Manager - Executive Operations and Programmes - Founder's Office

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Job Description:

About the Founders office

Prof. Karthik Muralidharan is the Tata Chancellors Professor of Economics at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and the Founder and Scientific Director of the Center for Effective Governance of Indian States (CEGIS). He is also the author of the widely-acclaimed book: Accelerating Indias Development: A State-Led Roadmap for Effective Governance, which lays out a roadmap for national progress and won the 2024 Crossword Book Award and the 2025 Gaja Capital Business Book Prize. CEGIS aims to help convert these ideas into action and improve development outcomes at scale.

With growing demand for Prof. Muralidharans leadership and inputs across institutions and initiatives, both in India and globally, CEGIS is creating a Founders Office to provide dedicated strategic research, management, and partnerships capacity to enable the next phase of his public impact.

The Founders Office is envisioned to be a strategy, research, and implementation powerhouse that will facilitate all parts of the value chain from ideas to impact. These include the creation of new ideas and knowledge (research outputs – papers, notes, case studies), the transmission of that knowledge (lectures, teaching, dissemination events, and capacity building), and most importantly the translation of ideas into real impact (institution building, and a wide range of partnerships). While the focus of these actions is on India, many of them are globally relevant. The Founders Office will therefore be grounded in India, but will also support global engagements.

Role Summary

The Center for Effective Governance of Indian States (CEGIS) is seeking a highly skilled and versatile Manager (EO&P) to play a key role in Professor Karthik Muralidharans office. This critical role demands a proactive, organised, and dynamic individual capable of managing the fast-paced and evolving schedule, and work demands of a globally prominent economist, thought leader, advisor to governments and international organisations, and institution builder. The Manager will monitor and report the progress of specific workstreams. The Manager will also serve as the primary point of contact for Professor Muralidharan, handling his global academic and non-academic engagements; public events and lectures; teaching and capacity building; and various other day-to-day administrative tasks. This role is anchored in executive and program management, with selective research responsibilities in service of the office.

This role owns:

(i)End-to-end coordination of and readiness for the Co-Founders professional engagements;

(ii) Programme tracking and synthesis across priority workstreams;

(iii) High-quality briefs, pre-reads, and follow-ups for key meetings; and

(iv) Reliable executive operations that allow the Co-Founder to focus on substance and impact. We hope to find a long-term fit for this position, and the ideal candidate will become a trusted long-term partner to Prof. Muralidharan for many years to come.

Roles and Responsibilities

Program Management:

  • Maintain dashboards and performance reports to provide regular updates on core projects and all the strategic engagements
  • Be the point person for creating and collating high quality pre-reads and presentations for all external engagements

Research and Documentation:

  • Coordinate the preparation of briefings, background notes, summaries, and follow-up notes for all meetings and engagements.
  • Support in conducting research and preparing internal and external outputs on various topics relevant to the office.
  • Maintain and organise a ready repository of key documents and research materials.

Stakeholder Engagement:

  • Act as a primary point of contact for Prof. Muralidharan across varied stakeholders from government bodies, international donors, academic institutions.
  • Manage communication with senior leaders from CEGIS and other organizations in The Convergence Foundation (TCF) and gather and synthesize key information.

Administrative Support and Schedule Management :

  • Manage Professor Muralidharans calendar, including scheduling meetings, ensuring the booking of tickets, and arranging transport, accommodations, and visas for his global and domestic engagements (the actual booking can often be delegated).
  • Coordinate with academic institutions, government departments, and other stakeholders for seamless scheduling.
  • Handle correspondence, filter communications, and prioritise tasks. Assist in organising and coordinating his public talks, lectures, and other events where he is a speaker or participant.

Website and Social Media Management:

  • Maintain and update Prof. Muralidharans academic and book web pages to ensure that they are up-to-date with the latest information and resources.
  • Support content creation for his social media handles to share details of new research, writing, and public events
  • Other Duties:
  • Undertake special projects and other tasks as assigned by Prof. Muralidharan and/ or Executive Director.

Required Qualifications, Skills and Abilities

Educational Qualification

Bachelors degree required; advanced degree preferred, particularly in a related field such as public policy, economics, humanities, social sciences, communications and public relations or business administration.

Professional Experience & Skills

  • 6+ years of work experience with some managerial responsibilities and a track record of high achievement.
  • Extremely high analytical, synthesis and problem solving abilities. The role requires synthesising complex information from multiple sources and developing an informed perspective
  • Good research, data analysis, writing and communication skills. Ability to create high quality outputs in a short period of time
  • Exceptional reliability and organizational capability, ensuring seamless execution of tasks and strict adherence to timelines.
  • Experience in managing websites, social media accounts, and other public-facing digital assets of leaders is desirable.
  • Excellent project management, organisational and time management skills, demonstrating the ability to manage multiple tasks efficiently in a fast-paced environment.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills, ensuring clarity and professionalism in all interactions.
  • Proficiency in using digital tools for scheduling, social media management, and website maintenance.
  • Experience with financial management, processing of reimbursements, compliance, and paperwork

Personal characteristics & Interpersonal abilities

  • Strong interpersonal skills, capable of interacting with diverse stakeholders and building positive relationships.
  • Creative and resourceful, with a keen eye for detail, ensuring high-quality outputs in all responsibilities.
  • Proactive, self-motivated, and able to work independently with minimal supervision, showcasing initiative and a strong work ethic.
  • Adaptable and flexible, with a willingness to take on new challenges and adjust to changing priorities.
  • High level of discretion and confidentiality, with the ability to handle sensitive information with care.
  • Exceptionally high standards of work quality and reliability
  • Interested in a long-term role supporting Prof. Muralidharan across a wide range of tasks and functions

Location and Compensation

Location: The role can be based out of Delhi / Mumbai / Chennai / Hyderabad / Bangalore, with a strong preference for Delhi or Chennai. Travel to other states may be required.

Remuneration will be highly competitive with Indian academic, and social sector pay scales and will depend on the candidate's experience levels.

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.

Pre-reads


Department :

Centre for Effective Governance of Indian States (CEGIS)
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