Job Opportunity for Chief Operating Officer at RightWalk Foundation in Lucknow

As a leading organisation in Public Policy Entrepreneurship driving Equity and Inclusion through system level change, we are building a strong operations team that works closely with the Government across the Policy Value Chain. With several national and international recognitions to our credit and a C-level team of experienced professionals, we now aim to expand across new policies and new geographies uplifting 10 Million households above poverty that can live sustainably. If you have served in the leadership position in strategy and operations in the past and are interested in pursuing a new challenge, we’d like to talk to you.

Roles and Responsibilities

Leadership & Strategy

• Builds and implements the operational roadmap in alignment with our 5-year strategic plan
• Evaluates and designs the expansion across new policies and into new geographies as per the organisational 5-year strategy and core vision
• Drives strategic operational initiatives, including coordination and collaboration with internal and external stakeholders, to ensure timely and accurate completion and delivery of outcomes
• Provides senior leadership and external stakeholders with regular value-added reports that identifies & tracks the status of programs, projects, milestones, and deliverables

Operational Planning and Management

• Develops annual operational plan, engaging key internal and external stakeholders. Oversees the strategic alignment and direction of various projects and programs across regions.
• Works closely with the program and fundraising teams of the organisation to ensure the conduction of impact visits of partners, stakeholders, the organisation team members and funders as per need
• Supports any requests that may come from time to time from any National/State level officials we will directly work with
• Ensures accountability of delivery on achievement of pre-defined outcomes. Participate in respective donor meetings and supports donor reporting and engagement
• Ensures that the operational policies and standard operating procedures are contemporary and aligned to best practices and recommends changes to the leadership team as appropriate

Government Relationship

• Manages existing and builds new relationships with senior government officials at the National/State level to support the effective implementation of the program
• Actively pursues MoUs and establishes Program Management Units (PMUs) in Govt. Depts.
• Leads the advocacy efforts of the organisation towards the inclusion of the organisation team members in national and state-level policymaking space

Human Capital Management

• Leads, recruits, capacitates, and coaches members of the operations team
• Co-creates and maintains Strong Systems and Processes for the creation of weekly, quarterly, and annual goals, strategies, and plans. Holds members of the operations team accountable for the strategies and goals co-created
• Works closely with the operations team on the capacity building of team members and ensure the constant growth of fellow-team members
• Ensure effective manpower planning for operations management and program delivery.
• With support of the HR team, ensure the effective implementation of contemporary people practices across recruitment, induction, compensation and benefits, operations and compliance, employee retention, employee engagement, performance management, learning & development, and grievance management.

Accountability and Governance:

• Lead the process of setting up an operations advisory board for the organisation to support the leadership team in the operations department
• Work closely with the founding team and boards of the organisation to enable the sustainable growth of the organisation

Expected Credentials

• Masters in education, social science, management or equivalent from reputed institutions
• At least 10-15+ years of experience in government engagement, leadership positions and operations based roles.
• Prior experience in senior leadership positions and/or in public policy space
• Fluent in both Hindi & English (Written and spoken)
• Willing to relocate to Lucknow and travel
• Comfortable with Technology, Program Management and willing to learn new skills

Desired Qualities

• Entrepreneurial spirit and ‘get-it-done’ attitude
• Operating style suited to working in a middle sized organisation setting, where teamwork and resourcefulness are highly valued.
• Excellent leadership skills, including ability to manage multiple projects at a time 

Personal Attributes

• Strong alignment with RWF’s mission of driving Equity and Inclusion through public policy
• Results-focused with a strong sense of ownership
• Enjoys working under pressure: flexible, highly organised and able to prioritise work to meet deadlines
• Self-motivated and a good team player
• Openness to listen, learn and contribute beyond the confines of this role 

Compensation

Remuneration will be competitive and will depend upon the candidate’s experience level