The Convergence Foundation - Program Manager - Outcome Measurement - Monitoring & Evaluation - CEGIS

ABOUT CEGIS

CEGIS-Centre for Effective Governance of Indian States: founded in 2019 Focuses on improving state capacity in India, by working on outcome measurement (data), personnel management, and strategic budgeting. The strategic thinker behind CEGIS is Mr. Karthik Muralidharan who is India's leading economist, an expert in this field.

Program Manager - Outcome Measurement - Hyderabad/Chennai / BTC

(Assam)

Position Summary

Within CEGIS, the Outcome Measurement (OM) team's role is to support the institutionalization 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. The Program Manager (OM) will play an important role in executing this vision in Telangana. The Program Manager will work closely with both the OM technical team and the State team.

Role and Responsibilities

- Oversee complex digital data collection operations (to be carried out by an external agency) involving multiple rounds of multi-sectoral surveys

- Work closely with senior academics and government stakeholders to tailor research design and protocols to local context, and translate technical requirements to on ground implementation

- Support in development of high quality outputs (presentations, reports, briefs) summarizing project progress, data analyses, research findings for both technical and non-technical audiences and for dissemination at various forums

- Ensure adherence to data quality protocols, including auditing enumerators, monitoring data collection, and conducting data quality audits in any data collection project

- Replicate any analysis submitted by external partners to ensure rigor and quality of outputs

- Facilitate access to administrative data from relevant government line departments, review them using a prescribed template and conduct analysis as required

- Manage all the primary, secondary, and administrative data by strictly following data management and security protocols

- Assist in standardisation of measurement and analysis protocols for projects

- Support the technical and professional development of reportees

- Keep track of global best practices in measurement and assist in strengthening team's capacity to adopt these practices.

Required Qualifications, Skills and Abilities

- Master's degree or equivalent in economics, statistics, public policy, engineering, social science, or related fields from a reputed institution

- 4 to 5 years relevant work experience, including extensive field research, managing evaluations, basic quantitative analysis, and managerial experience

- Experience in quantitative data management and analysis using STATA, R (strongly preferred) or Python programming

- Understanding of experimental and non-experimental research methods, including design and implementation of field sample surveys

Personal Characteristics and Desired Qualities

- Fluency in English and basic to intermediate proficiency in Telugu, Tamil or Assamese

- Excellent problem-solving and strategic thinking skills, strong research aptitude ability to analyse complex quantitative and qualitative data and formulate solutions

- Fluency in English and excellent writing and communication skills (ability to communicate complex ideas in a meaningful way and across different audiences) within and outside the organization

- Demonstrated relationship-building ability and management of high-level relationships with partner organizations, ideally based on experience of working with Indian state governments

- Strong planning and organizational skills, and an ability to be able to set priorities, plan timelines and meet deadlines

- Passion for improving the effectiveness of Indian States, and alignment with CEGIS's theory of change/ impact

- Operating style suited to working independently and in a small-organization setting, where teamwork and resourcefulness are highly valued

- Ability to work under pressure by handling competing priorities, strong planning and organizational skills, and an ability to be able to set priorities, plan timelines and meet deadlines, maintaining attention to detail and delivering high-quality outputs

- Ability to think creatively, willing to take risks to experiment with new ideas and the ability to turn ideas into action

- High ability to collaborate and actively listen to others, understanding and valuing others' views

- Versatility to be comfortable taking on different projects and quickly dive into new sectors

Location and Compensation

This role will be based out of Hyderabad, Chennai or BTC (Assam). Remuneration will be competitive with Indian philanthropy and social sector pay scales and will depend on the candidate's experience levels.