Openings – Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA)

Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) is a movement of women workers in the informal economy, working towards the economic empowerment and self-reliance of these workers. Over 50 years, 2.5 million women in India across 18 states have become members of this decentralized, grassroot movement.

SEWA Cooperative Federation, works to support women’s cooperatives & other women’s collective enterprises (WCEs), across sectors, enabling them to become viable, to innovate and to scale. Over 30 years, we have promoted 110+ women’s collectives, reaching 300,000 informal women workers, across several sectors : agriculture and allied activities, dairy, handicrafts, services, social security, finance and labour-based.

We offer specialized services, such as capacity-building, governance, working capital, finance and compliance, research, marketing and communications to these WCEs, and work with them closely, as mentors, to enable growth. This package of services and hand-holding is offered as a Women’s Enterprise Support System (WESS).

To achieve these goals, SEWA Cooperative Federation comprises of a team of experts, both for organizational guidance and for sector-specific knowledge in:

• Business development and strategy
• Marketing and PR
• Enterprise development through sectoral expertise
• Incubation services
• Capacity-building
• HR and Administration
• Research and advocacy
• Finance
• Compliance to Regulations
• Communications

1. Research Associate

Scope of Work: Research is an important component of the WESS. The team works on action-based research projects, market research projects, and research for advocacy. The Research team works closely with the senior management and other teams within the Federation, to develop and implement a strong research strategy and vision within the larger vision of SEWA Cooperative Federation to enable women workers and their enterprises to achieve full employment and self-reliance.

Location: Ahmedabad

Qualification & Experience:

• Master’s degree in Economics, Development Studies, Gender Studies or related field
• 2-3 relevant experience in development research or related areas of work
• Candidates with climate-related research experience and/or gender-related research experience will be preferred
• Experience of qualitative and quantitative research techniques and analytical software such as SPSS, R, STATA or Python

Skills:

• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English and Hindi. Gujarati speaking and reading skills would be a plus.
• Strong conceptual as well as quantitative and qualitative analytical abilities.
• Proficiency with spreadsheets, databases, word processing, and slide presentation software
• Good interpersonal skills and ability to work with team members from diverse backgrounds

Responsibilities:

• Implementing, monitoring all research-related work, as assigned by the Manager
• Demonstrated ability to put together presentations and infographics.

1. Organisational work and team management:

• Support innovation and design of new research projects for SEWA Cooperative Federation and for enterprises, across sectors.
• Develop notes, reports, papers linked to research and advocacy at various levels – local, national and international
• Identify and design market-oriented research for women’s enterprises.
• Fundraise for the research team, and the Federation, by networking with various stakeholders, developing proposals, implementing and monitoring work.
• Capacity-building for team through close on-the-job training
• Internal collaboration with different teams within the Federation, to fulfill any research-related requirements.

2. Project Management:

• Coordinate within SEWA Cooperative Federation to collaborate with different teams and ensure the timely execution including monitoring and reporting.
• Manage existing and new research projects.

3. Knowledge Management:

• Maintain a knowledge bank for the organisation, through archiving and MEL work, focussing on key thematic areas as identified by the Federation.

Personal Attributes:

• Self-driven, motivated and Ability to work under minimum guidance
• Strategic thinking outlook and an eye for detail

Notes:

• Writing Sample / Reports / Proposal shall be evaluated along with the resume.
• Readiness to travel, as needed

Application Process Interested candidates can email their CV to hr@sewafederation.org with the job title as the subject line. The file name for the CV should follow this format: Job Title Applicant First

Name. Women candidates will be preferred for all positions.

In your email, please mention why you are interested in this opportunity and how you think you can contribute to the work of SEWA Cooperative Federation

2. Accountant (Women Preferred)

Qualification & Experience

• M.com with minimum 3 year experience or B.com with minimum 5 years experience.

Skills:

• Financial Management
• Nonprofit Accounting Knowledge
• Compliance and Regulations
• Grant Management
• Transparency and Accountability

Responsibilities:

• Comfortable with Microsoft Excel, Word & Powerpoint presentation.
• Comfortable with English, Gujarati and Hindi language.
• Have knowledge of GST, TDS and Income Tax Law.
• Have basic plus advanced knowledge of Tally ERP.

Personal Attributes :

• Multitasking
• Time management
• Problem-Solving
• Ethical Standards
• Cultural Sensitivity and Empathy

Note:

Preference for immediate joiners

Application Process Interested candidates can email their CV to hr@sewafederation.org with the job title as the subject line. The file name for the CV should follow this format: Job Title Applicant First Name. Women candidates will be preferred for all positions.

In your email, please mention why you are interested in this opportunity and how you think you can contribute to the work of SEWA Cooperative Federation

3. MEL Associate (Women Candidates Preferred)

Location Ahmedabad

Qualification & Experience:

• Masters’ degree, from a recognized university, in Economics, Statistics, or related fields.
• 1-3 years’ experience of MEL reporting for mid-sized, international donor funded projects.
• 1 year experience of reporting on, evaluating and capturing lessons learnt from action research projects, especially in the areas of women empowerment, micro and nano-entrepreneurs, social enterprises, and gender
• Experience in qualitative and quantitative research.
• Experience of working closely with grassroot communities, thus having a deep familiarity of their requirements is desirable

Skills:

• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Excel, data management and analysis is essential. Experience of other analysis software such as SPSS, R, Nvivo, etc. (qualitative and quantitative) would be desirable.
• Strong oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills, in both English and Hindi. These will be assessed in the interview.
• Ideal candidates will have experience working, writing and communicating in Hindi.

Responsibilities:

• Work with the program teams to develop theory of change, MEL frameworks for programs
• Design and undertake knowledge management activities for the organization
• Work closely with the member cooperatives to streamline their dashboards for business and member management.
• Develop organization’s, teams’, and program dashboards for efficient information flow and data management.
• Travel and spend extensive time in the field across project locations. Travel exceptions will be given due to the COVID situation but in case of an improved environment to travel, the candidate would be expected to visit field locations as per requirements.

Personal Attributes :

• Passion for bringing about real, sustainable, large-scale change for women in India’s most marginalized communities.
• Ability to work in an organized and efficient manner within a relatively unstructured work environment.
• Ability to take initiative and leadership, with minimal supervision.

Notes: Immediate joiners will be preferred

Application Process Interested candidates can email their CV to hr@sewafederation.org with the job title as the subject line. The file name for the CV should follow this format: Job Title Applicant First Name. Women candidates will be preferred for all positions.

In your email, please mention why you are interested in this opportunity and how you think you can contribute to the work of SEWA Cooperative Federation

4. Research Manager (Women Candidates Only) 

Scope Of Work: Research is an important component of the support system. The team works on action-based research projects, market research projects, and research for advocacy. The Research Manager will work closely with the senior team and Research Associate(s) to develop and implement a strong research team strategy and vision within the larger vision of SEWA Cooperative Federation to enable women workers and their enterprises to achieve full employment and self-reliance.

Location: Ahmedabad

Experience and Qualification:

• PhD/Master’s degree in Economics, Gender Studies, Sociology, Development Studies, or a related field of study.
• 5–6 years of relevant experience in the Indian development sector, wherein 3-4 years experience relevant experience as Research Manager/Research Coordinator.
• Previous experience of undertaking fieldwork and working with women’s groups

Skills:

• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English and Hindi. Gujarati speaking and reading skills would be a plus.
• Excellent computer skills with proficiency in standard MS Office applications and MS Powerpoint and/or Canva
• Strong management and leadership skills.
• Proposal writing for the social and development sector fundraising activities
• Networking skills to bring in external stakeholders into the organisation’s work
• Expertise in either quantitative and qualitative research knowledge or experience.

Task & Deliverables:
1. Organisational work and team management:

• Lead innovation and design of new research projects for SEWA Cooperative Federation and for enterprises, across sectors.
• Develop notes, reports, papers linked to research and advocacy at various levels – local, national and international
• Identify and design market-oriented research for women’s enterprises.
• Fundraise for the research team, and the Federation, by networking with various stakeholders, developing proposals, implementing and monitoring work.
• Team management: work closely and monitor the tasks for all RA’s that work in the Federation
• Capacity-building for team through close on-the-job training
• Internal collaboration with different teams within the Federation, to fulfill any research-related requirements

2. Project Management:

• Coordinate within SEWA Cooperative Federation to collaborate with different teams and ensure the timely execution including monitoring and reporting.
• Manage existing and new research projects.

3. Knowledge Management:

• Create and maintain a knowledge bank for the organisation, through archiving and MEL work, focussing on key thematic areas as identified by the Federation

Personal Attributes:

• A self-starter with high energy, wishing to explore potential areas of organisational growth
• Ability to multi-task and take responsibility for the timely completion of activities

Team player

Notes:

• Immediate joiners will be preferred
• Ability to travel within the field, as required

Application Process Interested candidates can email their CV to hr@sewafederation.org with the job title as the subject line. The file name for the CV should follow this format: Job Title Applicant First Name. Women candidates will be preferred for all positions.

In your email, please mention why you are interested in this opportunity and how you think you can contribute to the work of SEWA Cooperative Federation