Program Associate / Senior Program Associate – Centre for Effective Governance of Indian States (CEGIS)

The Centre for Effective Governance of Indian States (CEGIS) aims to improve lives by helping state governments deliver better development outcomes.

From poor learning outcomes to malnutrition, many of India’s biggest development challenges stem from weak state capacity. Whether it is ineffective government schools and clinics, people not receiving their welfare entitlements, understaffed and overworked police forces, or our backlog of over 30 million court cases, weak state capacity hinders the quality of public expenditure, constrains growth and hurts the poor.

CEGIS believes that building the effectiveness of the state and improving the quality of public expenditure is the most cost-effective way of improving development outcomes at scale. Governments are responsible for designing and implementing policies, delivering services and regulating markets. And research has shown that even small improvements in state capacity can generate outsized effects on development.

We believe that well-functioning governments share at least three features: (i) outcome measurement to monitor progress against specific goals; (ii) policies and practices that effectively hire, train and manage personnel to meet goals; and (iii) resource allocation based on evidence and cost-effectiveness. At CEGIS, we support Indian state governments to build these foundations so that they can deliver development outcomes more effectively.

Position Summary 
The Program Associate will work on projects across the life cycle (concept notes, department level diagnostics, solution identification and pilot development, pilot implementation and scale up support). Typically these projects will involve frontline service delivery departments (e.g. local governance, nutrition, education etc.). The Program Associate will report to the respective Project Lead(s) and significantly contribute to analytical aspects of the project.

​Role and Responsibilities 

• Develop end to end understanding of project across various modules
• Literature review, review of relevant legislation/ GOs pertinent to the project
• Own secondary data analysis (capture, data preparation, analysis and inference/ hypothesis testing)
• Basis the secondary data analysis, provide insights which will guide the team’s primary outreach
• Own interface with client side stakeholders across the data process cycle
• Develop a sound understanding of the client (Government)’s issues and understand the relevance of the interventions (project) to these issues
• Participate actively in larger ideation sessions and client meetings and contribute to the overall project progress

Required Qualifications, Skills and Abilities 

Education and Experience  

o Bachelor’s degree (Master’s degree or equivalent preferred) in Economics, Public Policy, Social Science or related fields from a reputed institution

o 0 to 3 years work experience in India with organizations working in related fields of work i.e. research agencies, policy think-tanks, government or private sector organizations working on government advisory or consulting

• Data analysis – expertise in STATA, Excel
• Report writing
• Proficiency in English and the local language of the state where CEGIS has partnerships

​Personal Characteristics and Desired Qualities

• Excellent problem-solving skills, with an aptitude for research to formulate solutions
• Fluency in English and excellent writing and communication skills (ability to communicate complex ideas in a meaningful way and across different audiences)
• Ability to be able to set priorities, plan timelines and meet deadlines
• Ability to think creatively, willing to take risks to experiment with new ideas and the ability to turn ideas into action
• High ability to collaborate and actively listen to others, understanding and valuing others’ views
• Operating style suited to working independently and in a small-organization setting, where teamwork and resourcefulness are highly valued

​Location and Compensation

Candidates with home base in Hyderabad, Chennai or Delhi are preferred. In addition to providing remote support to the state teams, the candidate should be willing to travel, as required, to the states that CEGIS will have a presence in.

Remuneration will be competitive with Indian philanthropy and social sector pay scales and will depend on the candidate’s experience levels.

​Interested candidates are requested to submit their application here.

​Pre-reads for the application process

To learn more about the type of reforms CEGIS is seeking to implement in states, please go through the following materials before sending in your application:

1. Podcast episodes with Prof. Karthik Muralidharan – one each on education and healthcare in India.

2. Collection of Prof. Karthik Muralidharan’s work here.