Job Openings Senior Program Associate

About the job Senior Program Associate

Overview:

CEGIS' Personnel Management team has pioneered a competency-driven approach to Capacity Building. This shift addresses a significant challenge wherein the existing system tends to prioritise strict adherence to rules linked to specific offices rather than focusing on attaining the desired outcomes. While this can limit the autonomy of frontline staff and managers, potentially hindering accountability for results, the innovative approach actively seeks to empower individuals and cultivate a results-oriented culture. This approach ensures the establishment of a more impactful and accountable government framework.

The competency-driven approach focuses on the skills, knowledge, and attitudes required for specific government roles. By prioritising these competencies, CEGIS aims to bring clarity to the work done by officials and empower them to achieve better results. This translates to a shift in accountability from simply following processes to delivering tangible outcomes.

The Personnel Management team achieves this through three key workstreams.

  1. Competency-Based Recruitment: Ensuring that the right people are selected for the job, bringing the necessary skills on board from the outset.
  2. Competency-Based Capacity Building (Learning & Development): Equipping government officials with the ongoing training and development they need to excel in their roles.
  3. Revamped Performance Management System: Evaluating and improving individual and team performance based on achieving defined goals, not just by adherence to procedures.

Through these efforts, the Personnel Management team strives to bring a new level of clarity and effectiveness to government work in India. By empowering staff with the right skills and holding them accountable for achieving desired outcomes.

Position Summary:

The Senior Program Associate role at CEGIS provides an opportunity to contribute to large-scale capacity-building programs for government officials. Senior Program Associate acts as the bridge between CEGIS and the government, managing stakeholders, workshops, and the project's information system. Senior Program Associate needs advanced research capabilities, involving in-depth studies and data collection through interviews, focus groups, and workshops. Beyond research, the responsibilities extend to synthesising and disseminating this acquired knowledge to both internal and external stakeholders using various mediums such as reports, presentations, and other materials. Collaboration becomes a focal point, requiring the individual to ensure alignment among all internal teams, fostering their collective contribution to the project's efficiency. Additionally, the role encompasses supporting the capacity-building process itself, including mapping competencies, developing resources, and onboarding assessment providers as needed. This senior position is well-suited for a results-oriented leader endowed with strong communication, research, and stakeholder management skills, and who is driven by a passion for making a significant impact in public service development.

Roles and Responsibilities

  • Managing a multitude of stakeholders, coordinating meetings, workshops, and discussions to gather input, feedback, and insights from government partners, and managing the project MIS.
  • Conducting secondary research on competencies and learning opportunities, along with interviews, Focus Discussion Groups FGDs, and workshops with functionaries to gather primary data, including drafting associated questionnaires/facilitation guides.
  • Gathering, synthesizing, organising and sharing knowledge produced during the project with external and internal stakeholders (as per suitability).
  • Communicating with external stakeholders by maintaining a regular cadence with external stakeholders, maintaining discussion notes, and ensuring alignment on the latest developments in the project, creation and dissemination of collaterals such as presentations and reports.
  • Collaborating with internal stakeholders ensuring internal alignment on project objectives, also ensuring that collateral prepared is done in consultation with internal team(s), and avoiding redundant work by coordinating with the internal team to gather relevant inputs and resources from previous projects.
  • Supporting mapping and development of competencies, the population of the database of competency-building products, and procurement and onboarding of assessment providers as required.
  • The position may require travel domestically as per the projects requirements.

Education, Experience, Required Skills, Characteristics and Qualities

  • Masters degree or equivalent in Public Policy, Education, Management, Technology Management, Human Resources, or related fields.
  • 3 to 6 years of work experience in a high-performing environment.
  • Prior capacity building and/or institutional strengthening experience in the development sector, preferably with governments.
  • Experience working on complex multi-stakeholder projects, especially with governments, donors, and research organisations
  • Demonstrated experience in assessing and appraising performance within the public sector, proficiency in competency mapping, conducting training needs/gap assessments, familiarity with e-learning, and other applicable organisational development practices and processes.
  • Exceptional communication skills, including writing, conversing and presenting clearly in English
  • Proven ability to independently handle multiple diverse assignments simultaneously, complete assigned tasks and meet deadlines while conducting high-quality work
  • Readiness to apply a systematic problem-solving approach and demonstrate a proactive mindset, consistently taking the initiative to instigate positive changes.
  • Exhibit openness to respect diverse viewpoints and cultivate a work environment that is supportive and inclusive.
  • Display resilience in facing challenges, coupled with strong conflict resolution skills to navigate and resolve team dynamics effectively.
  • Proactively seeks and provides feedback on team tasks, and takes initiative to address problems, irrespective of ownership.

Location and Compensation

Location: The role will be based out of Bhubaneswar. Travel to other states may be required.

Remuneration will be competitive with Indian philanthropy and social sector pay scales and will depend on the candidates experience levels.

Interested candidates are requested to submit their applications by clicking the apply button below

Note: CEGIS has zero tolerance for sexual harassment. We therefore expect each applicant to self-declare related to the same. CEGIS could, if required, initiate a prevention of sexual harassment-based background verification. If an applicant is reported for misconduct, appropriate action that may include employment termination would be taken. Please complete the details for self-declaration on the application form.


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