Head - Councilor Leadership Development Program - NGO

Head - Councilor Leadership Development Program - NGO

Location : Bengaluru

Duration : Two Years

About Janaagraha:

Janaagraha is a Bengaluru based not-for-profit institution working to transform the quality of life in India's cities and towns. We define quality of life as comprising of quality of infrastructure and services,and quality of citizenship. To achieve its mission, Janaagraha works with councillors and citizens to catalyse active citizenship in city neighbourhoods, and with governments to institute reforms to city systems.

Janaagraha has worked extensively on urban policy and governance reforms for over two decades across union and state governments, including on JnNURM, XIII, XIV and XV Finance Commissions, Second Administrative Reforms Commission, CAG of India, NITI Aayog / Planning Commission, Capacity Building Commission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), etc. Janaagraha is part of the JANA Group - one of India's best-known groups of not-for-profit institutions working towards the mission of fixing India's cities.

Swati Ramanathan and Ramesh Ramanathan co-founded Jana Group in 2001, and besides Janaagraha it presently works across city planning and design (through Jana Urban Space Foundation), municipal consulting services (through Jana Urban Services for Transformation Pvt. Ltd.), banking and financial services for the urban poor (through Jana Small Finance Bank) and affordable housing for the urban poor (through Janaadhar). Fostering an ecosystem for empowered mayors and city councils, and stronger councilors is a core area of our focus at Janaagraha. Through our flagship Councilor Leadership Development Program

(CLDP), we envision a structured capacity building program for India's 87,000+ city councillors, nearly half of whom are women leaders. Having conducted studies to assess the need and nature of a leadership development program and having piloted a prototype of the program across 23 cities in 3 states, we are now looking forward to designing and launching a comprehensive CLDP.

We are looking for an impactful and experienced leader to lead the design, implementation and institutionalization of CLDP in Janaagraha and the larger ecosystem. We look forward to welcoming a seasoned professional passionate about strengthening our democratic governance system at its first-mile, i.e. city neighborhoods, by collaborating with our elected representatives (ERs) and providing them platforms and tools to strengthen their capabilities.

The incumbent must have hands-on application experience of adult learning principles/programs, must be conversant with the real-world dynamics of working with ERs, local governments and should preferably have in-depth experience in any or all of these areas - leadership development training for senior public leaders, decentralization, urban governance and public policy. This role will be based out of Bengaluru and the incumbent will lead an interdisciplinary team.

What will the Head - Councillor Leadership Development Program (CLDP) do?

The chief responsibilities will include but not be limited to the following:

- Lead the design, implementation and institutionalization of the CLDP based on the principles of practical problem solving, peer learning and networking using data and technology within Janaagraha

- Lead the efforts in development of high quality knowledge products including learning/reference briefs, handbooks, workbooks, audio-visual aids, tech platforms and reports.

- Study and adapt best practices and emerging trends globally in public problem solving, peer-learning and networking for councilors/elected representatives

- Facilitate and nurture quality partnerships with institutions, governments and CSOs

- Curate and execute high quality stakeholder engagement and communication across events and convening and high touch meetings

- Set high standards of operational excellence across, program strategy and annual planning, project management and reporting, talent management and on-boarding, budgeting, cost management and other aspects of day to day operations

Qualifications and Experience:

- PhD or Master's degree in Management, Leadership, Governance, Development Studies, Public Administration, Public Policy, Urban Governance or equivalent from an institution of high repute.

- 15-18 years of experience in working on and leading programmes and partnership-building in the area of collaborative higher learning, governance, leadership development, urban governance and capacity building with academic institutions, government institutions, international agencies or non-profits.

- Expertise in synthesizing learning programs and modules for senior leaders

- Experience in building models for peer-learning, networking and leadership development programs and scaling

- Exposure to leveraging data and technology to develop robust learning and networking tools and platforms would be desirable

- Experience in developing high-quality knowledge products in any or all of these forms - print, web, audio and video formats - would be valuable

- Exposure to working with elected representatives and senior bureaucrats is desirable.

- Published articles and research papers in reputed newspapers, journals in the areas such as collaborative learning, leadership development, networking/partnerships, management, urban governance, decentralization and public policy would be added advantage

- Experience in managing/leading/working in the areas of local governance, gender, environment

- Experience in managing/leading/working in the areas of local governance, gender, environment sustainability and public health is preferred.

What competencies does it take to be Head - CLDP?

- Close alignment with Janaagraha's Culture Codes

- Ability to conceive and design simple and effective solutions to complex problems in a time-bound situation

- Ability to collaborate and build strong partnerships with academic institutions and government bodies

- Outstanding interpersonal and communication skills - should be capable of building excellent connect with elected representatives, senior officials, peers across organisations in a short time

- Must have outstanding mentoring skills

- Proficient in reading, verbal and written skills in English and preferably in any one or more of these languages - Hindi, Kannada, Assamese

- Good knowledge and skills with data and technology including MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint

What Janaagraha offers:

At Janaagraha, you will be part of a multi-disciplinary team of professionals and passionate citizens who apply cutting-edge technologies and practices aimed at social change in India's cities. We offer a dynamic, driven and vibrant work environment for professionals who are passionate about investing their time, skill sets and energy to transform quality of life in India's cities. At work, you will be exposed to a unique combination of policy, practice and platforms and will have abundant opportunities to learn and apply professional skills to social challenges.

Remuneration:

Janaagraha is an equal opportunity employer and offers a highly dynamic and enabling work environment. We provide competitive remuneration commensurate with relevant experience skill sets and background.

This position is based out of Bengaluru and will report to the Head - Participatory Governance. Please write to us with your CV and a cover letter, along with a link to your updated LinkedIn profile.