About the job Project Manager (Governance) - ECE
Job Title
Project Manager (Governance)
Team
Early Childhood Education
Location
Bhubaneswar
About Central Square Foundation
Founded in 2012, Central Square Foundation (CSF) is a non-profit philanthropic foundation working on the vision of ensuring quality school education for all children in India. We are driven by our mission to transform the school education system with a focus on improving children's learning outcomes, especially in low-income communities.
Learn more at the website.
About the position
Research from India and other countries shows that a childs readiness for school is closely related to attaining key FLN skills, as significant brain development happens before age 6. The NEP 2020 recognises this and emphasises the importance of Early Childhood Education (ECE) and FLN as a continuum of learning from ages 3 to 8.
The Department of School and Mass Education (S&ME) and Odisha School Education Program Authority (OSEPA) are undertaking significant reforms to improve ECE. They are introducing Sishu Vatika (SV) for 5to 6-year-olds across ~45,000 primary schools. This reform will benefit lakhs of children in the years to come. The successful implementation of the reform requires action across multiple workstreams.
CSFs dedicated SPMU (State Project Management Unit), aims to augment the states capacity and implement the programme with high fidelity.
Supporting the state in prioritising and planning critical ECE-related decisions (allocating budgets, human resource deployment, etc.)
Augmenting the capacity of the states academic bodies (SCERT, DIETs) to design sound curricula, teacher guides, student workbooks, learning materials, training and mentoring
Support in building the capacity of the State, District and field-level functionaries to set up and run an effective state-wide ECE programme (school identification, learning-friendly environment, educator hiring, supportive supervision, convergence on nutrition and health, etc.)
Improving data systems and governance by creating and driving robust mechanisms to ensure data reliability and enhancing governance processes to drive ECE implementation in mission mode
Capture learning and best practices from Odisha as a playbook for ECE in India.
Key Responsibilities
Support the department in day-to-day activities related to the Sishu Vatika program, including budgets, file movement, and monitoring
Take ownership of and manage end-to-end critical governance workstreams like program design, implementation, communications, and monitoring.
Set up project management processes and guidelines, and ensure that all activities are driving towards the defined goals
Develop and manage strong working relationships with government stakeholders.
Create internal alignment between different interventions and ECE partners in the state.
Work with other teams at CSF on technical work streams such as academics, research, and evaluation and contextualise them for the state.
Knowledge management and documentation of the implementation of work in the state.
Perform other relevant tasks as deemed necessary by the supervisor.
Required Qualifications, Skills, and Abilities
Bachelor's degree from a reputed university; a Master's degree preferred (in education, development studies, public policy, and social sciences).
2 to 4 years of work experience, preferably in the education sector, demonstrating superb project delivery and stakeholder management.
Keen interest in the development/education sector.
Fluent in English with excellent reading and writing skills; Good verbal and written skills in Odia are necessary.
Past experience working with state and district-level governance and institutional structures is a must.
Ability to work independently and as part of a team while taking initiative and responsibility.
Knowledge and experience working on project management, large-scale program implementation with multiple delivery tracks, and monitoring, among others.
Strong stakeholder management, problem-solving, and analytical skills.