Job Opportunity for Project Consultant (Academic) at Central Square Foundation in Bhubaneshwar

Job Title: Project Consultant (Academics – Odisha)

Department: State FLN Projects, Odisha PMU

Organisation: Central Square Foundation

Location: Bhubaneswar, Odisha

About Central Square Foundation:

Founded in 2012, Central Square Foundation (CSF) is a non-profit philanthropic foundation working on the vision of ensuring quality school education for all children in India. We are driven by our mission to transform the school education system with a focus on improving children’s learning outcomes, especially in low-income communities.

We believe that ensuring Universal, Early, Conceptual and Procedural Mastery of Foundational Skills is essential for the overall success of the education system. To achieve this, we partner with individuals and social impact organisations to bring innovative solutions to education and work with the government to drive systemic impact. We collaborate with the ecosystem to leverage knowledge, build evidence and create proven tools around critical issues such as early learning, EdTech, classroom instruction methods and governance. One of our approaches includes partnering with governments to design system-led programs, influencing policy-making, and developing knowledge products based on research and international best practices. CSF has partnered with the Govt. of Odisha on a long-term engagement for system reform to improve the quality of learning outcomes for early-grade children and has set up a Project Management Unit (PMU) in the state to deliver it.

Position Summary

CSF is looking for a Project Consultant based in Bhubaneswar to support the state FLN team in academic advocacy and end-to-end programme management toward a holistic foundational learning program. The role will cater specifically to academic work streams such as Teaching Learning Materials, Teacher (and Academic Cadre) Capacity Building, Mentoring and Coaching, Assessments and Classroom Observations and will require day-to-day interaction and working with government officials in the state government.

Key Responsibilities

● Support the Project team for the end-to-end delivery of 3-4 academic workstreams

● Develop work products, documents and outputs related to academic workstreams in consultation with the State.

○ Curriculum and Instructional Design: Support the State in designing quality curricular and instructional materials for the state such as text/workbooks, teacher guides, and teacher training modules

○ Assessments: Support the State in developing a holistic assessment architecture

○ Capacity building: Provide design and on-ground support for capacity-building activities in the state including workshops, learning modules/capsules for different stakeholders as per need

○ Coaching and Mentoring: Supporting the state in designing and implementing mentoring tools and developing training for capacity enhancement of the mentor cadre

○ Information Education Communication Material Development: Design/Engage with the vendor to support the development of IEC materials on awareness generation of the FLN program

● Support the PMU for continuous programme monitoring and course correction during the implementation of academic workstreams

● Stakeholder management:

○ Work with expert teams at CSF on Classroom Instruction & Practice (CIP), Assessments etc. to contextualise the same for Odisha

○ Coordinate with government state academic teams and technical partners at the state

● Knowledge management and documentation of the implementation of work in Odisha

● Provide administrative support on an as-needed basis

● Other relevant tasks as deemed necessary by the supervisor

Qualifications

● Bachelor’s degree from a reputed university is required; a Master’s degree preferred in education, development studies and social sciences

● 2 to 6 years of work experience, preferably in the education sector

● Preference for candidates displaying work experience in academic areas of education such as classroom teaching, curriculum and instructional design, etc

● Keen interest in the Development/Education sector

● Fluent in English with excellent reading and writing skills, preference for candidates that know Odia

● Strong growth and learning mindset

● Excellent writing and oral communication skills

● Ability to manage workload with minimum supervision and collaborate with a wide range of colleagues while meeting deadlines

● Excellent interpersonal skills: being able to listen and collaborate with a wide range of players, being able to work independently, being proactive and taking initiative

● Be able to work both independently and as part of a team

Additional Details

Start Date: As soon as possible

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