Head - Civic Leadership and Participation

About Janaagraha
Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy (Janaagraha) is a Bengaluru based not‑for‑profit institution working to transform the quality of life in India’s cities and towns. We define quality of life as comprising of quality of infrastructure and services, and quality of citizenship. To achieve its mission, Janaagraha works with councillors and citizens to catalyse active citizenship in city neighbourhoods, and with governments to institute reforms to city-systems. Janaagraha has worked extensively on urban policy and governance reforms for over two decades across union and state governments, including on JnNURM, XIII, XIV and XV Finance Commissions, Second Administrative Reforms Commission, CAG of India, NITI Aayog / Planning Commission, Capacity Building Commission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), etc.
One of our core focus areas through the citizen participation program is to operationalise and strengthen institutional forums of citizen participation in cities and towns of India, which include Ward Committees and Area Sabhas at the ward level, and Slum Dweller Associations (SDAs), Self-help groups (SHGs), Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) at the sub-ward level. Our current partnerships in citizen participation are spread across different states and include those with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India, Capacity Building Commission, Government of India, Housing and Urban Development Department (HUDD), Government of Odisha and city governments of Gurugram, Bengaluru, Mangaluru and Ballari. An equally important area of our operation is nurturing civic leadership, and building civil society and citizen coalitions, and to scale and sustain them at city, state and national levels. We support these core initiatives through our flagship campaigns on participatory budgeting, key knowledge products in the areas of active citizenship, climate action, surveys to measure quality of infrastructure and services in neighbourhoods and wards, as well as strategic civic tech platforms for accessing data and insights as well as networking among civic champions.
We are looking for a leader experienced in championing community participation, designing and managing structured participatory programs professionally, and partnering with government agencies in the spirit of collaboration, to develop robust models to replicate and scale, to enhance quality of life of people across cities and states we engage with. We look forward to welcoming a seasoned practitioner with expertise in the areas of decentralisation, urban governance, transparency, accountability, and with accomplishments through deep work in any state. This role will be based out of Bengaluru and the incumbent will lead a multi-talented, multi-cultural dynamic project, field and support teams across locations.
What will the Head - Civic Leadership and Participation really do­?
The chief responsibilities of the Head - Civic Leadership and Participation, will include but not be limited to the following:Lead the sub-programs of Civic Leadership and Participation by ensuring seamless project planning, quality execution, analytics, risk mitigation, as well as rigorous monitoring and reporting of key metrics against the organisational results framework, as well as program commitments.Foster high quality relationships with stakeholders – government agencies, civil society partners, community and citizens’/community groups, donors, institutions and media.Lead the efforts to develop insightful key knowledge products, documents, reports, SOPs, policies, rules, byelaws, and tech platforms as applicable, with attention to detail and high degree of quality.Conceptualise and design new initiatives as per the organisational results frameworkLead the efforts in effective data analysis and visualization for effective presentation and sharing with stakeholdersIdentify areas of process standardization and improvement, and bring in the necessary improvements to deliver high quality productsSupport the monitoring, evaluation and learning requirements in building robust models, articulating impact, and to replicate and scaleCollaborate with other programs of Janaagraha and other partner organisations on areas of synergies such as policy advocacy and Councillor Leadership Development.
Qualifications and Experience
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Governance, Development Studies, Social Work, Political Science, Public Administration, Public Policy, Urban Governance, Media/Journalism or equivalent from an institution of high repute15-18 years of experience in working on and leading programmes and partnership-building processes in the areas of civic leadership, community participation, urban governance and capacity building with non-profits or government/international agencies, with deep work in the field interacting with the people and exposure to leveraging data and technology as tools for outreach and efficient managementExpertise in developing models for community participation at local self-government levels and scaling is highly desirableExposure to working with elected representatives and senior bureaucrats is desirableExperience in managing/leading/working in the areas of urban poor habitats, environment sustainability, climate resilience, public health and gender inclusivity would be valuablePublished articles and research papers in reputed newspapers, journals in the areas of urban governance, decentralisation, transparency, civic participation is desirable
What competencies does it take to be a Head - Civic Leadership and Participation?
Close alignment with Janaagraha’s
Culture CodesAbility to be innovative and pragmatic in program design and implementation with result orientationTenacity and resilience to pursue developing proofs of conceptsProven networking skills and should be capable of collaborating to build excellent connect/partnerships with active citizens, CSOs, influencers, bureaucrats, elected representatives and institutions in a short timeProficient in reading, verbal and written skills in English and preferably in any one or more of these languages – Kannada, Odia, Hindi, Tamil, AssameseProficient in project management and monitoring skillsGood knowledge and skills with data and technology including MS Word, Excel and PowerPointMust have outstanding mentoring skills
What Janaagraha offers
At Janaagraha, you will be part of a multi-disciplinary team of professionals and passionate citizens who apply cutting-edge technologies and practices aimed at social change in India’s cities. We offer a dynamic, driven and vibrant work environment for professionals who are passionate about investing their time, skill sets and energy to transform quality of life in India’s cities. At work, you will be exposed to a unique combination of policy, practice and platforms and will have abundant opportunities to learn and apply professional skills to social challenges.
Remuneration
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.

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