Project Manager at Leadership For Equity (LFE)

About LFE

BELIEF: We believe Public Education Systems are the gatekeepers of social EQUITY, especially when India’s 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 organizations 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 1290+ system leaders, and 33,200+ teachers to impact 1.25 million students. We have co-created and implemented 7 different programs and have multi-year MoUs with 9 govt. bodies including Zilla Parishads, DIETS, SCERT, Department of School Education & Sports, Govt. of Maharashtra, and urban bodies. There are currently 2 districts and 2 state MoUs in the pipeline.

About the Role: Description & Responsibilities

LFE runs a ‘District Transformation Project’ in the District of Nashik in northern Maharashtra, with the goal of improving learning outcomes for over 2.5 lakh students in 3,500 Zilla Parishad Schools in Nashik. LFE has a 5 member team based out of Nashik that has been working for the last 2.5 years towards this goal. We are looking for an experienced leader with deep experience in working with governments and managing teams as well as external stakeholders to lead the project operations in Nashik.

The Project Manager will work with the leadership team at LFE to ensure project goals are achieved. Additionally, the Project Manager will collaborate with members across teams as and when required as well as be an integral part of the organizational leadership and drive learning across teams.

Project Design and Operations (40%)

● Work on the overall vision, strategy, and implementation plan for Nashik District Transformation
in conjunction with the Leadership Team at LFE

● Work with government stakeholders to co-design interventions that align with government needs as well as LFE’s organizational priorities
● As part of the extended LFE team, work with the state government as necessary to design national and state-level government initiatives based on government directives
● Design and implement long term and monthly plans to implement priorities defined by functional verticals in alignment with the district strategy/ ToC
● Lead operations for the Nashik project, ensuring monthly, quarterly and yearly goals are on track
● Create mechanisms, tools, etc. to track and evaluate progress towards goals

Team Management (20%)

● Manage a team of 5-7 project associates/senior associates, focusing on their deliverables, professional support, and development
● Create and lead structures to sustain a culture of collaboration, belief in public systems, and strong accountability and delivery
● Build and implement the reporting structures that align with LFEs management style to ensure accountability for self and team

Stakeholder Management (20%)

● Work with a hierarchy of stakeholders from the District CEO, the District Education Officer as well as the DIET leadership to build long-lasting relationships that aid project operations and expansion plans
● Promote collaboration amongst non-profits and CSR organizations in Nashik to achieve the larger goal of providing better learning in schools
● Conduct regular update meetings with stakeholders and provide progress towards goals of the District Transformation Project in a consumable format to all stakeholders
● Maintain funder relations to ensure timely accountability and reporting of funds, resources, project progress, etc

Monitoring & Evaluation (20%)

● Design and circulate tools to measure the effectiveness of ongoing projects
● Analyze the data to provide ongoing insights to internal and external teams
● Compile project impact reports from impact data

Requirement: Education & Experience

● Bachelors in any field. Masters in Education / Development degree is preferred.
● 5-7 Years of experience executing projects (at least 2 years of which should include directly working with government stakeholders)
● Experience working in Maharashtra would be preferable
● Prior experience in managing small teams would be highly preferred
● Interest or prior experience in Capacity building of teachers can be an added advantage
● Experience in policy implementation would be an added advantage

Knowledge, Skills & Capabilities

● Excellent written and oral communication skills – and functional knowledge (oral and written) of
Marathi would be highly preferred
● Experience in project design and M&E (basic)
● 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
● Strong ability to create outstanding presentations, work with Microsoft Excel, Google Suite, and varied data sets
● Patience and resilience to stick it out in the face of setbacks and uncertainties

Location and Compensation

Location: Nashik, Maharashtra. Will involve travel across the district as and when required

Compensation: Range of salary: 7.0 lpa – 8.5 lpa based on the previous experience

Contact: Click here to apply. (bit.ly/LFEjobs)