Project Lead - School Governance

India

Job Title: Project Lead, Assam

Organisation: Central Square Foundation

Team: School Governance

Location: Guwahati (with regular travel to Delhi and across Assam)

About Central Square Foundation:

Founded in 2012, Central Square Foundation (CSF) is a non-profit philanthropic foundation working on the vision of ensuring quality school education for all children in India. We are driven by our mission to transform the school education system with a focus on improving children's learning outcomes, especially in low-income communities.

Learn more about CSF on our website.

About the team:

The Government of India and the State Governments have undertaken several large-scale initiatives over the past few years. The objective was to provide necessary inputs and access to strengthen the school education system. While these were pivotal steps that facilitated achieving near-universal enrolment in primary grades, it is imperative for the governance focus to now shift to ensuring attainment of learning outcomes. One way forward is through the disclosure of learning outcomes at the school level. Watch the playlist here.

To achieve this, there is a need for a:

Reliable, standardised and uniform measures to assess and disclose learning quality at the school level
Regulatory mechanism for schools that holds them accountable for making children learn

At CSF, we look at governance-level reforms that make schools accountable for learning and underpin the role of a neutral body in disclosing this learning reliably. We support the institutionalisation of:

State School Standards Authority: CSF provides evidence-based knowledge to the states to set up a specialised, independent and neutral regulator for the sector as laid out in the NEP 2020.
Competency-based Census Assessments (CCA): To measure learning outcomes in schools, CSF engages with the state/national assessment bodies in implementing standardised competency-based census assessments to generate reliable and comparable learning outcomes data to measure the performance of schools.

Position Summary

CSF is currently seeking a Project Lead based out of Guwahati, Assam, to support the implementation of the State School Standards Authority as advised in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in the state. The work will involve liaising with the State education political and executive leadership, for example - Education Minister, Secretary Department of School Education, Mission Director Axom Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Director State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Chairperson of the Assam State School Education Board (ASSEB), other IAS officers and state officers to ensure the reforms are implemented and communicated well in the whole of Assam. The work also involves research on education policy and legislation, engaging with stakeholders from the state educational bodies, research on education Acts, and supporting other NEP-related efforts in the State. It is a full-time role, and the Project Lead would report to the Associate Director of the School Governance team in Delhi.

Key Responsibilities

Implement the key initiatives in the national and state-level education policies, Acts, and frameworks for school education governance in Assam.
Provide technical and strategic support for the creation and operationalisation of the State School Standards Authority.
Coordinate meetings, workshops, and consultations with stakeholders to ensure active involvement and feedback from all relevant education sectors in the state.
Draft policy briefs, reports, and presentations on key findings, recommendations, and progress related to the SSSA and NEP 2020 implementation.
Document key findings, recommendations, and action plans resulting from research,
Lead and manage the expert team of Project Managers and Associates on the assigned work streams to contextualise the same for the state.
Knowledge management and documentation of the implementation of work in the state.

Required Qualifications, Skills, and Abilities

6 to 10 years of work experience, demonstrating knowledge of research methodology, and experience engaging with senior government stakeholders.
Bachelors degree from a reputed university; a Masters degree preferred (in education, development studies, public policy, and social sciences).
A first-hand understanding of the beliefs and mindsets of parents who send their children to government schools will be an added advantage.
Fluent in English with excellent reading and writing skills. Preference will be given to candidates who know the local language (Assamese) well.
Experience working with state and district-level governance and institutional structures.
Knowledge and experience working on project management, large-scale program implementation with multiple delivery tracks, and researching and monitoring, among others.
Strong stakeholder management, problem-solving, and analytical skills
Familiarity with the education landscape in Assam and regional educational challenges would be beneficial.

Start Date: As soon as possible

Compensation: Remuneration will be competitive with Indian philanthropy pay scales and will depend upon the candidates experience levels.

How to Apply