International Innovation Corps - Engagement Manager

International Innovation Corps Engagement Manager

With University of Chicago Trust in India

Position Summary: The Engagement Manager is primarily responsible for project impact and overseeing the engagement between IIC teams and the partner organizations to ensure projects- success. The Engagement Manager will play a key role in project management, maintaining stakeholder relations, professional development and year round training for the Project Associates, event planning, and fellow recruitment in India. Engagement Managers will also have a role in developing new projects. The open Engagement Manager position at the UC Trust will work collaboratively with the Harris School of Public Policy (harris.uchicago.edu) in the US and the International Innovation Corps (IIC) (iic.uchicago.edu) in India and US, and the Tata Center for Development (TCD).

Key Responsibilities (including but not limited to):

Project Support and Team Management

- Work with teams on setting goals for maximum impact

- Use professional insights to coach teams on quickly identifying work streams with realistic and significant outputs and outcomes

- Help teams get up to speed quickly in project sector

- Challenge teams to create projects with more impact where you see opportunities, even if partners are already satisfied

- Be a creative problem solver, helping the teams think outside the box

- Exact excellence

- Offer constructive feedback regarding marketability to and alignment with partner organization, as well as creative feedback to help Project Associates reach their project's goal

- Ensure teams are doing their best, especially when projects face challenges

- Provide year round oversight on project progress and team management

- Motivate Project Associates when their day to day work may be wearing them down

- Review deliverables prior to submitting to external stakeholders to ensure high quality products

- Provide oversight with regards to timelines and strategies to consistently meet deadlines

- Give support in creating communication plans and streamlined practices for engaging with resources, including stakeholders and mentors

- Hold project update meetings to ensure deliverables are on track

- Address challenges discussed at these meetings as appropriate

- Provide feedback on progress, problem solving with teams as necessary

- Provide feedback on individuals for performance evaluations

- Provide professional coaching on navigating interpersonal and professional challenges

Maintaining Stakeholder Relations

- Regularly participate in stakeholder update meetings with the project team

- Address or escalate stakeholder concerns

- Give appropriate feedback to Project Associates based on meeting outcome

- Provide guidance for any challenges that arise at the meetings

- Ensure the Core Team is consistently and appropriately informed on fellow and project activities

- Communicate regularly with the Core Team

- Share all necessary information with the Core Team to ensure Core Team reports are thorough and accurate

Professional Development and Year Round Training

- Communicate and ensure professionalism standards to Project Associates including areas of:

- Meeting etiquette, setting and sending agendas, taking and distributing minutes

- Quality of client ready documents, attention to detail

- Teamwork challenges and ability to maintain work quality in high stress environments

- Provide on-going training to address any gaps that may arise

- Advanced Excel training

- Advanced PowerPoint training

- Project management tools (how to build and use a Gantt chart, etc.)

Events, Marketing and Recruitment in India

- Lead event planning for IIC Leadership Lecture Series and support general IIC event planning and participation

Serve as point of contact for IIC events in India

Coordinate event requirements with the UChicago Delhi Center

Work with the Project Associates and stakeholders to ensure quality content if IIC projects are being presented

Participate in other events hosted by IIC partners or friends as IIC representative

- Support IIC marketing strategy and provide on-the-ground content

- Support Assistant Director of Fellow Experience with fellow recruitment in India

Help plan and lead information sessions at universities in India

Develop and maintain relationships with recruitment offices at Indian universities

Read and provide feedback to the Core Team for fellowship applicants in India

Hold interviews for Indian Project Associates and coordinate the process with the Core Team

Identifying and developing new projects and funding sources

- Support the Country Director

With outreach to Indian government officials to develop new IIC projects

To work with potential project leaders and government officials to develop project descriptions and needs - the Project Proposal Outline - and negotiate MOUs

To help IIC screen projects for fit with IIC objectives and capabilities

About the International Innovation Corps:

The IIC's mission is to identify and implement scalable, sustainable, high-impact interventions that make great leaps in solving pressing development challenges. The IIC aims to foster a culture of innovative problem-solving within the public sector and build a generation of global leaders on a foundation of international collaboration. Launched in India in 2014, the program plans to broaden its presence within India and expand to other countries around the world. The IIC leverages top global talent, resources from one of the world's leading universities, and the broad capacity of the public sector in a new way.

The IIC selects top graduates from the University of Chicago and host-country universities, places them in diverse teams, and embeds them with government organizations for a year-long fellowship. Project Associates complete immersive training that equips them for collaborative, high-intensity projects. A project-specific steering committee, IIC engagement managers, and expert mentors guide each team.

IIC teams tackle projects in urban development, energy and the environment, health care, innovation, and education. The three inaugural-year projects, all in India, focus on expanding the use of solar technologies to promote rural electrification; developing a viable model for the 24 cities along the Delhi- Mumbai Industrial Corridor; and establishing a vocational training and jobs creation program in the textiles sector. In 2015- 16, the IIC is expanding to five projects.

Please visit iic.uchicago.edu for more detailed information on the IIC.

Start Date: Beginning immediately

Location: This position is located in New Delhi, India

How to Apply: To apply, please submit an application online.

Qualifications:

The ideal candidate is a creative problem-solver who is motivated, passionate, entrepreneurial, self-sustaining, driven by a desire to make the world a better place, and excited to help build and shape the IIC initiative into a platform for matching human resources with social and development problems being tackled by the Indian government.

Other qualifications include:

- Bachelor's degree required

- Experience in program management, communications, marketing, or similar professional work preferred

- Familiarity with higher education environment and knowledge of the University of Chicago's unique culture preferred

- Experience working with the government preferred

- Outstanding interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal

- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail and the ability to manage a variety of tasks simultaneously

- Thrives in high stress situations with multiple stakeholders, and a consistently changing, ambiguous environment

- Work well under pressure; ability to work independently as well as to be a flexible team player

- Willingness to problem solve and propose solutions when faced with challenging obstacles

- Professional demeanor, including tact, discretion, and a sensitivity to working in a cross-cultural context

- Ability to travel frequently within India & flexibility to do so with limited planning

- Willingness and ability to travel, work some evenings and weekends required