Central Square Foundation - Project Consultant - Haryana PMU

- Founded in 2012, Central Square Foundation (CSF) is a non-profit philanthropic foundation working on the vision of ensuring quality school education for all children in India. We are driven by our mission to transform the school education system with a focus on improving learning outcomes of children, especially from low-income communities.

- We believe that ensuring Universal, Early, Conceptual and Procedural Mastery of Foundational Skills is absolutely essential for the overall success of the education system. In order to achieve this, we partner with individuals and social impact organizations to bring innovative solutions in education, as well as work with the government to drive systemic impact. We collaborate with the ecosystem to leverage knowledge, build evidence and create proven tools around critical issues such as early learning, EdTech, classroom instruction methods and governance.

- We also support exceptional social entrepreneurs with powerful ideas, undertake application-oriented research, provide a platform for sharing of innovation, and collaborate with other stakeholders in the ecosystem to find policy solutions - all towards enabling sustained change in India's educational system.

- CSF's team members bring a deep sense of commitment and passion towards our collective vision that every child deserves quality education. We strive for excellence in everything we do and collaborate to create an impact as we move closer to achieving our mission. We encourage an entrepreneurial outlook that evokes new and bold ideas along with taking smart risks. CSF provides a dynamic, learning and positive environment that is driven by our strong sense of values.

Position Summary :

- The team works in collaboration with State Education Departments to bring reform by implementing large-scale system-led projects with the goal of improving student learning outcomes. Our team supports the State to design and implement an integrated program which encompasses multiple critical aspects of a reform process ranging from building effective classroom pedagogy to working with the state to build salience and necessary state capacity to deliver FLN at scale, while also strengthening governance and other key enablers that are critical for the reform. CSF has partnered with the Education Department of Haryana on a long-term engagement for system reform and is setting up a Project Management Unit (PMU) to deliver it.

- CSF is looking for a Project Consultant who would be based in Chandigarh for the duration of 2 years (minimum). S/He will support the PMU Lead in developing relationships with the Haryana government and the various departments and support the development and rollout of a holistic foundational learning program. The role will report to the Team Lead (Haryana), State Reform. The role requires day-to-day interaction and working with senior government officials at the state government. S/he will join a high caliber leadership team with a collective experience of over 100 years working in both corporate and development sector organizations like BCG, IFMR, J-PAL, NITI Aayog, and National Skill Development Corporation.

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to :

- Take ownership of 3-5 workstreams and manage them end-to-end

- Conduct diagnosis, design solutions, and facilitate implementation through first principle problem solving

- Support the State Government and members of the Education Department to design, implement, monitor and track the initiatives planned under the roadmap.

- Prepare strategic roadmaps and implementation plans with goals and milestones.

- Set-up project management processes and guidelines and ensure that all activities are driving towards the defined goals.

- Create internal alignment between different interventions and partners

- Coordinate with external stakeholders (NGOs, experts, other States). Facilitate conversations, setup and manage partnerships to leverage the best support for the State government

- Work closely with the senior bureaucrats at the State level and members of the Education Department. The Project Consultant will be assisted by CSF's issue teams, other partners in our network and national/ international experts and advisors

Required Qualifications, Skills and Abilities:

- Bachelor's degree required, from a reputed university with a strong record of academic performance; Master's degree in management, or public policy preferred

- 2 to 6 years of work experience, demonstrating superb project delivery and stakeholder management

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

- Excellent writing and presentation skills (ability to communicate complex ideas in a meaningful way)

- Ability to build and maintain positive and collaborative relationships both within and outside the organization

- Ability to work independently and proactively, without support staff and with little supervision

- Strong planning and organizational skills, and an ability to be able to set priorities, plan timelines and meet deadlines

- Prior exposure to either the education sector, public sector, development sector, or consulting is desirable.

- Ability to interact with stakeholders, including senior State officials

- High level of spoken and written fluency in English and Hindi

Desired Qualities:

- Hardworking, determined and action-biased

- Mission Driven, optimistic and enthusiastic- must believe in achieving transformational change

- Ability to effectively handle multiple tasks at once and able to prioritize as required

- High ability to collaborate and actively listen, understand and value team members- views.

Compensation:

Remuneration will be competitive with Indian philanthropy pay scales and will depend upon the candidate's experience levels.