Project Associate

Job Description

Background About Leadership For Equity (LFE) Leadership For Skilled Education Foundation (branded as Leadership For Equity, LFE) is a non-profit organisation (NGO). In our two-fold approach to change, we build the capacity of government system leaders and we influence system processes. In partnership with the local and state education bodies, we co-create programs that shift teaching-learning practices and improve student learning and well-being. This work coupled with our research and advisory support to influence policies, we hope to create effective government education systems. BELIEF: We believe Public Education Systems are the gatekeepers of social EQUITY, especially when Indias 120 million poorest of the poor children go to government-run schools. A multi-layered, complex, and systemic problem of educational inequity will require a solution rooted in the SYSTEMS CHANGE approach. We believe that a COLLECTIVE effort by forging partnerships with governments, like-minded philanthropists, corporates, donors, nonprofits and grassroots organisations will help bring scalable and sustainable social change. VISION: We envision Public Education Systems That Refuse To Let Children Down APPROACH: We focus on building system leaders by strengthening middle Management. This includes enabling Academic Administrative Officers (Extension Officers, BEOs, DIETs, SCERT) to effectively lead quality improvement programs and run their departments. As well as, Equipping Teachers Mentors (URCs, CRG, BRG, CRCs) to improve the classroom practices of teachers in foundational learning and technology. In the last 5 years, we built the capacity of 2000+ system leaders, and 40,200+ teachers to impact 8.2 million students. We have co-created and implemented 7 different programs and have multi-year MoUs with 9 govt. bodies including District Zilla Parishads, DIETs, SCERTs, SSA, Department of School Education Sports, Govt.of Maharashtra, Haryana Tripura, and currently expanding to Andhra Pradesh. Job Description and Responsibilities We see the Project Associate role at LFE to be a highly aspirational role where the scope to learn about and create impact at a systemic level is immense. The Project Associate will work with the Project Manager to play a critical leadership role in ensuring planning for and execution of the responsibilities listed below. They include, but are not limited to: The key responsibilities are as follows: Planning and Execution (60%) Work on planning/designing the overall project strategy in conjunction with the Project Manager Work with government stakeholders to design interventions that align with government needs as well as LFE s project design. Work with government teachers/teacher mentors for their development as per the plan Execute the project strategy in coordination with government stakeholders at Blocks, Zilla Parishad and DIET, Palghar. Stakeholder Management (20%) Work with government stakeholders like Kendra Pramukhs, Extension Officers, Block Education Officers, District Education Officer of Palghar Zilla Parishad, Lecturers and Principal of Palghar DIET to on-ground officers team of CRGs and Block Resource Persons to build long-lasting relationships that aid project operations and expansion plans Manage a team of teachers, teacher mentors to execute the project and also bring about their professional development Plan and execute quarterly update meetings with stakeholders and provide progress towards goals of the project to all stakeholders Documentation (10%) Analyse data from field Creation of reports for stakeholders, funders and internal documentation Creating process documents, best practices documents and documentation required for communicating with Govt. Stakeholders. Monitoring Evaluation (10%) Circulate tools to measure the effectiveness of ongoing projects Support team to analyze the data to provide ongoing insights to internal and external teams Support in data analysis and compiling project impact reports from impact data Support manager/ME team to implement tools linked to created content based on requirements Requirements Education Experience Minimum of 2-3 years of experience in planning and executing projects Experience of working in Maharashtra with government stakeholders would be preferable Experience of designing and facilitating training is must A degree or experience in the education sector Knowledge, Skills Capabilities Excellent written and oral communication skills - and functional knowledge (oral and written) of Marathi would be highly preferred Strong facilitation skills to conduct engaging meetings and training sessions with government stakeholders Strong ability to create outstanding presentations, work with Microsoft Excel, Google Suite, and varied data sets 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 Patience and resilience to stick it out in the face of setbacks and uncertainties Important : Given the nature of the project, please apply only if you qualify based on the above requirements Location and Compensation Location : Palghar, Maharashtra. Travel (upto 3-8 days a month) across blocks. Compensation : 5-6 Lakhs per Annum Apart from being a part of a young and dynamic learning team, the individual will receive a healthy compensation at par with the non-profit sector benchmark for this position, commensurate with the individual s prior experience and qualifications.. Leadership For Equity is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Prohibits Discrimination and Harassment of Any Kind. We do not discriminate based on caste, race, religion, colour, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other non-merit factor.