Senior Manager - State Program (Assam), Guwahati, India

Guwahati

Janaagraha has an ongoing strategic partnership with the Department of Housing and Urban Affairs (DoHUA), Government of Assam, to provide Program Management Support, Policy Capacity Building Support and, and Technical Support in Public Infrastructure Projects. While Janaagraha works across Municipal Finance, Participatory Governance, Leadership Development Programs, Policy Analysis and Organisation Development, as well as Program Design support to the State's flagship urban transformation program titled 'Doh Shaher Ek Rupayan', Jana Urban Space Foundation provides technical support to selected 'light house infrastructure projects'.

While the entire initiative is around the state government priorities and programs, Janaagraha and Jana Urban Space Foundation approaches it from a climate and gender perspective, with the city systems framework covering Economy, Environment, Equity, and Engagement of citizens at its core.

Senior Manager - State Programs (Assam), reporting to the State Head - Assam will have the primary responsibility of ensuring program design and management support for Doh Shaher Ek Rupayan, working with a small team of professional in the team, and working with a number of partners and stakeholders. The position will be located in Guwahati, with extensive travel across the cities of Assam as well as outside Assam for consultations and other programs as required.

KEY RESPONSIBILITES

Program Management

• Support the State Head - Assam in ensuring delivery on the outputs and outcomes of the state's urban transformation agenda, adhering to timelines.
• Ensure the operationalization of effective and efficient project management systems for timely delivery of outputs.
• Provide leadership to the State Programs Team in ideating and implementing strategies in city systems reforms across targeted program areas in Assam.
• Help the team refine and enhance specific reform strategies based on feedback from field level implementation.
• Communicate effectively with the programme teams in civic participation, municipal finance, organization development, councilor leadership development, and policy and insights to ensure coherent and coordinated project delivery.
• Work closely with partners in enhancing sectoral performance of the cities around the components of urban transformation initiatives.
• Ensure convergence with programs such as the self-help groups system under the national urban livelihoods mission to enhance the effectiveness of participatory governance.
• Ensure quality of deliverables produced.

Stakeholder Management

• Support the State Head - Assam to manage the interface with the Government through interactions with the Department of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of Assam and donors.
• Meet with government stakeholders as per the requirements of the program and help in maintaining proactive and collaborative relationship.
• Provide timely feedback to the State Head and escalate unresolved issues at the appropriate time for problem-solving.

Team Management

• Work closely with the Programs team and ensure clear definition of roles and responsibilities within the team, and use effective monitoring mechanisms to ensure timely delivery with quality on committed targets by the team members.
• Particularly guide and monitor work of the State Programs Team for overall program management and reporting.

Knowledge Management

• Ensure meticulous documentation of the processes, elements of transformation, tool and their application, and outputs of specific processes and its maintenance as a dynamic knowledge base for feeding into the team's work on city systems reforms.
• Work closely with internal teams, consultants, and experts to draw in inputs on sectoral components and program domains to enrich the team's collective knowledge on urban transformation.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• A Master's degree preferably in Development / Policy / Management / Social Work or equivalent.
• 12+ years' experience in the social development sector with at least five years in middle management roles; experience in urban sector will be an advantage.
• Experience in working closely with state and/or union governments in program design or implementation, involving stakeholder management would be an advantage.
• Analytical skills, with experience in data management and presentation tools (e.g., Excel, Power BI).

KEY COMPETENCIES

• Experience in program management in partnership with governments
• Experience in project management and team management
• Experience in managing relationships with governments at senior levels
• Effective budget management skills
• Excellent written and oral presentation skills; knowledge of Assamese/Bengali would be an advantage
• Familiarity with computerized working environments and online communications.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Janaagraha is an equal opportunity employer and offers a highly dynamic and enabling work environment. We provide competitive remuneration commensurate with relevant experience skill-sets and background.