Job Opportunity for M&E Specialist/Lead, Technical Support Unit at The Udaiti Foundation in Lucknow

Position: M&E Specialist/Lead, Technical Support Unit (TSU)

Location: Lucknow

About The Udaiti Foundation

The Udaiti Foundation (TUF) is a not-for-profit organisation working on advancing Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) in India. Our focus is on improving the availability and accessibility of quality work for women, engaging the private sector to address demand side barriers to women’s work and entrepreneurship, and creating enablers that can allow for the WEE ecosystem to engage in proven models for creating impact.

The Udaiti Foundation is a portfolio organisation under The Convergence Foundation (TCF) and is backed by Ashish Dhawan, a private equity investor turned philanthropist and founder of TCF. Udaiti is supported by an eminent panel of advisors that comprises Sri Ranjan (Former Chairperson – Bain & Co.), Dr. Sekhar Bono (Former Director, NITI Aayog & ADB), Aditya Ghosh (Business Leader – Indigo, OYO, SEWA), Manisha Dhawan (Trustee, The Convergence Foundation), Prof. Ashwini Deshpande (Founding Director, CEDA, Ashoka University), Shaveta Sharma-Kukreja (MD, Central Square Foundation) and Megha Chawla (Partner, Bain & Co).

About the Project and Technical Support Unit

Uttar Pradesh is a front-runner in India’s economic success story. The state has the third highest gross state domestic product among states, growing at 7.6% CAGR over the last 5 years (at par with national average). However, despite a strong demographic advantage, the state has one of the lowest labour force participation rates (LFPR) among top state economies primarily due to a low female participation in the labour market. Uttar Pradesh ranks at 25 out of 28 states with female LFPR of 22.6%.

The state envisions building a USD 1 trillion economy by 2027. To achieve this transformative 4x economic growth, the government must bring in women as key partners in the state’s economic growth story. To realise this potential, The Udaiti Foundation is supporting the setting up of a WEE technical support unit (Policy Innovation Unit) under the Department of Planning, Uttar Pradesh. This unit would provide strategic support to advance the WEE agenda in the state and accelerate meaningful participation of women in the workforce, and also ensure alignment with the trillion dollar economy mission.

The work of this unit would encompass:

• Articulation of state’s WEE strategy and goals based on a mapping of WEE landscape using data analytics and expert consultations
• Alignment of WEE’s interventions with the state’s ambitious economic agenda
• Enabling policy and regulatory frameworks for women’s empowerment
• Developing and deploying monitoring systems for tracking progress at the state and district level
• Creating a district model in a few lighthouse districts to deliver accelerated WEE outcomes and encourage adoption of interventions

Position Summary

We are looking to hire an exceptional Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) lead for the Technical

Support Unit being set up to support the Planning Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh in advancing the WEE agenda in the state. This lead would be responsible for developing and implementing M&E systems and processes for the WEE focused programs and policies of the UP state government. The role would be based out of Lucknow, but will entail frequent travel to Delhi and also within Uttar Pradesh.

The M&E lead would work closely with the Udaiti’s leadership, TSU team and government stakeholders to design and implement M&E plans, collect and analyse data, and generate reports that would inform policy design, program implementation and decision-making. This role may require consulting multiple state government departments that have a bearing on the WEE agenda to gain a better understanding of their existing data collection and monitoring systems, in order to design

The key responsibility of the M&E Lead would include (but not be limited to):

• Develop and implement M&E plans for government programs in consultation with program teams and stakeholders
• Design and implement data collection tools and methodologies, including surveys, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and other methods as appropriate
• Train partner organisations on data collection, management, and analysis
• Analyse data and produce reports that summarise performance of policies/programs, identify areas for improvement, and inform decision-making
• Ensure the quality and accuracy of M&E data and reports
• Ensure that M&E activities comply with relevant standards, policies, and regulations.
• Participate in program planning and review meetings to provide M&E input and insights

Required Qualification, Skills & Abilities:

• Bachelor or Masters’ degree in relevant fields (statistics, mathematics, economics, social sciences, public administration or related field)
• Strong knowledge and understanding of monitoring and evaluation concepts
• 3-5 years’ experience demonstrating hand-on experience in design of monitoring and evaluation tools in development context
• Proven experience with statistical applications and data analysis; familiarity with both qualitative and quantitative information analysis tools
• Strong analytical skills and proficiency in statistical software such as SPSS, Stata, or R
• Demonstrated ability to produce high quality M&E reports and communicate the findings to diverse audiences
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to work effectively with teams and stakeholders from diverse backgrounds
• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail
• Knowledge of relevant M&E frameworks and standards, such as the Logical Framework Approach, the Results-Based Management approach, etc.
• Fluency is required in Hindi spoken skills and desirable for written skills.

Remuneration

• Remuneration will be competitive with Indian philanthropy pay scales and with organisations working with a similar mandate.