State Lead: Foster & Forge Foundation

Foster & Forge Foundation was established in 2015 with the belief that every child has the potential to positively impact their environment & contribute meaningfully to the growth of the country. We envision a nation where every child experiences meaningful education. To do this, we offer an innovative pedagogical approach to the country’s largest teacher community- in-service government school teachers. Our Pedagogy enables them to consistently reimagine their classrooms through effective experiential techniques and problem-solving skills and in turn, emerge as teacher leaders who empower their students to take charge of their future as responsible citizens.

Foster & Forge Foundation is on a mission to reach 1 million teachers and classrooms by 2030 by offering innovative experiential pedagogy to local state governments.

About the Role
The State Lead will establish FNF as a trusted partner of the government to multiply the impact of our existing interventions. By building relationships with the state education department, SCERT and NGO partners and investing them to include learnings from the ground through FNF’s interventions to become a part of the state policies.

The State Lead will be responsible for driving strategic initiatives, building government partnerships, and leading a team to achieve our organization’s objectives in the region.

Roles and Responsibilities

Government Relations Management

• Forging and leading key government partnerships to ensure Experiential (FLUX- Foster, Learn, Use and eXplore) pedagogy integration at the state level.
• Leading government partnerships at the state and collaborating with district-level bureaucrats, to drive collaboration and partnership effectively towards progress of the annual goals.
• Align strategy with government policy and initiatives through research backed by data
• Being the face of Foster and Forge Foundation at meetings, conferences, and events, advocating for the organization’s mission and initiatives at State.
• Loop in COO with detailed and accurate reports, documents and presentations for the assigned State.

Planning & Driving Results

• Oversee the planning, execution, and evaluation of programs and initiatives, that are time-bound and guided by the vision, strategy, and impact of FnF.
• Monitor and evaluate program performance, analyzing data and metrics to measure impact and identify areas for improvement and continuously looping in key stakeholders and decision makers at the forefront informed of key developments.
• Role model agility in anticipating changes in the ecosystem and inspire confidence and liaising with the key decision-makers to become their trusted thought partner
• Able to articulate and share rationale behind the strategy
• Co-Lead and review all the required resources to forge and strengthen government partnerships – pitch decks, MoUs, proposals, and reports, among others.
• Building capacity of the team at the state office on stakeholder management and other areas.

Team Management

• Lead and manage a team by providing guidance, support, and mentorship to ensure the successful implementation of the multiple projects at state.
• Motivate and empower people through inclusive decision-making
• Embraces differing opinions, seeing them as opportunities for process improvements.
• Plan & execute technical & personal development training & reviews for individuals & teams.

Other than the above responsibilities, staff members are expected to pitch in wherever needed to further the organization’s vision & mission.

Experience

• 6+ years of work experience (minimum) in the development sector.
• 3+ years should have been spent in an operations leadership role.
• Master’s degree in a relevant discipline preferred.

Competencies and Skills

Must Have

• Entrepreneurship mindset
• Strategic planning, collaborative leadership and problem solving
• Program design, reporting, data analysis and presentation skills.
• Ability to nurture and strengthen relationships at all levels through collaboration.
• Excellent communication and public speaking skills.
• Flexibility to work odd hours and willingness to travel within the state/across states as and when required.

Good to have

• Proficiency in English and Hindi; knowledge of regional dialects spoken in Uttar Pradesh is an advantage.

Other Information

• The position of State Lead will require a full-time commitment.
• Candidates who are passionate about bringing transformation in the field of education and are passionate about system reform must apply.
• The role is based out of Lucknow and traveling to districts based on the need of the role and to the head office in Noida will be required.

Compensation: 12-14 LPA.

Contact Information

Interested applicants, please fill out this application form with all the required details.

For any queries, feel free to contact us at people@fosterandforge.org