State Lead - New Delhi

Position Summary

As the State Lead for Delhi, you will lead and drive the CEGIS engagement in the state. This will be through a combination of directly leading some projects, and providing support to others, while having an overall picture of the portfolio of projects in the State. You will be ultimately responsible for the success of CEGIS-driven reforms and must ensure seamless team management and coordination with government and external partners. You will interact with senior government officials, researchers, agencies and have a macro-overview of the State. Over time, you will be expected to achieve a high level of trust and efficacy, and be able to function as an effective advisor to GoNCTD.

This role directly reports to the President of CEGIS, who comes with substantial experience in government and a proven ability to deliver systemic reform/ programs at scale within the government. The successful candidate will also work very closely with the co-Founders, President and Head - People and Partnerships to lead in building the capacities and performance of the organization.

Role and Responsibilities

You will work closely with the President on project delivery, with the Head - People and Partnerships on organization building and collaboration with external partners, and with the founder and Scientific Director (Prof. Karthik Muralidharan) to understand the intellectual vision behind the proposed reforms and drive the implementation of the reforms across sectors, as well as vertical leads and external partners.

- Drive the reform initiatives with a strong execution focus

Provide overall leadership to execute the strategy for the state, collaborate with the Functional and Sectoral Teams (i.e. Public Finance, Outcome Measurement, Personnel Management etc.) to embed and scale impactful solutions and provide thought leadership to shape the outcomes where you have sectoral expertise

Currently, the state engagement is focused on working with tax departments towards augmenting state revenues. These include GST, Revenue, Transport, and Excise. The state lead will be responsible for leading ongoing projects with these departments and expand the engagement to generate reform ideas and initiate projects with other line departments.

- Develop relationships with the key officials of the State and set-up mechanisms for review and institutionalisation of reforms

A key part of your role would be to develop relationships with senior officials at the State-level, define reform projects that are aligned with both GoNCTD priorities and CEGIS theory of change and evidence, and establish processes to ensure the institutionalisation of these reforms.

- Source, embed and provide oversight to other key strategic partners for the State

While CEGIS has a small team in Delhi, the extended “team” includes external partners and academicians forming a part of the Technical Advisory Group. As a State Lead, you would work with senior State officials to select, embed and ensure alignment and delivery from all the partners under this reform umbrella.

- Create a culture of impact and enable team building through collaboration and transparency

CEGIS is a young organization. As a startup with a unique goal, managing talent that is energized by contributing to demonstrable impact requires building a culture that is collaborative, inclusive and prioritizes rigour. As a State Lead you will help shape our choices about what we do and how we do it. Creating an inclusive environment through collaboration and transparency, empowering others and developing and practising leadership skills is an expectation of all managers and leaders in CEGIS.

Required Qualifications, Skills and Abilities

Master’s degree or equivalent in relevant fields, including management, economics or public policy – from a top global program
10 to 15 years of work experience with managerial responsibilities, demonstrating entrepreneurship, superb project delivery and team leadership
Prior exposure to working very closely with senior bureaucrats and designing/implementing large-scale projects is highly desirable
Strong interest in improving the functioning of the government combined with interest/experience in using research and evidence to improve policy
Excellent problem-solving and strategic thinking skills, ability to analyse complex quantitative and qualitative data, craft possible solutions and recommend actions
Excellent writing and communication skills (ability to communicate complex ideas in a meaningful way and across different audiences) in both English and Telugu
Ability to build and maintain positive and collaborative relationships both within and outside the organization
Ability to set goals and metrics for a team, and manage the team towards delivering those goals
Strong planning and organizational skills, and an ability to be able to set priorities, plan timelines and meet deadlines.

Personal Characteristics and Desired Qualities

Ability to align multiple stakeholders and build platforms for collaboration and coordination
Passion for working with governments and making Indian states work better
Public-spirited and generous temperament
Ability to think creatively, willing to take risks to experiment with new ideas and the ability to turn ideas into action
Excellent people management skills, with the ability to develop and motivate teams working out of different locations in India towards a common goal
High ability to collaborate and actively listen to others, understanding and valuing others’ views
Intellectual curiosity and ability/willingness to constantly learn
Operating style suited to working independently and in a small-organization setting, where teamwork and resourcefulness are highly valued

Location and Compensation

This role will be based out of Delhi. Remuneration will be competitive with Indian philanthropy and social sector pay scales and will depend on the candidate’s experience levels.

Interested candidates are requested to submit their application here.

Pre-reads for the application process

To learn more about the type of reforms CEGIS is seeking to implement in states, 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.
Collection of Prof. Karthik Muralidharan’s work here.