Project Associate

Leadership For Skilled Education Foundation (branded as Leadership For Equity, LFE), is a non-profit (NGO). In our two-fold approach to change, we build the capacity of government system leaders and we influence system processes. In partnership with the local and state education bodies, we co-create programs that shift teaching-learning practices and improve student learning and well-being. This work coupled with our research and advisory support to influence policies, we hope to create effective government education systems.

BELIEF: We believe Public Education Systems are the gatekeepers of social EQUITY, especially when India's 120 million poorest of the poor children go to government-run schools. A multi-layered, complex, and systemic problem of educational inequity, will require a solution rooted in the SYSTEMS CHANGE approach. We believe that a COLLECTIVE effort by forging partnerships with governments, like-minded philanthropists, corporates, donors, nonprofits and grassroots organisations will help bring scalable and sustainable social change.

VISION: We envision Public Education Systems That Refuse To Let Children Down

APPROACH: We focus on building system leaders by strengthening middle Management. This includes enabling Academic & Administrative Officers (Extension Officers, BEOs, DIETs, SCERT) to effectively lead quality improvement programs and run their departments. As well as, Equipping Teachers Mentors (URCs, CRG, BRG, CRCs) to improve the classroom practices of teachers in foundational learning and technology. In the last 5 years, we built the capacity of 2000+ system leaders, and 40,200+ teachers to impact 8.2 million students. We have co-created and implemented 7 different programs and have multi-year MoUs with 9 govt. bodies including District Zilla Parishads, DIETs, SCERTs, SSA, Department of School Education & Sports, Govt.

of Maharashtra, Haryana & Tripura, and currently expanding to Andhra Pradesh.

About the project: Partnerships and District interventions for Haryana

LFE is working with MSCERT, Pune since 2017 as a Project Management Unit (PMU) for the DIKSHA portal launched by the Ministry of Education. DIKSHA (Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing) is a mobile application and web portal designed with the aim to provide free, contextual, and high-quality learning resources to teachers and students. More information about the portal can be found at https://diksha.gov.in/

Along with SCERT, LFE has worked with several government officers, and teachers across Maharashtra for setting up processes to get content on the portal and also drive its usage through a number of outreach initiatives. In the last year, Maharashtra became the leading state in the nation for the usage of the DIKSHA portal accounting for 46% of the total content plays recorded on the portal.

At present, LFE has partnered with SCERT, Haryana with an aim to set up processes, and structures and build the capacity of their officers, and teachers for managing Haryana’s instance of the DIKSHA portal. The project involves working closely with SCERT leadership, department heads, and subject matter experts to train and support them to manage the DIKSHA portal. It will also require coordination with various content partners to get their content onboarded on the DIKSHA portal. The project will give a team member the experience of end-to-end planning, implementation with Government stakeholders, and strengthening a learning platform that will potentially be used by 22 lakh students of Haryana.

This year, LFE wants to expand the ongoing partnership with SCERT Haryana to districts, DIETs, and the Samagra Shiksha department. In this partnership, we want to explore further opportunities to work with the district/state leadership to set up new work processes, and structures and build capacity of officers while working with the district/state officials regularly.

Job Description and Responsibilities

We see the Project Associate role at LFE to be highly aspirational where the scope to learn and create impact at a systemic level is immense. The Project Associate will work with the Project Manager/Associate Director to play a critical leadership role in ensuring the planning for and execution of the responsibilities listed below. They include but are not limited to:

Partnerships & Liaisoning (40%)

• Work on planning/designing the overall partnership strategy in conjunction with the Project Manager and the team.
• Showcasing of current LFE’s work to district officials and understanding their requirements in alignment with LFE’s work.
• Reaching out to different districts and DIETs in the state for a probable partnership on their ongoing work or for introducing LFE’s working model.
• Supporting in exploring partnerships or work opportunities with the Ministry of Education.

Stakeholder Management (30%)

• Work with government stakeholders from the State Project Director, Director of SCERT, other department Directors, Haryana to on-ground officers’ team of DIET principals, subject matter experts, and teachers to build long-lasting relationships that aid project operations and expansion plans.
• Plan and execute monthly update/review meetings with stakeholders and provide progress toward the goals of the project.
• Create project documents and reports in coordination with SCERT, other education departments of Haryana that can be shared with the Ministry of Education in a timely manner.
• Establish and finalize partnerships with districts and DIETs on district intervention initiatives
• Work with state/district officials of Haryana on a regular basis.

Peer Support & Collaboration (20%)

• Provide support to the team in existing projects and work areas.
• Seek support and feedback from other team members.

Personal and Professional Development (10%)

• Research and lead sessions contribute to the team’s personal and professional growth by introducing varied perspectives on education, equity, culture, monitoring and evaluation, policy reform, etc. based on one’s interest and expertise.
• Participate effectively and drive learning in the team professional development days (once a month) and team outstation step-backs (twice a year).

Requirements: Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in humanities/engineering/development. A master's degree in education/social development is preferable.
• Minimum 2 years of experience in partnerships and Liaisoning education projects.
• Experience in creating MoUs, partnership documents, and impact reports is desirable.
• Experience of working on EdTech solutions, and platforms at scale is highly desirable.
• Experience of working with government stakeholders would is required.

Knowledge, Skills & Capabilities

• Excellent written and oral communication skills - and functional knowledge (oral and written) of Hindi and English.
• Strong facilitation skills to conduct engaging meetings and training sessions with government stakeholders.
• Fluency and ability to create outstanding presentations, work with Microsoft Excel, Google Suite, and varied data sets.
• Belief in the potential of the public sector and that government systems can and will change. towards overcoming systemic inequities and ensuring improved outcomes for all citizens.
• A basic understanding of social equity, development discourse, and education policy in India.
• Being able to take initiative and work in an autonomous, semi-structured environment.
• Adaptability to changing responsibilities and resourcefulness to respond to them.
• High openness to learning.
• Ability to build and sustain relationships with multiple stakeholders & partners across public and private spaces.
• Patience and resilience to stick it out in the face of setbacks and uncertainties.

Location and Compensation

Location: Gurugram, Haryana

Compensation: The Project Associate will draw a salary in the range of INR 4.0 to 6.0 lakh per annum depending on the previous work experience, suitability for the role. Apart from monthly salary, the local travel, mobile, and internet expenses will be reimbursed as per LFE’s HR policy.

Leadership For Equity is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Prohibits Discrimination and Harassment of Any Kind. We do not discriminate on the basis of caste, race, religion, colour, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other non-merit factor.