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 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 State’s 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 India’s Development: A State-Led Roadmap for India’s 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 the Chief Secretary and other top bureaucratic leadership, front-line workers and public officials in Finance, Planning and other line departments, with guidance from the Chief Minister and Finance Minister of the respective states. 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: renowned economists, former bureaucrats, consultants, researchers, social entrepreneurs, development sector professionals. 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. 

Overview:

Within CEGIS, the Outcome Measurement (OM) team’s role is to support institutionalisation of data driven decision making by setting up the required infrastructure and technical capacity with the Planning department and relevant line departments in the State. High quality data and insights generated through this facility are expected to provide assistance to the State in goal setting, progress monitoring and strategic decision making for personnel and budget/ finance management.

Specifically, this will, among other things, entail:

• Conducting independent household level outcome measurement across various sectors such as school education, health, child nutrition, water & sanitation, jobs & unemployment, public safety and agriculture etc. to assist the government in goal setting and progress monitoring
• Measuring integrity of administrative data gathered and managed by the state machinery and suggest ways of improving its quality
• Conducting high-frequency measurement of outcomes and monitoring (of key programs and schemes) using various tools and techniques
• Generating learning notes to document project milestones and lessons for the future, and share generalizable knowledge with the wider team.

The Senior Program Associate (SPA)- Outcome Measurement will play an important role in contextualising and executing the CEGIS vision in a select state. The role will work closely with the Outcome Measurement technical team and project delivery teams in the respective State team. The Senior Program Associate will be directly reporting to the Program Manager, Outcome Measurement in the state.

Responsibilities:

Data Collection and Organization:

• Collect, organize, and monitor data from various sources ensuring accuracy and completeness.
• Validate data sources and conduct verification checks for data reliability.
• Design and administer questionnaires for data collection.

Data Maintenance and Quality Control:

• Monitor and maintain secure data repositories ensuring data integrity.
• Prioritize and address data issues promptly to support project progress.
• Maintain records of data quality control processes and identify areas for enhancement.
• Evaluate data quality, analyze trends, and interpret findings to generate critical insights.

Alignment with Project Objectives:

• Collaborate with project teams and stakeholders to align data diagnostics and analysis plans with project objectives.
• Support creation of technical notes and analysis protocols.
• Assist in defining metrics and drafting project diagnostics reports.
• Communicate project updates, findings, and recommendations to stakeholders.

Engagement and Relationship Management:

• Support managers in developing and implementing effective engagement strategies with external stakeholders.
• Share learnings and insights with government officials.
• Manage relationships with senior officials in relevant departments.
• Communicate project objectives and requirements to government counterparts.

Project Management and Leadership:

• Perform assigned tasks with minimal supervision.
• Independently create and prioritize work plans, ensuring accountability for set timelines.
• Maintain proactiveness and self-motivation while delivering project requirements.
• Manage a portion of Project Associates' time and support their onboarding and capacity building.
• Focus on self-development and deepening expertise.
• Collaborate with team members to compile and document insights and best practices.
• Create knowledge products and documents by synthesizing information from different perspectives and participate in knowledge sharing.
• Identify potential project opportunities and conduct preliminary feasibility assessments.

Qualifications:

• 3 - 6 years of experience with a Master’s degree or equivalent in economics, public policy, social science or related fields from a reputed institution 
• Proven experience in project management and analytical contributions.
• Strong communication, collaboration, and leadership skills.
• Experience with data cleaning and analysis of large and complex data sets and econometric analysis
• Knowledge of STATA or R (strongly preferred) or any other data analysis software preferred
• Experience in client servicing/government projects would be preferred
• Commitment to CEGIS's mission and values.

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

Podcast episodes with Prof. Karthik Muralidharan one each on education and healthcare in India.

You are also encouraged to read more of Prof. Karthik Muralidharan’s work here.