Job Description

Position: Program Head - Technology & Digital Enablement

Location: Bengaluru/Hyderabad/Chennai/NCR

Reporting to: CEO

Experience: 15 plus years

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 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.

Context of the Role-

The last decade has also seen the rapid onboarding of a significant majority of the Indian population on to the digital world through affordable and ubiquitous network connectivity. This has had a positive impact in terms of the hunger for information and the resultant knowledge of entitlements to the really needy.

However, the adoption of technology in Governance has not kept pace with either the capacity of the system or the demands of the population. Typically, the Governments are late adopters (at best) and this has been no exception. This gap needs to be, and will be, bridged rapidly. The younger officers in the administration who are digitally savvy understand the importance of technology adoption to increase efficiency. For this set of officers, getting work done on digital platforms comes naturally. On the other side, a more knowledgeable citizenry both rural and urban are already demanding more visibility and transparency. Hence any new policy, program or process will now need to have the technology backing.

Position Summary

Program Head- Technology & Digital Enablement will be responsible for implementation of technology products as per requirements of the project teams and State Government stakeholders. The candidate will lead transformative projects where technology is used to enhance public service delivery for better outcomes , thereby helping achieve key outcomes linked to our organizations mission and vision. The candidate will be part of a strategic team to ensure the selection of the right vendors and guide the internal team for fulfilling the internal and client requirements, implementation support , coding, code support, quality checks, stakeholder management, department liaisoning and ground execution strategy. In addition, He/ She will ensure high availability of internal IT systems, identify and roll out tools and technologies for collaboration, project management, knowledge management, etc to drive efficiency and effectiveness. He/She will ensure cloud service maintenance, drive management, legal and finance coordination and act as advisor for internal and external projects.

Key Responsibilities

Evangelization:

• Build awareness in the Government on Software Engineering methodologies and equip them in making smart and realistic decisions in estimating and reviewing software projects
• Build consensus in the ecosystem for pathways to find the balance between leveraging economies of scale in building centralized tech systems and the agility of local customization
• Leveraging of low-code/no-code platforms
• Usage of open source tools and platforms as the key building blocks of solutions
• Co-create the technology roadmap for the Government
• Build software components to understand the latest in technology advancements that can solve specific governance needs

Strategic Leadership:

• Develop, communicate, and execute technology strategy that aligns with the CEGIS mission and vision. This strategic insight will drive the adoption of innovative technologies to enrich the clients experience, bolster internal teams efficiency, and achieve organizational goals.
• Collaborate closely with the senior Management team, acting as the technology advocate and advisor. The ability to articulate the value of technology initiatives will be crucial to securing buy-in from key stakeholders.
• Build organizational muscle in building Digital Public Goods. Take Ownership of technical vision for a given DPG - Define standards, drive technical architecture, strategy, and roadmap
• Manage vendor and contractor relationships and project delivery
• Ensure governance and compliance with IT policies and risk management practices. Solution Delivery and Program Management
• Understand the project needs and develop the system and functional requirements
• Develop, review and rework UI and Functional prototypes
• Evaluate vendor proposals for technical approach, schedule and cost.
• Review the architecture, design and code
• Conduct periodic reviews with vendors towards ensuring on time delivery with quality

Validate the vendor deliverables

• Develop and implement key performance indicators (KPIs) for technology projects.
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with other teams to facilitate efficient issue resolution, exchange partner feedback and enhance platform and products.
• Partnerships:
• Be an active player in the Gov Tech ecosystem comprising of vendors, technology providers and non-profit organizations
• Build research partnerships with higher technology education institutions
• Engage with internal and external collaborators, and build relationships/partnerships with internal team members and adopters to develop strategies, goals and objectives consistent with mission and strategy.

Organization Technology Infrastructure and Controls :

• Evangelize the use of technology to increase CEGIS effectiveness and efficiency
• Develop and roll out information security protocols
• Review the business continuity plans.
• Audit Governance and Compliance of internal IT controls
• Ensure all internal processes & external services comply with security, privacy policies and regulations.
• Advise leadership on technology needs, trends, applications, and opportunities that can be used to meet organizational business and program needs to further the mission and vision.

Preferred Candidate Profile:

• Minimum 15 years of technology-related experience and minimum ten years of experience in managing teams and leading major technology projects.
• Working experience with a wide variety of software platforms, development methodologies, and technology solutions. Working experience with Non profit organizations is preferred. Experience working with Government is a big plus.
• Must be able to work well with end users, Technology staff, and management.
• Ability to assess feasibility of new technology ideas or elements.
• Experience in developing models or prototypes for presentation to team, advisors, and donors.
• Exposure to managing cyber/information security including evaluating institutional vulnerability, actively responding to cyberthreats or attacks, and overseeing protocol to mitigate institutional risk.
• Understanding of IT governance, compliance, and risk management practices.
  
  Skills and Leadership:

• Demonstrated ability to communicate clearly, both verbally and in writing, in an informed and persuasive manner, to diverse constituencies,
• Facilitation and consensus building with varied roles and people
• Strong project management and problem-solving skills.
• Adept at balancing strategic vision with budgetary constraints.
• Strong project management skills and the ability to work both independently and collaboratively.
• Strong vendor management skills, including contract negotiation and relationship
  
  

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
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.

CEGIS website: www.cegis.org