Job Opportunity for Operating Analyst at The Convergence Foundation in New Delhi

Position

Operating Analyst, The Convergence Foundation

About The Convergence Foundation

Ashish Dhawan is one of India’s leading philanthropists. He founded and ran one of India’s first private equity funds, ChrysCapital, and in the last decade has helped build successful institutions (for e.g., Ashoka University) and strategic foundations (for e.g., Central Square Foundation, which works on school education reform). More recently, these include organisations that are working on building a better understanding between India and East Asia, improving the performance of the public sector, solving the air pollution crisis, and improving the pipeline of leadership and talent in the social sector.

We have set up The Convergence Foundation to do this in an institutionalised manner – identify critical voids in the social sector and build strong, long-lasting organisations to solve complex problems.

In order to ensure that our organisations reach their maximum potential, The Convergence Foundation will work closely with each of the organisations and provide strategic support in a variety of ways: developing deep connections with the broader ecosystem (including the government, donors, and others influencers), recruiting best-in-class talent, building a strong brand and network of champions, initiating cross-learning between organisations, and building fundraising capacity.

We aim to build 20+ new foundations in the next 15 years that will create impact at scale in the sectors they operate in. We are looking for smart, entrepreneurial, and mission driven people to join us on this journey.

Our Current Portfolio

• Ashoka University (est. 2010)
• Central Square Foundation (est. 2012)
• Air Pollution Action Group (est. 2019)
• Asian Century Foundation (est. 2019)
• India Leaders for Social Sector (est. 2017)
• Centre for Effective Governance of Indian States (est. 2019)
• ACT EdTech Ambition Fund (est. 2020)
• Accelerate Indian Philanthropy (est. 2021)
• Foundation for Advancing Science and Technology (est. 2021)
• Circle In (est. 2022)
• Foundation for Economic Development (est. 2022)
• ChangeINKK (est. 2022)

Position Summary

We are looking to hire an exceptional Operating Analyst to work directly with Operating Partners (OPs) and other leaders to help build and scale portfolio organisations. This role will involve conducting secondary research, analyzing and synthesizing information to provide key insights, assisting with the development of organisational strategy, and providing operational support. The PM will work on providing intellectual and management support, aligned with each organization’s overall missions, goals, and targets.

This is a great opportunity for those who enjoy working in a start-up environment, are excited about building and scaling organizations, and care deeply about the impact sector. This role includes working with senior stakeholders and engaging with them on key projects that have the potential to solve critical development challenges.

In the past, this has included working with the different organizations on creating actionable strategic plans, sharpening pitches for potential funders and partners, hiring for critical roles in the organisation, and putting key processes in place.

Our Operating Partners have previously held key leadership positions at established institutions across sectors, such as, Procter & Gamble, Reckitt Benckiser, Whirlpool, PwC, Hindustan Times, Spencer Stuart, and others.

Key responsibilities

• Work with Operating Partners (and top leadership across portfolio organizations) to execute against the targets and goals for each organisation, in line with the budget
• Develop specialized knowledge in various areas in the social sector that our organisations operate within
• Support senior managers with research and insight, recommending an appropriate approach
• Work across portfolio organisations to improve organisational effectiveness, strategy, and collaboration
• Take on diverse operational tasks to ensure organizational success
• Turn research and data into meaningful insights
• Take ownership of specific components of a project
• Work cross functionally across the portfolio organizations to develop the activities and programs as needed, so as to build coalitions and collaborations with the intention to build high-performing and execution focused organizations in the development sector

Required Qualifications, Skills and Abilities

• Undergraduate degree from a top tier institution; while there is no preference for a particular major or specialization, we expect to see a high degree of intellectual curiosity and sophistication
• 1-5 years of work experience in a challenging/high-growth environment.
• Excellent analytical, critical thinking and problem-solving skills
• Solid planning and organizational skills with high attention to detail, accuracy, protocol and deadline
• Excellent writing ability that is clear, concise, and analytic in style
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and stakeholder-facing skills including solid presentation and facilitation skills
• High level of flexibility and responsiveness with the ability to shift priorities quickly and as organizational demands require

Desired Qualities

• High level of discretion in maintaining confidentiality of sensitive materials and issues
• Ability to understand and consider organizational culture and change
• Ability to function and interact in a professional level capacity to sustain the mission, culture and best interests of the respective organizations
• Ability to adapt and exhibit confidence in a highly evolving, agile, and fast paced work environment
• Ability to do research and distill important concepts in a structured, concise, yet comprehensive manner
• Operating style suited to working in a small-organization setting, where teamwork and resourcefulness are highly valued

Compensation

Remuneration will be competitive with Indian philanthropy pay scales and will depend upon the candidate’s experience.

Location

New Delhi, India