Job Description

Position: Program Associate, Technical Support Unit (TSU)

Location: Lucknow

About The Udaiti Foundation

The Udaiti Foundation (TUF) is a not-for-profit organisation working on advancing Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) in India. Our focus is on improving the availability and accessibility of quality work for women, engaging the private sector to address demand side barriers to women’s work and entrepreneurship, and creating enablers that can allow for the WEE ecosystem to engage in proven models for creating impact.

The Udaiti Foundation is a portfolio organisation under The Convergence Foundation (TCF) and is backed by Ashish Dhawan, a private equity investor turned philanthropist and founder of TCF. Udaiti is supported by an eminent panel of advisors that comprises Sri Ranjan (Former Chairperson - Bain & Co.), Dr. Sekhar Bono (Former Director, NITI Aayog & ADB), Aditya Ghosh (Business Leader Indigo, OYO, SEWA), Manisha Dhawan (Trustee, The Convergence Foundation), Prof. Ashwini Deshpande (Founding Director, CEDA, Ashoka University), Shaveta Sharma-Kukreja (MD, Central Square Foundation) and Megha Chawla (Partner, Bain & Co).

About the Project and Technical Support Unit

Uttar Pradesh is a front-runner in India’s economic success story. The state has the third highest gross state domestic product among states, growing at 7.6% CAGR over the last 5 years (at par with national average). However, despite a strong demographic advantage, the state has one of the lowest labour force participation rates (LFPR) among top state economies primarily due to a low female participation in the labour market. Uttar Pradesh ranks at 25 out of 28 states with female LFPR of 22.6%.

The state envisions building a USD 1 trillion economy by 2027. To achieve this transformative 4x economic growth, the government must bring in women as key partners in the state’s economic growth story. To realise this potential, The Udaiti Foundation is supporting the setting up of a WEE technical support unit (Policy Innovation Unit) under the Department of Planning, Uttar Pradesh. This unit would provide strategic support to advance the WEE agenda in the state and accelerate meaningful participation of women in the workforce, and also ensure alignment with the trillion-dollar economy mission.

The work of this unit would encompass:

• Articulation of state’s WEE strategy and goals based on a mapping of WEE landscape using data analytics and expert consultations
• Alignment of WEE’s interventions with the state’s ambitious economic agenda
• Enabling policy and regulatory frameworks for women’s empowerment
• Developing and deploying monitoring systems for tracking progress at the state and district level
• Creating a district model in a few lighthouse districts to deliver accelerated WEE outcomes and encourage adoption of interventions

Position Summary

We are looking to hire an exceptional Program Manager/ Associate (PM/PA) for the Technical Support Unit being set up to support the Planning Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh in advancing the WEE agenda in the state. The PM/PA would support the TSU team in creating a state level strategic approach that systematically focuses on the women’s economic empowerment (WEE) agenda. The role would be based out of Lucknow, but will entail frequent travel to Delhi and also within Uttar Pradesh.

This unit, anchored at the Planning Department, would work closely with multiple state government departments that have a bearing on the WEE agenda. The PM/PA would support the team in liaising between the departments (such D/o Women & Child Welfare, D/o Industries & Enterprise Promotion, D/o Labour & Urban Employment, D/o Industrial Development, etc.).

The key responsibility of the PA would include (but not be limited to):

• Conduct research and analysis work for the landscape analysis, support in creating an integrated WEE framework and dashboard
• Undertake extensive analysis of the economic, industry, employment and labour trends within Uttar Pradesh and across other states and translate the findings and insights into reports and presentations
• Provide technical advisory support for design and adoption of WEE inclusive programs and policies
• Support the team in coordination with key implementation partners to develop the district approach and rollout of the interventions
• Support in identification and socialisation of innovative interventions, partnership opportunities that would be salient for the state’s WEE agenda
• Support the team in creation of knowledge products and project collaterals
• Manage the work related to project documentation, including creation of project reports, outreach documents as well as support the team in convening of stakeholder meetings

This role is highly entrepreneurial and a great opportunity to work closely in a leadership role within the government in a high-paced environment.

Required Qualification, Skills & Abilities:

• Bachelor or Masters’ degree in relevant fields, including business or development sector management, economics, public administration, public policy or gender studies
• 2-6 years’ of work experience in a challenging/high growth environment; prior experience of working with government is preferable
• Technical skills for data analysis (strong proficiency in Excel, working knowledge of statistical software such as R, SPSS or Stata) and creating presentations (Powerpoint)
• Demonstrated ability to prepare structured documents and project collaterals such as reports, concept notes, project briefings, meeting/field notes, progress reports, etc.
• Excellent analytical, critical thinking, planning and organisational skills with attention to detail, accuracy, professionalism, and deadlines
• Strong communication, writing, interpersonal, and stakeholder-management skills
• Fluency is required in Hindi spoken skills and desirable for written skills

Remuneration

Remuneration will be competitive with Indian philanthropy pay scales and with organisations working with a similar mandate.