Central Square Foundation - Product Manager

Central Square Foundation, a leading education non-profit organisation in India is building a core team to lead a CSF funded education technology start-up (non-profit) with an objective of democratising EdTech for the masses and improving foundational learning at scale.

As part of this start-up, we are looking for an exceptional person with strong Product Management skills for a first-of-its-kind mobile-based parent-focused initiative in India. If you are a self-starter and a digital native who is passionate about using technology for change, we are interested in talking to you; and we are looking for someone who understands mobile-first products and is passionate about improving access and quality of education for the underprivileged in a technology-enabled manner.

About CSF :

Central Square Foundation (CSF) is a nonprofit organization working with the vision of ensuring quality school education for all children in India. We are driven by our mission to transform the school education system towards improving the learning outcomes of children, especially from low-income communities. By building an effective and inclusive education system, we can ensure that all children get equal access to opportunities needed for leading a better life.

CSF was founded by Ashish Dhawan who continues to be the Chairman and key philanthropist of the foundation. Additionally, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is a strategic partner and funder of CSF, execute its Global Education Strategy in India through CSF. CSF also works with the Ministry of Human Resource Development, the Niti Aayog and State governments - building thought leadership in the space and driving large scale systemic interventions towards improving educational outcomes for school children.

CSF's work in EdTech :

At Central Square Foundation, we are led by our vision to ensure that all children regardless of their social or economic background achieve Foundational Literacy and Numeracy. We believe that the phenomenal rise in smartphone and mobile internet penetration in India gives us an unprecedented opportunity to drive adoption of mobile-based learning solutions for foundational learning of young children in low-income communities. In order to realise our vision:

i) We are funding and supporting the creation of a suite of proven, relevant, mobile-based learning solutions to help children learn foundation literacy and numeracy.

ii) We are driving adoption and engagement of these EdTech solutions through building awareness and access to mobile-based EdTech among parents and enabling them to actively contribute to the learning process and outcomes for their child.

For children aged 3-8 years, it is essential to gain the buy-in from their parents on the potential and benefits of mobile-based EdTech for their child - since it is the parents who own the mobile device at home and make education-related decisions for the child.

The first step towards driving large scale behaviour change is building engagement with the audience, which for us includes parents of children aged 3-8 years, in low-income settings (monthly income 10-30k per household) and access to at least one smartphone per household. Our needs assessment research has revealed most of these parents feel disempowered (not saksham) to make a meaningful contribution to their child's learning.

Also, while parents are aware that mobile-based learning is possible, they do not know whom to ask or how to find the appropriate EdTech solutions. We are addressing the above factors and driving EdTech adoption and engagement by incubating an EdTech start-up and through this start-up building a parent-facing mobile app.

Position Name - Product Manager, Parent App

Responsibilities :

- Devise Product Strategy : Define product strategy and quarterly roadmap to achieve the product vision and create impact.

- Lead Product Development : Translate product strategy into detailed requirements and prototypes. Conceptualise product improvements in a data-driven and test & iterate approach from a platform and a long-term view. Ensure value-based prioritization of product initiatives.

- Engage with users : Regularly interact with the users to understand their key drivers and friction points and constantly feed into product development.

- Own User Experience : Ensure smooth user experience, and constantly increase product interaction value for the users. Drive product launches including working with content and creative team

- Drive product adoption and engagement : Ensure easy discoverability on the product on app-store. Drive user engagement on the product through a combination of product features, nudge-based messaging and in-app content.

- Manage product implementation and upkeep: Work closely with engineering/tech teams to deliver with quick time-to-market, maintain stable product experience and timely product updates and developments.

Requirements :

- Overall work experience of 5-8 years with at least 3 years of experience in product management.

- Proven track record of managing all aspects of a successful product throughout its lifecycle.

- Proven ability to develop product and marketing strategies and effectively communicate recommendations to executive management.

- Solid technical background with understanding and/or hands-on experience in software development and web technologies.

- Strong problem-solving skills and willingness to roll up one's sleeves to get the job done.

- Skilled at working effectively with cross-functional teams in a start-up setting.

- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

- Experience with hands-on software development preferred.

- MS/BS degree in Computer Science, Engineering, MBA or equivalent preferred.

Other details :

- Location : New Delhi

- Compensation : In line with industry standards

- Reporting Manager/Entrepreneur : Sashwati Banerjee (ex-managing Director Sesame Workshop India)

Icing on the cake :

- Be a part of the founding team of this education technology start-up and get an opportunity to have a significant impact on the product and start-up journey.

- An opportunity to build for India at the bottom half of the pyramid and work at the intersection of technology, education and scale.

- Build a consumer-facing product ground-up; accelerate a long-term career in EdTech and product management.

- Access to the sharpest minds in education and resources at CSF with teams working across Policy, Governance, Research and Advocacy. Gain cross-functional education sector understanding and insights.

This will be a consultant contract with Central Square Foundation and the person will be wholly dedicated to the aforementioned role.