Job Description

About CEGIS Foundation:

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 work under the theme of State and Market (SAM) focuses on improving state capacity for better management of State interfaces with the larger market, especially in service delivery functions. We work with State Governments in three capacities

-Procurement: Improving procurement policies, processes and decisions to improve value for money in public procurement

-Regulation: Assessment of market failures and design and execution of proportionate regulatory interventions to address these

-Policy: Development of sectoral policy to incentivize cost effective service delivery, through the most appropriate models

CEGIS is working closely with the Government of Tamil Nadu to support their effort in strengthening their procurement system that involves development and deployment of an e-procurement platform (called Government eProcurement System by NIC GePNIC) and integrating modules pertaining to procurement planning (e.g., estimate preparation platform) and post-award governance (e.g., digitizing processes for measurement of works completed and payment to contractors i.e., e- Measurement Book, Contractor Module) to enable a full procurement life-cycle view across departments, sectors and projects in the medium term. In this context, the Tamil Nadu Finance Department has onboarded CDAC a Government of India entity to design, develop, launch and maintain IT systems pertaining to procurement planning and post-award for works contract (to begin with) in close coordination with various line departments and CEGIS. The Tamil Nadu Finance Department is in the process of setting up a Program Management Unit that would provide operational and need-based strategic support to the nodal officer in charge of the eProcurement initiative. The PMU shall have members from the Finance Department, representations from Departments including Public Works, Rural Development, Highways, Information Technology and from CEGIS. It is proposed that a two- member team, namely a Program Manager and a Program Associate shall be deputed to the proposed eProcurement PMU for a period of one year with possible extension based on mutual agreement. This JD outlines the Roles and Responsibilities and Educational Qualifications for the role of the Program Manager in the eProcurement PMU.

Roles and Responsibilities:

Communication and Stakeholder Engagement (50% time):

Develops Understanding of Stakeholder Landscape:

• Maintains understanding of stakeholders and their linkages.
• Engages with key stakeholders to deliver strategic benefits to projects on a periodic basis. This would involve preparation of meeting agenda, participation in stakeholder meetings including regular cadence with the Finance Department Officials, ensuring proper documentation of proceedings of the meetings, key decisions taken, action items etc. and timely follow-ups with concerned stakeholders. This may include identification and deployment of necessary project management tools with clear roles and responsibilities and overall progress tracking, highlighting of upcoming milestones and dependencies, if any.
• Systematically collect feedback from various stakeholders on the proposed solution architecture / framework, collate and present to Finance and CDAC for easy consumption and assimilation.
• Identify and flag potential risks that are likely to emerge from different stakeholder groups based on their business interests and strategies; also suggest potential risk mitigation strategies to the PMU Team.

Strategically Evaluates External Stakeholders:

1. Identifies synergies with external stakeholders aligning with organizational goals.
2. Cultivates strategic partnerships with external stakeholders.
3. Creates opportunities for the vertical by identifying synergies.

Reviews Stakeholder Feedback:

• Synthesises stakeholders feedback to develop strategic communication strategies.
• Creates presentations, reports, and dashboards for diverse stakeholders.

Technical Expertise and Solution Design (30% time)

• Understand and document various processes and functionalities related to the various procurement modules and provide objective assessment of various scenarios that would be effective in the long-term
• Review the inputs (in the form of notes, reports, presentations) provided by the Finance and Line Departments on the proposed functionalities in the eProcurement system modifications / integration
• Review the outputs (in the form of SRS, beta version of the software etc.) proposed by CDAC / NIC and provide inputs primarily to the Finance
• Department and CDAC
• Engage closely with the State and Market(s) team of CEGIS on conceptual frameworks for the proposed development and / or integration of the procurement planning and post-award modules.
• Testing of module functionalities and preparation of test reports for timely course correction by CDAC

Knowledge Product Development (20% time):

• Develops Knowledge Materials related to the development and/or integration of the procurement modules
• Develops concept notes, success stories, and learning documents this could include qualitative research involving project stakeholders.
• Identifies internal and external knowledge sources and shares best practices.

Education and Experience:

• Masters degree in engineering, computer science, information technology or any other related field from a prestigious institution.
• Certification such as PMP©, ScrumMaster, SAFE agility, Google Analytics
• 10 to 12 years of progressive work experience including leading or supporting or setting up a transformational initiative involving digitization of public service delivery for a national / state or local government in India.
• Experience of working as Principal Delivery Manager / technical managers and involved in IT strategy, large program and project management, product management, continuous process improvement, transition management, operations management, agile and scrum implementation, preferably on government projects
• Must be part of at least two medium-to-large scale digital transformation initiatives. Medium scale refers to digital initiative that impacted functionalities or processes of 1 or 2 departments and citizens served by them; and large scale refers to digital initiatives that impacted or covered the whole of government / citizens. The candidate must have been involved in the conceptualization, development of the prototype version if not the actual product, and deployment of the software in real setting. Understanding of post-implementation issues and challenges and knowledge of strategies for smooth implementation for future deployments/ replication or scale ups would be an added advantage.
• Demonstrated experience of working on projects involving technologies such e-governance solutions, Python, Oracle, AWS, Spark, Scala expertise in big data, Scalia, spark; experience in AI / ML and deep learning is preferred
• Demonstrated expertise in multi-stakeholder management and communication, especially with government departments and agencies.

Required Skills, Characteristics, and Qualities for the role:

1. Fluency in English and Proficiency in Regional Languages: Fluency in English language and proficiency in Tamil is desirable for effective communication with a diverse set of stakeholders

2. Exceptional Communication Skills: Ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and effectively to various audiences, both internally and externally, fostering understanding and alignment across stakeholders.

3. Robust Planning and Organizational Abilities: Proven track record in setting priorities, planning timelines, and meeting deadlines with precision, while maintaining attention to detail and delivering high-quality outputs consistently.

4. Innovative Thinking and Risk Management: Willingness to think creatively, take calculated risks, and translate ideas into actionable initiatives, fostering a culture of experimentation and continuous improvement.

5. Active Collaboration and Empathy: High capacity for collaboration, actively listening to diverse perspectives, and valuing input from team members and stakeholders, fostering a culture of inclusivity and mutual respect.

6. Strategic Relationship Building: Proven ability to cultivate and manage high-level relationships with partner organizations, particularly within Indian state governments, to advance program objectives effectively.

Compensation:

CEGIS is looking for suitable candidates for this role in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Remuneration will be competitive with Indian philanthropy and social sector pay scales and will depend on the candidates experience levels.

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 India Development