Project Manager / Associate- Assessments – Peepul

Peepul is an education-focused non-profit. We dream and work towards creating an education system in India that enables ‘every child to realize their potential.’ We work closely with governments at the national, state, and local levels to transform government schools and government systems. The poorest children in India study in government schools and too many of them are falling through the cracks. We are determined to ensure that they receive a high-quality education to help them succeed in life.

Website: http://peepulindia.org/

Job Description: Project Manager / Associate- Assessments

Location: Madhya Pradesh

Role Context

To improve the quality of the public school system and improve learning outcomes, the Department of Education, Government of Madhya Pradesh (GoMP) is on an ambitious reform agenda. This reform agenda includes a focus on accountability and governance, structural administrative reforms, capacity-building of the state sector and learning from innovations and international best practices in pedagogy and delivery.

Peepul has partnered with the GoMP to strengthen learning outcomes from 2012 onwards through a deep partnership with the state. Through this partnership, we have also developed a deep understanding of the MP context, education landscape, and administrative support structures at the ground-level.

Peepul is now deepening this partnership with GoMP through a multi-year state-wide program for developing and implementing initiatives towards high quality education outcomes in ‘CM Rise Schools’, a flagship programme of the School Education Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh, to create exemplar public schools that provide high[1]quality holistic education to all children across Madhya Pradesh.

The CM Rise schools are envisioned to showcase quality teaching learning practices & innovative school management processes, and act as visual exemplars in the school system for all others to learn and derive motivation from.

The scope of work for this program is to

1. Support the design, creation and implementation of relevant academic structures and processes leading to excellent academic outcomes in CM Rise Schools through the academic year

2. Support the design and roll out of student assessments for CM Rise Schools, derive data and initiate action plans

3. Design and deliver capacity-building interventions for key stakeholders of CM Rise Schools (Teachers, School Leaders, Officers of the Education Department)

4. Support the setting up of accountability and motivation structures in the schools and wider ecosystem

5. Set up governance structures for the program

Role Description

The role of the Project Manager – Assessments is critical to the success of the continued partnership with the Government of Madhya Pradesh towards achieving quality education for all, and to Peepul’s strategic objective of supporting quality improvement in the public school system in India.

As part of our support to the CM Rise Schools and other state priorities, the Project Manager- Assessments will be primarily responsible for conceptualisation, design, pilot and roll out of high quality-competency based assessments across different grades.

This person will be an excellent team player working closely with project coordinators, program managers and other members of the team to design high quality test items, competency maps, rubrics and other tools and frameworks leading to delivery of high[1]quality assessments for the students of CM Rise Schools.

This is therefore an exciting opportunity for a highly motivated individual to play a key role in an exemplar school project with enormous potential impact. The Project Manager – Assessments must be someone with strong vision, deep educational, operational, and technological expertise, and dexterity in managing relationships with the multiple institutions involved (e.g. the RSK, DIETs, SCERT etc). Ideally, he/she would be someone who can bring to bear understanding and expertise in large scale assessments, data analysis, technology, and operations strategy.

The Project Manager will be someone who exemplifies flexibility, tenacity and enthusiasm to create assessment designs that enable teachers to derive useful insights on student learning outcomes and move towards data backed instructions in the classrooms.

Key Responsibilities To own all aspects related to student assessments in the project

• Design the scope and sequence of student assessments across the CM Rise Schools.
• Create relevant frameworks such as competency maps and curriculum maps.
• Own the creation, testing, pilot and roll out of test items.
• Work with multiple knowledge partners across the state towards a productive collaboration.
• Collaborate with the central Peepul codification team and other programmes to leverage existing resources, and relay back learnings from the programmes in Madhya Pradesh, to build strong repository of knowledge To support best-in-class project implementation to ensure impact
• Support the planning and sequencing of various programme interventions, in close coordination with the Program manager.
• Create effective work planning systems to ensure work remains on track and effectively prioritized, including regular work reviews to keep the project on track.
• Potentially manage 1-2 associates and provide guidance/review on their deliverables.
• Work with the in-house M&E team and external experts to develop appropriate project evaluation tools To be a strong team collaborator, manage cross-functional relationships and engage effectively with key government stakeholders
• Foster a positive and collaborative culture of trust and high expectations in the team.
• Develop and maintain strong operational relationships with government partners, putting in place mechanisms to support collaboration and cross-organizational working.
• Design and build effective, fully aligned partnerships with other education non-profits and agencies, to leverage external expertise and resources where appropriate.
• Work closely with the team to build capacity within the state government to set up excellent as well as sustainable processes for continuous professional development of teachers, school principals and officers in the education department.
• Present data backed research insights to the state government to support strengthening of the assessment structures of CM Rise Schools

Person Specification

Experience:

• At least 5 – 7 years of total work experience in the development space; Master’s degree is desirable
• Preference will be given to candidates with work experience in roles dealing with large scale assessments in education, data analysis, technology, and operations strategy

Behaviours and attributes:

• Independent problem-solver, with the ability to formulate clear hypotheses and structures
• Ability to contextualize and customize recommendations to enable the audience to absorb the information and insights, and to drive transformation
• Bias to action, with an ability to step back and see the larger picture
• Flexible and adaptable style, responding positively to changing demands
• Strong interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills
• Ability to build strong and sustainable relationships across all layers of government hierarchy
• Enthusiasm for taking on a start-up role, in what will be a fast-paced, growing, changing network Recruitment Process

Application Process

To apply, please send a copy of your resume along with a covering letter explaining why you are interested in applying for the role, to recruitment@peepulindia.org with a cc to Nivedita.gupta@peepulindia.org ensuring you specify the role you are applying for in the subject line of the e-mail. Please include the details of at least two referees within your application.