About CEGIS

The Centre for Eﬀective Governance of Indian States (CEGIS Foundation pronounced See-Jis) ) was co-founded by private equity investor turned philanthropist Ashish Dhawan and economist Karthik Muralidharan in 2019 to improve millions of lives by helping Indian state governments work better. CEGIS aims to enable a transformative improvement in the functioning of the Indian state in the coming decade. Informed by cutting-edge research and evidence as well as a practical orientation toward implementable ideas, CEGIS aims to provide Indian states with both an analytical roadmap for governance and expenditure reforms as well as strategic implementation support to deliver on this vision.

The organization has a sharp focus on improving the quality of public expenditure, and through it, develops templates for achieving a step-function improvement in development outcomes across India. We strive to produce high-quality economic analysis to inform state-level policy-making and work closely with the Chief Secretary, and Principal Secretaries of Finance/Planning, with guidance from and close coordination with the Chief Minister and Finance Minister. Based on consultations with top officials in several states, we believe that there is a very high demand for such support especially when backed by world-leading technical expertise and a deep understanding of service delivery in India.

CEGIS believes that states are the most important unit for addressing these issues. Therefore, we work with state governments to generate actionable insights, formulate eﬀective solutions and facilitate measurable impact in terms of developmental outcomes. Currently, CEGIS is working with the governments of Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Bodoland Territorial Council, NCT of Delhi and a few Government of India entities. At the state level, CEGIS identiﬁes sectoral priorities jointly with the state government, and then aims to integrate its four verticals (Outcome Measurement, Personnel Management, Public Finance, State(s) and Market into speciﬁc projects to improve governance, service delivery, and development outcomes.

CEGIS Approach and Model of Functioning

Four key characteristics of high-performing organizations are (a) measuring outcomes for goal setting and monitoring progress towards these goals, (b) strategic use of personnel policy including competency based hiring and training, skilling, and performance appraisals to determine job assignments, pay, and promotions to achieve the goals above, (c) strategic budgeting where resource allocation is based on evidence and cost-effectiveness; (d) and creating efficient systems to leverage external actors (including for-profit and nonprofit organizations). The Indian state performs weakly on all four fronts above. CEGIS helps to improve the functioning of the Indian state by focusing on the four principles above.

CEGIS works with state governments through a dedicated state office that is co-created with the state and integrated with their Finance and Planning Departments. The staffing model includes CEGIS personnel as well as staff seconded by the state and fellows, if any. Thus, instead of being another Delhi-based policy think tank, we are building the organization in a state-led way, where we focus on deep partnerships with states with an iterative cycle of thinking and doing. We support states in implementing evidence-based ideas for improving state effectiveness while also continuously learning from state-level experiences of implementing these ideas. Each state-level CEGIS engagement features some core themes that are common to all state-level engagements, and others that vary by state. State-level delivery teams are supported by central technical teams that curate ideas based on both evidence and experience, support state-level experimentation, and accelerate adoption of successful practices across states.

Overview

Within CEGIS, the Outcome Measurement (OM) teams role is to support institutionalisation of data driven decision making by setting up the required infrastructure and technical capacity with the Planning department and relevant line departments in the State. High quality data and insights generated through this facility are expected to provide assistance to the State in goal setting, progress monitoring and strategic decision making for personnel and budget/ finance management.

Specifically, this will, among other things, entail:

Conducting independent household level outcome measurement across various sectors such as school education, health, child nutrition, water & sanitation, jobs & unemployment, public safety and agriculture etc. to assist the government in goal setting and progress monitoring
Measuring integrity of administrative data gathered and managed by the state machinery and suggest ways of improving its quality
Conducting high-frequency measurement of outcomes and monitoring (of key programs and schemes) using various tools and techniques
Generating learning notes to document project milestones and lessons for the future, and share generalizable knowledge with the wider team.
The Senior Program Associate (SPA)- Outcome Measurement will play an important role in contextualising and executing the CEGIS vision in a select state. The role will work closely with the
Outcome Measurement technical team and project delivery teams in the respective State team. The Senior Program Associate will be directly reporting to the Program Manager, Outcome Measurement in the state.

Responsibilities

Data Collection and Organization:

Collect, organize, and monitor data from various sources ensuring accuracy and completeness.
Validate data sources and conduct verification checks for data reliability.
Design and administer questionnaires for data collection.

Data Maintenance and Quality Control:

Monitor and maintain secure data repositories ensuring data integrity.
Prioritize and address data issues promptly to support project progress.
Maintain records of data quality control processes and identify areas for enhancement.
Evaluate data quality, analyze trends, and interpret findings to generate critical insights.

Alignment with Project Objectives:

Collaborate with project teams and stakeholders to align data diagnostics and analysis plans with project objectives.
Support creation of technical notes and analysis protocols.
Assist in defining metrics and drafting project diagnostics reports.
Communicate project updates, findings, and recommendations to stakeholders.

Engagement and Relationship Management:

Support managers in developing and implementing effective engagement strategies with external stakeholders.
Share learnings and insights with government officials.
Manage relationships with senior officials in relevant departments.
Communicate project objectives and requirements to government counterparts.

Project Management and Leadership:

Perform assigned tasks with minimal supervision.
Independently create and prioritize work plans, ensuring accountability for set timelines.
Maintain proactiveness and self-motivation while delivering project requirements.
Manage a portion of Project Associates’ time and support their onboarding and capacity building.
Focus on self-development and deepening expertise.
Collaborate with team members to compile and document insights and best practices.
Create knowledge products and documents by synthesizing information from different perspectives and participate in knowledge sharing.
Identify potential project opportunities and conduct preliminary feasibility assessments.

Qualifications

3 – 6 years of experience with a Masters degree or equivalent in economics, public policy, social science or related fields from a reputed institution
Proven experience in project management and analytical contributions.
Strong communication, collaboration, and leadership skills.
Experience with data cleaning and analysis of large and complex data sets and econometric analysis
Knowledge of STATA or R (strongly preferred) or any other data analysis software preferred
Experience in client servicing/government projects would be preferred
Commitment to CEGIS’s mission and values.

To apply for this job please visit career.theconvergencefoundation.org.