Janaagraha - Public Finance Fellow - Women's Fellowship

About Janaagraha:

Janaagraha is a Bengaluru based non-profit founded in 2001, working towards the mission of transforming quality of life in India's cities and towns. Janaagraha works with governments across levels - union, state and local, constitutional bodies (Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Finance Commission of India), and neighbourhood communities, to strengthen participatory democracy in India's cities, and strengthen "city-systems" of urban planning, municipal finance, mayors and councils, and platforms for citizen participation.

About the Job (Job Description):

Build a Career in Transforming Cities:

This Fellowship is designed to be your first step in a career that transforms India's urban areas through better management of public finance. It will empower you to bring women's perspectives into the public finance realm and drive better gender outcomes across India's urban areas in the future.

Fellowship Structure:

Induction Workshop:

You will start your Fellowship with a residential workshop with the entire cohort. As all the women Fellows from various backgrounds arrive at a common starting point during this workshop, you can establish a rapport that enables knowledge sharing and co-operative learning during your Field Immersion Projects.

Training & Mentorship:

- You will receive ongoing training on technical as well as leadership skills from domain experts throughout the two years of the Fellowship. Domain experts with skills sets specific to your Field Immersion Project will be assigned to provide you with the specific support you will need to excel in your role.

Masterclasses:

- The Fellowship will organize a series of online sessions where you can interact with and be inspired by eminent women professionals in PFM and allied fields.

Field Immersion Projects:

- You will work on Field Immersion Projects for two years with senior state government officers to design and implement reforms in public finance. The following government departments will be hosting Fellows through this Fellowship:

- Department of Housing and Urban Affairs (DoHUA), Government of Assam (based in Guwahati)

- Urban Development Department (UDD), Government of Uttar Pradesh (based in Lucknow)

- Department of Finance, Government of Odisha (based in Bhubaneshwar)

Outputs and Key Responsibilities:

Every Field Immersion Project provides you with exposure to specific areas of PFM, enabling you to work on any of the following:

1. Reform roadmap to address existing bottlenecks and gaps in PFM legal framework, systems and processes in the state and ULBs

2. Policy inputs on augmenting revenue at the ULB level by tapping into innovative revenue sources or by finding newer ways to increase existing tax collections

3. Framework design for monitoring fund allocation, utilisation and outputs/outcomes for Central Finance Commission (CFC) and state government's urban grants

4. Municipal budget management reforms to reduce variances, produce realistic budgets and track effective utilization of public funds

5. Framework for digital tools as enablers to improve PFM practices across departments of the state government

With the help of your mentors and the Programme Team, you will be expected to identify which outputs would be best suited for the project you will work on. Through the course of the Fellowship, you will be expected to produce the outputs thus chosen.

You will need to perform the following five activities to produce the outputs mentioned above:

1. Research and review state-level and municipal laws and policies pertaining to budget management practices and revenue sources

2. Analyse data from budgets, audited annual statements, demand books for revenue and their actual collections, expenditure statements, service delivery standards, to name a few

3. Engage with concerned state- and ULB-level stakeholders to ensure alignment on project outputs, conduct reviews and follow through on the pre-agreed scope of work

4. Implement reforms in policies, processes, capacities or systems

5. Synthesize and document findings, key learnings and experiences to enable peer-to-peer learning and build on the existing public finance management discourse

Selection Process:

1. Submit your online application before October 12, 2023: https://bit.ly/3Pq1FxJ

2. Virtual screening interviews with the Programme Team (on a rolling basis)

3. In-person interviews with the Programme Team

4. Interviews with Government Officers

5. Issuance of Fellowship offers

This Fellowship commences in the first week of December

Eligibility:

- Academic background in public policy, urban governance, economics, finance, business or other relevant fields

- 2-7 years of work experience and the willingness and ability to transition to public finance

Required Skills:

- Creative problem solving

- Project planning

- Detail-orientedness

- Stakeholder management

- Communication skills

- Documentation skills

- Presentation skills

- Team working skills

- Ability to thrive in a culture of diversity, complexity and ambiguity

- Willingness to take ownership for defined outputs