Job Description:
Job Title: State Lead, Uttar Pradesh
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 performs weakly on all four fronts above, thus limiting its capacity. CEGIS helps to improve the functioning of the Indian state by focusing on the four principles above.
We believe that,
(a) by strengthening systems and enhancing the States capacity, we will be able to ensure the delivery of better outcomes to Indian citizens.
(b) improving the effectiveness of public expenditure is the most optimised way of achieving improved development outcomes at scale, and
(c) there is a clear need for an organisation that will systematically support this mission.
We work with the State Governments of India to enable a transformative improvement in their functioning in the coming decade. Informed by cutting-edge research and evidence as well as a practical orientation toward implementable ideas, CEGIS provides Indian states with both an analytical roadmap for governance and expenditure reforms as well as strategic implementation support to deliver on this vision.
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, Bodoland Territorial Council (Assam), NCT of Delhi and a few Government of India entities across a range of projects and sectors. Through CEGIS flagship offering, the KPI (Key Performance Indicators) Survey, we are helping enable one of the state governments we are working with to collect better quality 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 work 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 Theory of Change (ToC) is an outcome of the extensive work done by Prof. Karthik Muralidharan, the Founder and Scientific Director of CEGIS, in the field of strengthening State capacity. Further details are provided in his book Accelerating Indias Development: A State-Led Roadmap for Indias Development.
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 thinking and doing. We work closely with top bureaucratic leadership, front-line workers and public officials in Finance, Planning and other line departments. Today, CEGIS works across 6 Indian states and 15+ projects across 6 sectors - Education, Nutrition, and Local Governance among others.
Our team at CEGIS has extensive technical experience, with renowned economists, former bureaucrats, consultants, researchers, social entrepreneurs and development sector professionals on the team. We are trained academically in the best institutions in India and abroad across disciplines such as development economics, management, public policy, international development, and the like. We also seek extensive strategic advice from our pool of supportive external experts who further guide us in refining our solutions.
CEGIS in Uttar Pradesh
CEGIS is in consultation with the Government of Uttar Pradesh for a 5-year MoU to achieve transformational impact in the quality of public performance management and quality of expenditure. CEGIS engagement shall be primarily with the Departments of Finance and Planning with the possibility of extending the engagements with departments of School Education, Women and Child Development, Commercial Taxes, among others. For mutually identified projects, CEGIS shall provide technical support, depute key personnel, and bring onboard best-in-class partners. In addition, CEGIS endeavors to work in tandem with other relevant partners who currently work with the state to help improve service delivery.
Government of Uttar Pradesh (GoUP) would be assisting us with joint identification of projects, introductions to concerned departments, provision of data access; review of our deliverables, identifying ways to implement and to iterate on the recommendations, seconding of staff/Fellows, explore capacity building of critical units, etc.
Position Summary
As the State Lead, you will be CEGIS key representative in anchoring the relationship within a state. This will be through a combination of directly leading some projects, and providing support strategic oversight to others, while having an overall picture of the portfolio of projects in the State. You will be ultimately responsible for the success of CEGIS-driven reforms and must ensure seamless team management and coordination with government and external partners. You will interact with senior government officials, researchers, agencies and have a macro-overview of the entire State and will be required to build an in- depth understanding of the states major policy developments and priorities. Over time, you will be expected to achieve a high level of trust and efficacy, and be able to function as an effective advisor to the State Government.
This role will directly report to the CEO, and will also work closely with other State / function- heads on solution design, organization building, collaboration with external partners, donor stewardship, etc. You would also work time-to-time with the Co-founder and Scientific Director (Prof. Karthik Muralidharan) to understand the intellectual vision behind the proposed reforms and drive the implementation of the reforms across sectors, as well as vertical leads and external partners.
Role and Responsibilities
Government Partner Stakeholder Management
- Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders to understand their needs and ensure delivery satisfaction.
- Pitch CEGIS offerings to State level Stakeholders and loop back to the Technical Leads on the feedback and influence decision making
- Identify and devise strategies to leverage new opportunities within the state and discuss the same for actioning with the Technical Lead
- Build and maintain relationships with local organizations and stakeholders
- Anticipate and help resolve any areas of concern in cases of stakeholder conflict
- Initiate and maintain productive interactions with government counterparts and state level stakeholders through periodic cadence.
- Serves as the communication bridge for conveying ideas, solutions, and feedback to the CEO regarding the ToC, delivery approach, methodology, strategy, and emerging opportunities.
Networks, Alliances and Advocacy
- Develop a sound understanding of ecosystem organisations and professionals within the State Network and make connections with other ecosystem players and not-for- profit entities in sectors and domains that align with CEGIS objectives. Funnel inputs back and collaborate with Head- Fundraising and Partnerships to develop these areas in the state.
- Cultivate relationships and networks with prospective donors and influential figures, such as industry experts, sectoral influencers, HNIs, etc. through engaging and meaningful communication and work with the Head of Fund raising collaboratively on leveraging them.
- Represent CEGIS in the local community and participate in external events, workshops, and conferences to advocate for CEGIS mission. Thereby advocating CEGIS work externally.
- Build and maintain relationships with local organizations and stakeholders
- Actively contribute to the development of strategic partnerships and collaborate with Head Partnerships in managing local level relationships
Facilitate greater engagement & success of project teams
- Funnel stakeholder feedback to Technical Leads to ensure effective delivery that fulfils both government and CEGIS requirements
- Help mitigate risks associated with engagements
- Offers mentorship to project managers, sharing best practices in project portfolio management, stakeholder management, and other areas of expertise.
- Participate in internal OKR Reviews and provide feedback to ensure that the project portfolio aligns with CEGIS' Theory of Change
- Participate actively in brainstorming sessions with the technical teams to provide programmatic inputs, when called upon, and especially in times of change of governments/ bureaucracy
- Provide support in the preparation of donor and compliance reports Eminence Building
- Work closely with CEO and Head- Communications to plan eminence building activities and events
- Work closely with respective Leads to coordinate Org wide events, such as partner engagement activities, webinars, alumni events, workshops, etc
- Identify and suggest opportunities for documenting & publishing CEGIS body of work in order to establish the organisation as a thought leader in the space.
Required Qualifications, Skills and Abilities
- Masters degree or equivalent in relevant fields, including management, economics or public policy from a top global program.
- 14-15 years of work experience with managerial responsibilities, demonstrating entrepreneurship, superb project delivery and team leadership.
- Prior exposure to working very closely with senior bureaucrats and designing/implementing large-scale projects is highly desirable
- Strong interest in improving the functioning of the government combined with interest/experience in using research and evidence to improve policy
- Excellent problem-solving and strategic thinking skills, ability to analyse complex quantitative and qualitative data, craft possible solutions and recommend actions
- Excellent writing and communication skills (ability to communicate complex ideas in a meaningful way and across different audiences) in both English and local language(pref)
- Ability to build and maintain positive and collaborative relationships both within and outside the organization
- Strong planning and organizational skills, and an ability to be able to set priorities, plan timelines and meet deadlines.
Personal Characteristics and Desired Qualities
- Ability to align multiple stakeholders and build platforms for collaboration and coordination
- Passion for working with governments and making Indian states work better
- Ability to think creatively, willing to take risks to experiment with new ideas and the ability to turn ideas into action
- Excellent people management skills, with the ability to develop and motivate teams
- High ability to collaborate and actively listen to others, understanding and valuing others views
- Intellectual curiosity and ability/willingness to constantly learn
- Operating style suited to working independently and in a small-organization setting, where teamwork and resourcefulness are highly valued
- Demonstrated relationship-building ability and management of high-level relationships with partner organizations, ideally based on experience of working with Indian state governments
Location and Compensation
This role will be based out of Lucknow. 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 application here.