Job Opportunity for Project Coordinator- District Implementation at Leadership for Equity in Andhra Pradesh

About LFE

Leadership For Skilled Education Foundation (branded as Leadership For Equity, LFE), is a non-profit (NGO).

In our two-fold approach to change, we build the capacity of government system leaders and we influence system processes. In partnership with the local and state education bodies, we co-create programs that shift teaching-learning practices and improve student learning and well-being. This work coupled with our research and advisory support to influence policies, we hope to create effective government education systems.

BELIEF: We believe Public Education Systems are the gatekeepers of social EQUITY, especially when India’s 120 million poorest of the poor children go to government-run schools. A multi-layered, complex, and systemic problem of educational inequity, will require a solution rooted in the SYSTEMS CHANGE approach. We believe that a COLLECTIVE effort by forging partnerships with governments, like-minded philanthropists, corporates, donors, nonprofits and grassroot organisations will help bring scalable and sustainable social change.

VISION: We envision Public Education Systems That Refuse To Let Children Down

APPROACH: We focus on building system leaders by strengthening middle Management. This includes enabling Academic & Administrative Officers (Extension Officers, BEOs, DIETs, SCERT) to effectively lead quality improvement programs and run their departments. As well as, Equipping Teachers Mentors (URCs, CRG, BRG, CRCs) to improve the classroom practices of teachers in foundational learning and technology. In the last 5 years, we built the capacity of 2000+ system leaders, and 40,200+ teachers to impact 8.2 million students. We have co-created and implemented 7 different programs and have multi-year MoUs with 9 govt. bodies including District Zilla Parishads, DIETs, SCERTs, SSA, Department of School Education & Sports, Govt. of Maharashtra, Haryana & Tripura, and currently expanding to Andhra Pradesh.

About Andhra Pradesh Government Project

LFE & Mantra4Change are coming together to support the Andhra Pradesh Government, which has been on an ambitious plan to revamp the government school system into a high performing schools system for serving children from underserved communities. Supporting Andhra’s Learning Transformation (SALT) project is a multi-organisational project focused on improving the quality of teaching and learning in classrooms. The project aims to enhance human capital and achieve sustained reduction in learning poverty across all districts of the state.

The SALT operation will support the GoAP in three key results areas:

(i) Strengthened Foundational Learning;

(ii) Improved Quality of Student-Teacher Interactions and;

(iii) Strengthened Institutional Capacity for Service Delivery

The project will be implemented in close collaboration with the Department of School Education (DoSE), GoAP and state-level administrative units including the SCERT, SIEMAT and the local network of DIETs.

The focus will be to achieve the outcomes with an inherent focus on strengthening the people and processes within the public education system.

The scope of work for the entire project will be as follows:

1. Strengthen the technical and operational capacity of school complex leaders to provide evidence- and needs-based training to teachers, utilizing teacher training facilities as sites for on-site support.

2. Build the capacity at SCERT and DIETs to improve planning, implementation, and monitoring of the reform by introducing a teacher needs assessment system to formally encourage professional learning and growth.

3. Strengthen the technical and operational capacity of SCERT and DIETs to provide evidence- and needs-based support to teachers through developing training courses for teachers on the state Learning Management System (LMS)

4. Strengthen the technical and operational capacity of SCERT and DIETs through the development of online learning materials for teachers and students on the state Learning Management System (LMS)

5. Coordinate with various stakeholders to ensure timeline development of the technology tools as noted above including the REACH tool

The duration of the project will be 60 months from 2021 to 2026.

Job Description and Responsibilities

The Project Coordinator position offers an excellent learning opportunity to actively engage in on-the-ground work specifically focusing on the teacher development and government liasoning  aspect of the project and oversee the thorough implementation of the program. Collaborating closely with the Project Associate and the Project Manager, the Project Coordinator will be responsible for ensuring efficient execution of the following tasks, among others:

The key responsibilities are as follows (but not limited to)

Support, manage & coach a team of 2-5 project associates for the time bound delivery of outcomes, including but not limited to:

• Implementing teacher training plans, session plans, materials, handbooks
• Overseeing implementation of teacher training courses and sessions
• Support the Sr. Associates/Program Managers and be accountable to the outcomes of the projects across the different streams of deliverables as prescribed in the Government Project scope
• Work with a mindset of co-creation to enable capacity and ownership of government stakeholders
• Conduct regular update meetings with organizational and government leadership and provide progress towards goals of the relevant programs in a consumable digital and print format to all stakeholders (LFE leadership + Government)
• Create timely (monthly, quarterly and annual) project status and impact reports to the leadership team and the government stakeholders
• Visit training sites, classrooms, and other offices across the state to oversee implementation and use the observation data to tweak subsequent plans
• Participate in all the organisational team spaces and structures

Requirements

Education & Experience

• Degree in education / teacher development or related social science / management discipline. Masters’ degree in social work will be highly preferred 
• 1-2 years of experience leading large scale training programs, preferably with the government or with government school teachers
• Should have led atleast 1-2 projects in the government education sector, at the State/dist level 3
• Proven experience in managing teacher training projects and training delivery
• Experience working in Andhra Pradesh / Telangana would be preferable

Knowledge, Skills & Capabilities

• Excellent written and oral communication skills – and a functional knowledge (oral and written) of Telugu is a MUST
• Facilitation skills for conducting engaging meetings and training sessions with government stakeholders 
• Belief in the potential of the public sector and that government systems can and will change towards overcoming systemic inequities and ensuring improved outcomes for all citizens
• High openness to learning
• Ability to influence people, taking initiatives, build and sustain relationships with multiple stakeholders & partners across public and private spaces
• Patience and resilience to stick it out in the face of setbacks and uncertainties

Location and Compensation

Location: Frequent travel to rural areas across the state

Compensation: Apart from being a part of our young and dynamic learning team, the selected candidate will be offered a competitive and healthy compensation package, at par with the non-profit sector benchmark for this position. The remuneration will be tailored to the individual’s prior experience and qualifications, ensuring a fair and rewarding opportunity.  

The current  compensation band for this role ranges from 3.5 to 4.0 lakh INR per annum CTC, taking into account the candidate’s fit and experience.

Note: Leadership For Equity is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Prohibits Discrimination and Harassment of any kind. We do not discriminate on the basis of caste, race, religion, colour, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other non-merit factor.