Job Opportunity for Project Lead- Digital Equalizer at American India Foundation in Mumbai

ABOUT AMERICAN INDIA FOUNDATION

The American India Foundation Trust (AIF) is committed to improving the lives of India’s underprivileged, with a special focus on women, children, and youth. The Foundation does this through high-impact interventions in education, health, and livelihoods because poverty is multidimensional. Founded over two decades ago, in the aftermath of the devastating Gujarat earthquake, as a humanitarian initiative by Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji and Bill Clinton, American India Foundation Trust (AIF) has impacted the lives of 16.51 millions of India’s poor across 36 States and Union Territories of India.

Learn more at www.aif-india.org

ABOUT DIGITAL EQUALIZER PROGRAM

Digital Equalizer is AIF’s flagship education program. DE envisions a world where all children from under-served communities, especially girls, are prepared for a career and life. The program is bridging India’s digital divide by providing and integrating technology into underperforming, under-resourced public schools, training teachers in techno-pedagogy and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) methodology, and transforming classrooms into collaborative and interactive places for students to learn while preparing them for success in the 21st century global economy.

Since its inception in 2004, the Program has empowered 7.25 million children with interactive STEM experiences, trained 212,585 teachers in STEM pedagogy, and transformed 32,596 schools across 36 states and union territories of the country.

ABOUT ENGINEERING FUTURES INITIATIVE

This project under Digital Equalizer program at AIF came into a partnership in 2019 to promote a STEM-based DE project- Engineering Futures across 93 schools in Chennai, Faridabad, Surat, and Vadodara. Since 2022, the project reached out to 158 existing schools across Chennai, Surat, and Vadodara. The project has been able to reach out to 39,342 students and 539 teachers since its inception in 2019-20.

KEY ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Project Planning, Implementation & Budgeting:

• Develop an operating plan & goals with detailed project plan (micro-plans), for the delivery of the project as per organizational protocols & contractual commitments.
• End accountability for timely execution of all project’s activities and operating plan as per organizational standards of time and quality to fulfill project’s MoU / contractual commitments.
• Ensure excellent project management and effective utilization of time and resources.
  Analyze project risks.
• Based on project monitoring, implement and manage changes and interventions to ensure project goals are achieved.

2. Approvals, Documentation & Legal compliances:

• Proactively seek approvals from government, partners, any other stakeholders as applicable, to ensure timely on-ground implementation.
• Ensure timely and accurate documentations – legal and others, w.r.t project implementation activities, including but not limited to, contracts, budgets, expenses, fund utilization, manpower, administrative expenses etc.
• Ensure all legal compliances are adhered to within the project at all times including, labor compliances, taxation and other financial compliance, auditory compliances, POSH, Child protection, Code of Conduct, HR & admin policies.

3. Manpower hiring, HR management & contracting:

• Proactively plan manpower staffing for effective project delivery.
• Conduct recruitment activities as per HR policies. Prepare JDs, NAFs, design & conduct technical assessments and participate in the selection process actively to ensure timely recruitment of qualified project manpower.
• Train the project team effectively to deliver to the needs of the project.
• Consultancy contract management for projects’ consultants to ensure 100% compliance and zero deviations w.r.t organizational & legal compliances. Ensure contracts are uptodate and duly approved by Leadership before manpower is deployed on ground.

4. Financial management, Budget monitoring, expense management & approvals:

• Develop a detailed operational budget for the project.
• Proactively manage budget utilization & project expenses.
• Monthly monitor and report budget utilization, project expenses internally & externally;
• Local expense management incl. approvals, staff expense approvals, management of advances & reimbursements, local procurements.

5. Reporting:

• Ensure monthly project monitoring through Smartsheets and timely updation to maintain accuracy at all times on Smartsheets for respective projects.
• Consistently provide excellent quality data and documentation that meet the quality standards of the organization;
• Produce accurate and timely reporting of project status throughout its life cycle -conduct project reviews monthly, quarterly for Leadership and as per project MoUs and contracts.

6. Communications:

• Share project updates and highlights from time to time including written notes & briefs, photographs & videos, presentations etc.
• Ensure success stories are documented and shared periodically for program communication through AIF social media handles;
• Facilitate field visit for any internal & external stakeholders incl Leadership, Board, Donors, Partners and any other.
• Support in planning & execution of events, training for the project at the ground-level.

7. Evaluations & studies:

• Support in evaluation studies.
• Support in development of evaluation methods to assess project strengths andidentify areas for improvement.

8. Government representation:

• Proactively engage with government bodies and relevant stakeholders for implementation success, project sustainability, scalability & replication.
• Actively foster new Government relationships and nurture existing relationships with government partners.

9. Stakeholder engagement:

• Ensure timely and effective communication & active engagement (including periodic meetings) with all internal & external stakeholders to make communication easy and transparent regarding project progress, issues and related decisions;

10. Donor engagement & Fundraising:

• Coordinate a system for regular feedback from donors and partners;
• Build excellent professional relationships with our donors & partners;
• Develop proposals timely and partner with the SP team to ensure uninterrupted project funding as well as for follow-up funding;

11. Administration & Procurements:

• Proactively plan for procurement to meet MoUs and contractual commitments.
• Execute procurement activities timely, as per organizational policies & protocols.

12. Field & facility management:

• Regulator visit to the field for effective monitoring.
• Ensure Field leasing, rent renewals and general office administration is planned & managed for safety, cost optimization & efficient project monitoring – adhere to all admin & HR policies applicable.

REQUIRED SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS

1. Post-graduation, with specialization in social entrepreneurship or communication or development management or economics or business studies preferred.

2. Minimum 05 years of experience- either as a lead team member in a social enterprise and/or nonprofit organization and/or eco-system building, with minimum 02 years of direct accountability as leader / manager of a project of up to INR 3 Crore.

3. Prior experience in a consulting venture or strategic communication, fundraising and research functions would be preferred.

4. Strong personal demonstrable commitment to “serve” those who are underprivileged.

5. Strong PowerPoint presentation design & delivery skills.

6. Excellent English skills –written and verbal.

7. Demonstrated excellence in time management, multi-tasking and problem-solving ability.

8. Ability to deliver under pressure and work on tight deadlines.