience.
• Monitoring and tracking progress towards goals through data analysis, that allows you to design and implement strategic solutions to in-the-moment challenges as well as increase long-term process efficiency.

As an Associate at Teach For India you will be responsible for the following (10%):

• Contributing to the team goals and priorities beyond individual goals and priorities
• Serving as an ambassador of the Teach For India brand and an advocate for our work and for educational equity in our country through both internal and external communication after committing time in our classrooms to understand our work more deeply
• Supporting with key organizational areas such as Recruitment, Selection, Fundraising, Volunteering, Movement Building

• Graduate (in any field) with 0-3 years of experience.
• Excellent communication skills in English - written, verbal and interpersonal.
• Ability to analyze data sets from varied sources (both quantitative and qualitative), and draw actionable insights to enhance the selection model.
• Strong critical thinking and problem solving mindset (solution-oriented approach to challenges).
• Strong research skills and ability to conduct literature reviews.
• Highly organized with the ability to set clear plans and adapt them when required to ensure you meet ambitious project goals within clear timeframes.
• High attention to detail, with a belief in the importance of ‘the little things’.
• Strong collaboration skills with a willingness to take initiative.
• Prior experience in working with rubrics or hiring/selection models would be an added advantage (not mandatory).

Note: We want to hear your unique voice and perspectives through the process, hence all applicants are expected to personally author statements of purpose/essays in the application form. Sole use of AI or Chat-GPT based tools may lead to disqualification from the process.