Senior Project Lead Bhopal- State Reform

About Central Square Foundation:

Established in 2012, Central Square Foundation (CSF) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to enhancing the learning outcomes of all school going children across India through system-led reforms. Our initiatives span innovation and policy to practice and focus on learning impact at scale. At the heart of CSF's mission is our strategic focus on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN), which drives our collaborative efforts with 11 state governments to design and execute statewide FLN Missions. Additionally, we prioritise EdTech integration, aiming to deploy digital solutions for in-class and at-home learning and establish evidence-based practices while harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to augment learning outcomes. CSF is deeply committed to Early Childhood Education (ECE) reforms, recognising the critical role it plays in laying a strong groundwork for children's learning journey, thereby augmenting FLN outcomes. CSF also works in the area of School Governance, extending its system-level approach to children in both private and government schools, to strengthen the country's education landscape.

As an organization, we aim to reduce learning poverty in India by working towards improving the outcomes of children in FLN. This involves working with:

• National and state governments to prioritize FLN as the most critical focus area for reform.
• Establishing project management units at the national and state levels to work on critical workstreams that impact classroom practice, teacher capacity building, state monitoring systems, and system assessments.
• Investing in strategic EdTech interventions to improve FLN both at home and in school.
• Developing public goods that can be adopted by any state government for free.
• Nurturing an FLN partner ecosystem in India to foster collective action in support of national and state governments.
• Continuously exploring solutions to improve governance, such as phone-based assessments and district project management units.

To learn more about us and our work, please visit our website at www.centralsquarefoundation.org.

"FLN State Reform" in Madhya Pradesh:

CSF has developed a comprehensive playbook to support state governments in undertaking large-scale reform initiatives. This playbook involves close collaboration with the State Project Directors' offices and the development of a 5 to 7-year roadmap to fundamentally transform critical workstreams. We have been working closely with the education departments of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana since 2019. A version of our initial playbook in these states has also been adopted by the Ministry of Education when they launched the NIPUN Bharat mission. As of December 2024, we have achieved the following in all three states:

• Funded and operated a unique coalition in all three states, involving partner organizations such as The Education Alliance, Language and Learning Foundation, Room to Read, and Vikramshilla. Each state has members from some of these organizations working closely with CSF teams to support the state in all academic and administrative initiatives to improve FLN. Our coalition teams are well-established in the three states and have worked with the state for over three academic cycles as the primary FLN partners.
• Improved all FLN materials used in all classrooms in all three states. Our efforts have introduced structured pedagogy-based teacher's guides, student workbooks, and additional FLN materials such as big books, reading charts, and math kits in all classrooms. This was achieved by working closely with state SCERTs and receiving academic design support from our partners in the coalition.
• Introduced an assessment-informed instruction in all three states. This involves setting up formative and summative assessments with high-quality assessment items and a tracking mechanism to support teachers.
• Established comprehensive continuous teacher training programs in all three states. This includes 5-7 days of face-to-face training and approximately 20-30 hours of digital training for all FLN teachers in the state.
• Established a cadre of cluster-level mentors to visit schools monthly and provide instructional support to teachers and headmasters through classroom observations and spot tests. This support is facilitated using apps in all three states, which also enables the collection of valuable data to understand implementation across all schools.
• Developed a comprehensive foundational learning monitoring system in the three states. This involves multiple apps used by mentors, teachers, and other administrators like BEO and DIETs, as well as a dashboard where all critical KPIs are visualized for the entire state.
• Set up a monthly review structure where the state and districts review progress in FLN using the dashboard and take actions based on the data available from all classrooms. This review structure has been established in all three states.
• Supported all three states in conducting regular sample annual endline student FLN achievement surveys, coupled with monthly dipstick sample surveys. The survey results are used to set up district-level FLN goals and communicate them across the entire state delivery channels to drive accountability.

We believe that significant progress has been made in all three states, as all major inputs have been implemented with strong reforms known to work. In the next few years, CSF is committed to raising resources and operating in these states with a focus on stabilizing the aforementioned inputs and then guiding all districts towards a situation where the majority of students achieve FLN competence by the time they cross grade 3. This would involve the following initiatives:

• Strengthening the project management units in each state and adopting districts to drive implementations through district project management units established by the government.
• Working closely with the Mission Director to continuously iterate the design of all academic inputs based on insights from the field. Additionally, influencing the state leadership to prevent any rollback of design changes already achieved.
• Collaborating with the Mission Director to improve the quality of data collected by mentors and other stakeholders regarding classroom observations and student assessments from all districts.
• Supporting all districts in understanding their progress with respect to the mission implementation and helping them develop action plans to achieve the mission's goals.
• Working closely with the State Mission Director to strengthen the district PMU by running FLN fellowships or placing CSF teams in select districts.

Senior Project Lead Role

FLN reforms in MP is managed by a State Reform Team within CSF. This team works from Bhopal. As we move into the deeper end of the NIPUN Bharat mission in the state, we are deepening our presence and action in districts. The Senior Project Lead plays a vital role in driving state reform initiatives, to oversee a significant portfolio of work. This encompasses state-specific and central components, aligning with CSF's reform objectives across all three states. For example:

• Working with SCERT to develop all academic materials through material creation workshops, reviewing quality, finalizing print-ready materials, managing the printing and delivery process so that the materials are timely printed and delivered to all schools in the state.
• Managing the system-led assessment workstream for the state. This would involve developing a framework for annual sample-based baselines, spot assessments, and school-based assessments. Based on the framework, developing relevant assessment items and tech tools to conduct the assessments at scale, sampling and selecting the schools/students. Then onboarding assessors from the state, training them with tools, and actually monitoring the execution of data collection in all districts. Finally, analyzing the data and creating reports to be used by districts to evaluate the progress they are making.
• Typically, a project lead will manage 4-5 such workstreams and will be supported by 4-6 project managers, and in some workstreams, a full-stack team from a partner organization. The project lead works closely with the state project lead, leaders from other coalition partners, and the State mission director to co-create end states and execution plans for each workstream. Based on the end states and execution plan, the project lead delivers the workstream for the state.
• MP has decided to place an FLN fellow in each district in the state. These fellows are hired by the state and are paid a stipend by the state. As a project lead in this body of work, one would be responsible for working closely with the state mission director to manage the fellowship.

What would make you a good fit for the role:

Senior Project Lead roles in MP is a perfect opportunity to understand how large-scale educational reform takes shape. If you are keen to participate and influence a state to embark on that journey, this is the perfect role for you. This role provides an opportunity for one to take on a complex project and set up a high-performing team with a span of 4-6 project managers to drive outcomes in the context of government reform. So, if you are transitioning from being an individual performer to a team lead, this could be a great role. Below are the skills that would be necessary for individuals to possess:

• Bachelor's degree required from a reputed university; Master's degree preferred.
• Prior experience working with government stakeholders is required.
• 9 to 12 years of post-qualification work experience, preferably with a government entity, with a superb project delivery and management track record.
• Ability to analyze complex problems, craft possible solutions and recommendations.
• Action-biased and strong planning skills, ability to set priorities, plan, and meet timelines.
• Excellent communication skills: oral and written, in both English and Hindi.
• Ability to build and maintain positive and collaborative relationships with government stakeholders.
• Ability to lead a team of young professionals and drive them to achieve outcomes.
• Prior exposure to the education sector, public/development sector, or consulting will be preferred. However, people with corporate experience but an interest in the education sector are also encouraged to apply.
• Mission-driven, optimistic, and enthusiastic, believing in achieving transformational change.
• Willingness to be based at the state site closer to the stakeholders and team. Openness to regular travel to different districts in MP.

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