Program Associate Odisha

Job Description: Program Associate (Supporting Municipal Corporations in Odisha-Bhubaneshwar)

About the Organization

Air Pollution Action Group (A-PAG) was set up in 2019 by Ashish Dhawan (Founder and Chairperson, Ashoka University and Central Square Foundation), Vijay Chadda (previously CEO of Bharti Foundation) and Mohit Beotra (previously Chief Brand Officer of Airtel). Ashish is a member of the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and adjoining regions.

A-PAG is focused on the strategic implementation of solutions to combat air pollution and has created a niche for itself within the broader ecosystem in the last 6 years. During this time, A-PAG has made significant progress in its quest with a focus on supporting the Governments at the national & state levels. Our major projects include the Dispersed Sources Program and the Construction and Demolition Waste Program, among others. A-PAG has worked on several other initiatives in Delhi-NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana and Punjab. Currently, we are engaged with the municipal corporations of 13+ cities across 4+ states.

All our support to Government is offered on a pro-bono basis.

About the role

A-PAG's project in Odisha aims at improving air quality by tackling issues which contribute to air pollution. The project will be rolled out across Odisha with close and sustained association with the municipal corporations of respective cities. As a part of the A-PAG PMU, you will be responsible to ensure the successful implementation of our dispersed source program. To do this, you will work closely with the leadership and ground-level officers at the ULBs the cities. Implementation of A-PAGs dispersed sources program would be a priority; in addition to this, you would have the opportunity to devise and pilot new interventions which are scalable and target other sources of air pollution in the region.

Key responsibilities

The critical functions to manage your area successfully will include the following:

1. Program Strategy and Implementation: Working with ULBs in your district, you would need to ensure all processes are put into place and all planned actions are carried out in a time- bound manner. This involves planning for an on-ground survey, creating route maps, ensuring IT systems are ready, etc.

2. Stakeholder Management: You will be expected to build relationships with officials ranging from the operational levels of these organizations (Ex. Junior Engineers, Sanitary Inspectors) to the leadership (Ex. District Magistrate, Municipal Commissioners) and drive these engagements to ensure success. You will also support the ULBs in coordinating with each other. This is a key deliverable for ensuring the programs success.

3. Monitoring and Review: Putting in place a robust monitoring and review process will be a key priority. You will be responsible to ensure structured reviews are held in your area in order to make progress toward resolving the issues identified on the ground.

4. Vendor Management: The project is supported by third parties at multiple levels. You will be responsible to guide and oversee the functioning of these third-party vendors. These include survey agencies, IT vendors, etc.

5. Process Improvement: While engaging with officials across multiple organizations you would be in a key position with visibility to understand problem areas and develop insights and solutions for them. You would be expected to translate these insights into action in order to improve the processes undertaken throughout the program.

Eligibility

1. Bachelors degree from a tier-1 institute with a strong track record of outstanding academic performance

2. 2-4 years of work experience in a role with a client-facing component, project-based assignments, and substantial analytical requirements

3. Have displayed instances of quick thinking and entrepreneurial nature in previous projects/ work assignment

4. Work experience in the space of environment/solid waste management, program implementation or implementation of IT dashboards would be preferred but is not essential however, passion to solve the air pollution crisis in India is critical

Skill Sets Required

1. Fluency in Odia, with excellent verbal and written communication skills.

2. Analytical bent of mind is key you will need to think through problems and help the team arrive at an accurate assessment of the key issues to be addressed.

3. Entrepreneurial nature success in this role depends heavily on your ability to make things happen on the ground.

4. Ability to work alongside senior Government officials, while being able to convince them to accept our recommendations.

5. Program management skills are needed to ensure programs are delivered against agreed timelines with requisite quality.

6. Ability to learn quickly air pollution is a relatively nascent space and new knowledge is constantly emerging which we need to understand & utilize to our benefit.

Location: Bhubaneshwar, Odisha (travel to other cities across Odisha and occasional travel to Delhi will be involved)

Compensation: Will be commensurate with the best among social sector norms