Project Associate - Foundational Learning - TG (SPMU)

Job Title: Project Associate, Foundational Learning

Number of Positions: 8

Organization: Central Square Foundation

Team: Foundational Learning

Location: Hyderabad, Telangana (with frequent travel across the state)

Years of Experience: 0 to 2 years

About Central Square Foundation

Founded in 2012, Central Square Foundation (CSF) is a non-profit philanthropic organization working with the vision of ensuring quality school education for all children in India. We believe that effective foundational learning is essential for better learning outcomes for all children in school. Development of foundational literacy and numeracy skills by Class 3 can help children progress to higher levels of learning and is an essential building block in a child's life.

We are driven by our mission to enable the school education system to adopt solutions that are scalable, sustainable, and effective so that all children get equal access to opportunities needed for leading a better life.

Read more about our work here: www.centralsquarefoundation.org

About Foundational Learning at CSF

The Foundational Learning (FL) team drives CSF's mission to ensure that all children in India achieve foundational literacy and numeracy by Grade 3.

We collaborate with state and district governments to:

• Support the design and implementation of comprehensive

  Foundational Learning Missions aligned with NIPUN Bharat.
• Strengthen teacher capacity, academic design, and monitoring systems to improve classroom practice.

• Build district and state delivery capacity through Project

  Management Units (PMUs).
• Leverage data and technology for evidence-based decision-making and targeted interventions.

• Drive EdTech adoption and innovation for in-class and at

  home learning.

Our teams work across multiple states, suggesting governments translate strategy into execution and ensuring that every reform results in tangible learning gains for children.

Position Summary

CSF is looking for Project Associates to join its Foundational Learning team in Hyderabad, Telangana. The Project Associate will support the state FLN programme by working closely with government functionaries at the district, mandal and cluster level, ensuring that implementation remains disciplined, reviews are action-oriented, and field follow-through happens consistently.

The Project Associate will work closely with Project Managers and government counterparts to ensure that programme priorities are translated into timely and high-quality action on the ground.

This is a field-intensive, hands-on role for candidates who are keen to work at the intersection of government systems and education outcomes, and are comfortable operating in fast-paced environments.

Key Responsibilities

Field Engagement and Government Coordination

• Engage regularly with government functionaries at the district, mandal, and cluster level to support programme implementation and follow-through.
• Build and maintain working relationships with education officials, ensuring CSF's work is understood and respected at the field level.
• Facilitate alignment between government actors at different levels to ensure activities are sequenced and coordinated effectively.
• Conduct regular field visits to observe on-ground implementation, identify gaps, and provide direct support to field functionaries where needed.

Program Monitoring and Follow-through

• Track progress of assigned activities against plans and 

  timelines; flag delays and support course correction incoordination with the supervising Project Manager.
• Ensure action points from review meetings are followed up on systematically and within agreed timelines.

• Maintain structured documentation of visits, decisions, and 

  action points across all government and internal touchpoints.
• Use data from monitoring systems to prioritise field engagement and identify areas requiring additional attention.

Reviews and Planning Support

• Support the preparation and facilitation of review meetings 

  at the mandal and district level, ensuring discussions are grounded in data and focused on outcomes.

• Contribute field-level insights to internal planning and 

  course correction processes.

• Assist in preparing presentations, briefs, and data summaries

  for government and internal reviews.

Capacity Building and Field Support

• Support the delivery of training and capacity building 

  activities for government functionaries in coordination with the academic and program teams.
• Provide on-ground support to middle management cadres in strengthening their role as instructional leaders and school support providers.
• Document field observations, learnings, and good practices to inform program improvement and knowledge sharing.

Required Qualifications, Skills, and Abilities

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Education, Public Policy, 

  Economics, Management, Social Sciences, or related disciplines.
• 0 to 2 years of relevant work experience; familiarity with education or development programm and government systems is an advantage.
• Strong organisational and coordination skills, with the ability to manage multiple responsibilities and stakeholders simultaneously.
• Proficiency in Telugu is required; excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

• Analytical mindset and comfort working with data;

  proficiency in Microsoft Office and Google Suite.

• High degree of ownership, follow-through, and attention to

  detail.

• Willingness to travel frequently within Telangana.

• A strong commitment to improving learning outcomes for children, with an interest in working at the intersection of education and government systems.
• Ability to work with persistence, adaptability, and a problem-solving orientation in contexts that require both structured execution and responsiveness to emerging field needs.
• Candidates should be comfortable taking initiative, sustaining follow-through, and contributing to program implementation with a high degree of discipline and professionalism.

Additional Details

• Start Date: As soon as possible

How to Apply

Fill out the application form and upload your resume (File Name: Firstname_Lastname_Resume).

Central Square Foundation is an Equal Opportunity employer and encourages applications from qualified individuals regardless of race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or disability.