Job Description:
About CEGIS
Centre for Effective Governance of Indian States (CEGIS pronounced See-Jis) aims to improve lives by helping Indian state governments deliver better development outcomes.
The four key characteristics of any high-performing organisation are (a) measuring outcomes through reliable, high quality data that enables goal setting and monitoring progress towards these goals; (b) strategic use of personnel competency based hiring and training, skilling, and performance appraisals to determine job assignments, pay, and promotions to achieve the goals above; (c) strategic budgeting where resource allocation is based on evidence and cost-effectiveness; (d) and creating efficient systems to leverage external actors (including for-profit and nonprofit organisations). The Indian State needs to perform better on all four fronts above, by enhancing its capacity. CEGIS partners with states to improve this capacity by focusing on these four pillars of the State.
Informed by cutting-edge research and evidence as well as a practical orientation toward implementable ideas, CEGIS works with State Governments in India to enable a transformative improvement in their functioning. This vision and Theory of Change (ToC) is an outcome of extensive research done by Prof. Karthik Muralidharan (CEGIS Co-Founder and Scientific Director) and strategic philanthropic support provided by Mr. Ashish Dhawan (CEGIS Co-Founder).
Prof. Karthik Muralidharan is the Tata Chancellors Professor of Economics at the University of California, San Diego. Over the past two decades, he has led extensive research projects in India across education, health, and social welfare. His book, Accelerating Indias Development: A State-Led Roadmap for Effective Governance, systematically analyses Indias governance challenges and provides actionable, evidence-based strategies, emphasising state-level reforms as critical for Indias advancement.
Ashish Dhawan is a leading Indian philanthropist and the Founder-CEO of The Convergence Foundation (TCF). He is also the Founding Chairperson of Ashoka University and the Central Square Foundation, and is a governing board member of the Gates Foundation. Before his second career as a philanthropist, Ashish was among Indias most successful private equity investors.
CEGIS Approach and Model of Functioning
Our solutions to enhance governance are co-created with state governments in a state-led way, where we focus on deep partnerships with states with an iterative cycle of think-demonstrate-document-transfer. We work closely with the top bureaucratic leadership, front-line workers and public officials in Finance, Planning, Human Resources and a few other priority line departments.
In alignment with our four principles or pillars of change - outcome measurement, personnel management, strategic public finance, states and markets, CEGIS is currently working with the governments of Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, NCT of Delhi, Assam, and a few Government of India entities like the NITI Aayog and Capacity Building Commission (CBC) across a range of projects and sectors. Through CEGIS flagship offering, the KPI (Key Performance Indicators) Survey, we are helping enable state governments we are working with to collect better quality citizen level data, make informed, evidence-based decisions, and institutionalise this process of securing periodic citizen-level feedback. We are setting up a Financial Analytics Unit (FAU) to enhance analytical capacity and increase the effectiveness of budgetary allocations of the Finance Department in another state. In alignment with our personnel management workstream, we are also working with the HR/Administrative Reforms & Training Department to set up and institutionalise an in-house Capacity Building Unit (CBU) that aids the adoption of competency-based Learning Management Systems (LMS) and Performance Management Systems (PMS) with a few of these entities. Similarly, to improve the value of public money, we are working at the interface of states and markets which encompasses procurement, regulation, and policy formulation. Our solutions are constantly being refined based on real-time feedback and are designed to be customised and replicated across contexts.
CEGIS@5: A Journey of Learning & Building Capacity
Since its incorporation in 2019, despite the enormous challenges posed by COVID, CEGIS has gained significant momentum in building strong collaborations with the government(s) as a trusted partner who can provide both thought leadership and implementation support on key governance reforms. CEGIS position as a non-profit that does not take any funding from the government (other than in-kind contributions of office space/staff) has been a key enabler in earning this trust.
Beginning with 2 state government engagements in the first 2 years of its inception, today CEGIS is working across several Indian states with 15+ projects across several sectors, including education, nutrition and local governance. From a small group of founding members, we have grown by leaps and bounds to become a team of 150+ members located across the country. Helmed by a former bureaucrat with invaluable governance experience, state and solution team leads with decades of domain expertise, and enabling functions led by professionals with considerable corporate careers, the team at CEGIS brings together knowledge and experience that spans various sectors - from developmental economics, research, and governance to management consulting and social entrepreneurship.
Over the last 5 years, we have also been able to garner support for our vision and theory of change from a diverse range of foundations and philanthropists whose partnership has enabled us to build our own organisational capacity as well as continue to experiment and improve our solution design to augment state capacity and governance. We believe that this approach will gradually enable all government officials to achieve their goals more effectively, thereby improving the ability of the State to deliver services to all Indian citizens in the decades to come.
To explore what the mission of CEGIS is and the impact we hope to have, please take a look at this video of our CEO, Dr Vijay Pingale.
Funding Partners
TCF-https://theconvergencefoundation.org
NATCO- https://www.natcopharma.co.in/
Veddis Foundation- https://veddis.org/
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation- https://www.gatesfoundation.org/
Michael & Susan Dell Foundation- https://www.dell.org/
Overview:
CEGIS' Personnel Management team has pioneered a competency-driven approach to build capacity. 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.
- Competency-Based Recruitment: Ensuring that the right people are selected for the job, bringing the necessary skills on board from the outset.
- Competency-Based Capacity Building (Learning & Development): Equipping government officials with the ongoing training and development they need to excel in their roles.
- 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.
Program Associate at CEGIS
A compelling opportunity awaits potential candidates for the position of Program Associate within the PM vertical at CEGIS. This role is designed for active participation in government engagements that centre around competency-based capacity building of public officials. The primary role of a Programme Associate is to invest in developing her/his understanding about the work that PM vertical does, learn the details of various pieces within the vertical and understand the theory of change in a comprehensive manner.
The candidate will be responsible for assisting in mapping competencies, developing resources, and managing the onboarding process for assessment providers. Strong research skills will be essential for conducting in-depth studies on competencies and learning opportunities. Effective communication skills are crucial to maintaining a clear information flow through reports and stakeholder updates.
Furthermore, the Program Associate will be a knowledge curator, organising project findings and collaborating with internal teams to ensure alignment. This role is well-suited for highly organised, results-oriented individuals who harbour a passion for making a substantial difference in public service development.
Roles and Responsibilities
- Contribute to the planning and execution of projects, ensuring the achievement of goals within agreed timelines.
- Contribute to a comprehensive capacity-building approach by assisting in mapping, developing competencies, populating the product database, managing assessment provider procurement and onboarding, and supporting assessment processes.
- Conduct comprehensive research for identified positions, encompassing both secondary research on competencies and learning opportunities, and primary data collection through interviews, focus group discussions, and workshops. including the development of associated questionnaires and facilitation guidance.
- Maintain transparent stakeholder communication, generated regular project updates, and created compliant collateral, including presentations and reports.
- Collect, synthesise, and organise knowledge produced and project documents throughout the project duration.
- Facilitate internal alignment on project objectives, coordinate with teams to prevent redundancy, and gather inputs/resources from prior projects for increased efficiency.
- 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 preferred.
- 1 to 3 years of work experience in a high-performing environment.
- Experience working on complex multi-stakeholder projects, especially with governments, donors, and research organisations.
- Exceptional communication skills, including writing, conversing and presenting clearly in English.
- 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.
- 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.
Interested candidates are requested to submit their application here.
Note: CEGIS has zero tolerance to 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 of misconduct, appropriate action that may include employment termination would be taken. Please Click the link
for self declaration.
Pre-reads for the application process
Please go through the following materials before sending in your application:
- Concept note on CEGIS
- A glimpse into life at CEGIS - CEGIS Retreat 2024
- CEGIS Snapshot 2023-24
- Podcast episodes with Prof. Karthik Muralidharan one each on education and healthcare in India.
You are also encouraged to read more of Prof. Karthik Muralidharans work here
and through his book Accelerating Indias Development: A State-Led Roadmap for Indias Development.