About the School of Systems and Infrastructure

The School of Systems and Infrastructure (SoSI) at IIHS aims at urban transformation with the intention of improving equity and environment outcomes for Indian cities, and its citizens. The School is concerned with key systems that govern the urban such as land and planning, water and sanitation, energy, housing, transportation, IT, and ITES. Across these domains the School aims at addressing cross-cutting themes – including governance and services, inclusion and equity, safety, and financing – and at different geographic scales. SoSI will bring together an eclectic set of practitioners, researchers and educators who will work across practice, research, and learning, and seek to redefine practices and knowledges in these domains.

Job Description

The Manager – SoSI Office will be part of a small, core team which will assist in building out the School of Systems and Infrastructure over the coming years. The core responsibility of the Manager will be to assist in the development and implementation of the School’s strategy.

The Manager will support governance, strategic and operational planning, the management of resources (people, physical and financial), development and delivery of the academic courses, external engagement, relationship building with key partners and collaborators, and knowledge management and outreach. S/he will act as one of the primary links between SoSI and various programmes, labs, and other schools at IIHS. Along with individual faculty and other team members, the Manager will need to ensure coordination and timely delivery of outcomes.

Activities and Tasks

Responsibilities would include, but not be limited to, the following:

Strategy and Planning:

Supporting operational and strategic planning, governance, budgeting, resource management and personnel planning;
Coordinating various initiatives of the School, including overall programme management as well as budgeting;
Planning, overseeing and implementing school-wide systems and processes for activities as needed;
Generating business development strategies (including periodic updates on the market landscape), and identifying opportunities and initiatives in partnership with faculty / staff and in line with the strategic objectives of the School;
Designing, commissioning/conducting research on domains related to the school, as well as preparing briefing and information papers;

Relationship Management and Communications:

Assisting in the development and management of external relationships and collaboration opportunities with key domestic and international partners, and collaborators;
Ensuring effective communication across the School and with the wider institution, and positive working relations with other schools and programmes;
Representing the School on committees or other forums, where required, and advocating for the interests of the School as with those of the institution;
Collaboration with the communication and design team, developing and supporting in execution of communication strategy;

Operations:

Assisting in setting up and ensuring continuous improvement in the infrastructure, and administrative systems and procedures for the School’s activities;
Managing the interface among various programmes, labs, schools, administration, procurement, finance and legal;
Monitoring resources, processes and deliverables of projects delivered by the programmes within the School;
Supporting and coordinating the development and delivery of specialised degree / diploma programmes including preparatory activities, content delivery, internships and placements, stakeholder management, and reporting;
Managing and monitoring recruitment, staff progress, and learning and development for the School in consultation with the Associate Deans and the People Function;
Assisting in regular reporting to the Director and senior management on key milestones and highlighting critical concerns and risks;
Coordinating the preparation of the School’s Annual Report and contributing towards the preparation of the institution’s Annual Report;
Providing support to other IIHS activities including academics, research, training, practice, operations and others;
Participating in all activities of institution building at IIHS; carrying out tasks as assigned by IIHS; and travelling on IIHS work within or outside the country as and when needed.

Structure and Reporting

The Manager will report to the Associate Dean – School of Systems and Infrastructure to deliver the specified tasks, and will be required to collaborate effectively with a diverse group of internal teams and external individuals/organisations, and students.

Person Specification

The applicant should have:

A Master’s degree, preferably in Urban/ Planning/ Infrastructure/ Public Policy/ Public Administration/ Management/ Environmental/ Social Sciences or a related field;
A total of 8 to 10 years of experience with at least 5 years in the urban sector;
Prior experience in academic management and administration or a similar domain is preferred, or strong experience in programme management;
Experience of working in inter-disciplinary teams, preferably across practice and research;
Strong writing, analytical and numerical skills;
A high level of organisational capability, including the ability to establish and maintain effective systems, procedures and processes and manage competing demands and deadlines without compromising quality;
A high level of communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to consult and collaborate with inter-disciplinary and diverse teams; analyse and present information and produce well researched high-quality reports, submissions, and other documents; negotiate complex issues and manage change;
The ability to think strategically, contribute effectively to strategic planning processes and to operationalise strategy with the administrative operations of the school;
Effective working knowledge of at least one Indian language.

This offer is on an exclusive basis, which implies that other professional assignments (whether compensated or not) that bear a potential conflict of interest with IIHS cannot be undertaken.

The search will remain open until the position is filled.

Location

This position is based in Bengaluru and may entail travel to other locations within and outside India, as needed.

Review and Assessment

The role and performance of the incumbent shall be subject to normal review and assessment systems at IIHS.

Diversity Policy

IIHS is an equal opportunity employer that encourages women, people with disabilities and those from economically and socially excluded communities with the requisite skills and qualifications to apply for positions.

To apply for this job please visit iihs.co.in.