Manager – National Advocacy -Dream a Dream

Dream a Dream is a registered, charitable trust empowering children and young people from vulnerable backgrounds to overcome adversity and flourish in the 21st century using a creative life skills approach. We work with 10,000 young people a year through our two innovation labs – After School Life Skills Programme and Career Connect Programme; we have trained over 6,728 teachers/educators from 191 partners impacting over 1,68,200 children and young people, engage over million young people through a state government partnership and have scaled our work across India and Kenya through our unique Life Skills Development model. We work on a strong collaborative approach with local charities, corporates, volunteers, governments, expert consultants and a host of national and international strategic partners. Dream a Dream is considered to be a pioneer in the Life Skills space in India and recently recognized by Lego Foundation and Ashoka as a Champion in the space of Re-Imagining Learning in the world – http://dreamadream.org/the-urgency/item/215-dream-a-dream-a-champion-of-learning-through-play

Salary per Annum: INR 9 lakhs – 11 lakhs (based on experience)

Job Responsibility

The primary responsibility includes – Manage and Lead the National partnerships function to build urgency and criticality on the importance of life skills in the ecosystem. Through developing strategic partnerships and leading the advocacy efforts of the organization, build a movement to equip millions of young people from vulnerable backgrounds to overcome adversity and thrive in the 21st century.

Roles and responsibilities (include scope, accountability, goals to be achieved by the role, people management):

1. Lead and manage Dream a Dream’s efforts on National level. S/he will be responsible for all partnerships with the central government and organisations that have strategic importance.

2. Develop and manage relationships with key senior government officials, influencers and policy makers at the National level.

3. Work closely with the Leadership team to build and maintain relationships with elected officials and their staff in key central agencies, including in-person meetings, support in signing MoUs, updating database information, appointment scheduling, written correspondence, etc.

4. Build and maintain strategic partnerships with national agencies (Juvenile Justice System, Women and Child development, Education Department, NCERT etc.)

5. Develop strategies to ensure participation of Dream a Dream in key national initiatives involving policy changes to include life skills into education reform.

6. Collect and maintain up-to-date data on key policy and advocacy issues related to education, child and youth development, Life Skills.

7. Pay close attention to advocacy priorities and their fulfillment. Regularly review priorities and update or modify them based on changing community needs as identified by board, staff and community members

8. Represent and advocate for Dream a Dream’s position in front of the government, international, national and local civil society institutions, and NGO partners and communities to find ways to collaboratively and critically advocate for all aspects of Life Skills development amongst young people, especially from vulnerable backgrounds

9. Risk management of projects: Lead the development and maintenance of risk management plans of all key advocacy projects.

10. Work closely on state education reforms and manage all logistical support to the team for roll-out, managing and planning of it.

11. Any other work assigned by reporting manager.

General Responsibilities

1. Develop linkages with national and local media actors and with policy institutions

2. Contribute to achievement of strategic goals set by the organization

3. Participate in strategic planning, annual planning and budgeting process for the organization

4. Develop strategies to keep team members engaged in outreach efforts

5. Work with a small team, you would also be required to multitask between roles, as and when required by the organization for the furtherance of its goals

Requirements (include Education, Required Skills/Qualifications/attributes; Experience/acquired knowledge requirements, Preferred Skills (if any):

1. Sustained passion and commitment to bring a positive change in the society.

2. Full of positivity and optimism and doesn’t get bogged down by challenges.

3. Deep sense of empathy and compassion for the people.

4. Work experience with managerial responsibilities, demonstrating superb project delivery and team leadership

5. Logical and rational thinking supported by strong analytical skills.

6. Project management skills with a lot of accuracy and attention to detail.

7. Strong desire for excellence and consistent drive to improve and learn.

8. Proficiency in written and oral communication skills in Hindi and English.

9. Intermediate knowledge and use of Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint.

10. Excellent problem-solving and strategic thinking skills, ability to analyze complex qualitative and quantitative data, craft possible solutions and recommend actions.

Experience

1. At least 8 years of experience in the Development/Education/Governance sector.

2. At least 2 years of experience working with central government agencies and administration.

How to Apply:

To apply, please send an updated CV along with a cover letter to amit.k@dreamadream.org, please mention Application for the position of ‘Associate Director – Strategic Partnerships’.