Job Opportunity For Associate) Director – Policy Engagement At The Convergence Foundation In New Delhi

Who are we looking for:

• The incoming (Associate) Director will be a leadership hire at Prosperiti, and will build and run our policy advisory practice.
• This individuals primary role is to persuade and help states to reform regulations for job creation.
• This is a persuasion/sales role with a difference.
• The (Associate) Director will lead the charge on persuading states to reform regulations in at least two of Indias toughest issues: labour and land use.
• S/He will develop collaborative working relationships with the leadership of partner states, design engagement strategies to maintain reform momentum, and support government departments to carry reform ideas to action.
• The role requires agility, patience, and enthusiasm.
• It also requires intellectual curiosity, a reading habit, and sound knowledge of Indias political and administrative systems.
• Finally, the role also requires the ability to coach and manage young analysts, to continue our quest for a collaborative, antifragile, and high-learning environment in the organisation.

What you will do:
Here are 5 things you will do:

Government partnerships:

• Lead and engage reform discussions in current partner states (Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana)
• Onboard new partner states through formal MoUs and execute co-created reform agenda with government leadership
• Engage the union government departments like MoHUA, Niti Aayog and DPIIT through lesson sharing and state convenings
• Policy persuasion:
• Design engagement strategies such as capacity building workshops
• Secure buy-in from all levels of government leadership on reform proposals
• Meet department functionaries at high frequency to maintain momentum
• Support the file process within departments to ensure that we convert discussions into action
• Understand emergent pain points in our focus areas and apply our research to deliver policy improvement
• Ecosystem engagement:
• Establish and maintain meaningful interactions with industries and industry bodies that will lead to collaborative reform influence and initiatives
• Organise/co-host consultations with industry and mission-aligned civil society organisations for thought leadership and for identifying roadblocks to prosperity
  Media:
• Communicate research findings across old and new media platforms
• Engage editors and senior journalists in category A national/regional media
• Share Prosperiti’s work in events and conferences to enhance reform salience
  Talent and institutional development:
• Coach and upskill team leads and analysts through show and tell and immediate tone-neutral feedback
• Monitor commitments across projects/states
• Identify new engagement opportunities
• Optimise resources, manage budgets, and ensure value for money in all transactions.
  What do you need to know about us:
• Qualifications and hard skills for the role include training in economics and/public administration, and experience in engaging with research based policy advisory.
• Obviously, we are looking at experienced folks for this role (10+ years of experience).
• We expect that serious experience working with governments, either inside or alongside, will be critical for success in this role
• . In addition, a basic grounding in liberal philosophy (why economic freedom matters) will help us align at the starting point. 
• But, at Prosperiti, culture fit is a priority.
• So instead of an education/experience wishlist, we are sharing our principles, values, and skills maturity matrix.
• We are looking for folks who can reflect honestly on each of these and see if the mutual fit is right.

Our principles:

• Nothing persuades like the truth.
• Eternal vigilance is sine qua non for liberty.
• Democracy is government by discussion.
• To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.
• You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result.
  Our values
• Work for a cause, not for applause.
• Knowledge first. Facts over opinion.
• Mutual enrichment over crude competition.
• Dont raise your voice, improve your argument.
• Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance.
• Our Skills Maturity Matrix: https://shorturl.at/lD469

For a meaningful conversation about baseline and growth areas, we have developed a skills maturity matrix. All our colleagues use this as a reflection, benchmarking, and evaluation tool.

Whats our offer:

• Opportunity to conceptualise, fundraise, and drive one independent passion project which falls within Prosperitis mission
• Potential stakeholder seat in the organisation after successful completion of at least 3 years where the individual has demonstrated commitment, capability