Position: Program Coordinator - Government Engagement & Advocacy

Organization: Quest Alliance

Location: Bhubaneshwar

Apply: https://questalliance.zohorecruit.com/careers

About the Role

QUEST Alliance has been working with the secondary schools across 9 states in India implementing the IBM STEM For Girls programme. The programme focussed on developing 21st century skills and STEM Mindset among the adolescent girls and support them in carving a journey to continue education beyond secondary grades but also to take up a career in STEM field.

In the state of Odisha QUEST Alliance has been implementing the programme directly and also through partnership with other civil society organizations. Over the next three years the programme aims to build the capacity of 20,000 teachers to transform as 21st century educators and reach out to over 16,50,000 learners across the state. It also aims to build Model learning spaces for the department to scale it up.

As Coordinator - Government Engagement and Admin Support you will be primarily responsible for leading the engagement with the govt at the state and district level. You will be the first point of contact for the govt. In state and all district officials across the state of Odisha, you will establish a mechanism for district level planning, review and integration of the approach of QUEST. You will ensure that all approvals and documentations are in place from the govt. Following are the detail responsibilities: -

State Engagement

• Lead all conversation with the vertical (OSEPA, Mo School, S&ME, etc) in the education department

• Ensure that all approvals are in place as and when required

• Ensure that the JPRMs are being organised timely

• Ensure that the monthly reports are being submitted and planning and review meetings are being organised

• Ensure that the representatives from govt. are participating in various events being organised by QUEST Alliance

District Engagement

• Lead the district engagement activities on behalf of the organisation

• Ensure that regular monthly reports are being shared and discussed with the district officials

• Ensure that all necessary permissions from districts are in place

• Ensure that the monthly planning and review meetings are organised at least in all operational districts

• Identify potential funding sources, CSR, HNIs from within the district and establish relationships with them

Building the state supported Teacher Led Model

• Work closely with the SCERT and DIET Officials at state and district level in review and existing curriculum and identifying areas of integration. Also work to align the state’s teacher capacity building plan with the plan of Quest.

• Support building the state supported teacher led model for the state of Odisha by building a capacity building and content integration strategy which is institutionalised in the system.

Requirements

Required skills and experience

• A Graduate/Postgraduate degree in any discipline (preferably social work, development, education, gender studies, rural development)

• 7-8 years of work experience preferably in the Education sector 

• Proven ability to network and establish collaborative relationships with a variety of actors, including Education department

• Willingness to travel extensively

• A strong personal commitment to the values of Quest Alliance

Preferred skills and Experience:

• Loves technology, any sort of direct work on ed tech projects 

• have previous experience of working on tech related work 

We are looking for people who: 

• Are passionate about the challenges India is facing in education and employability domain

• Have an exposure to work on STEM on careers

• Can work with ambiguity 

• Candidate should be flexible, self-motivated, enthusiastic, and an energetic team player

Skill Sets:

• Excellent verbal and written communications skills in English and vernacular of the state 

• Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to make sound operational decisions 

• Strong team player able to work under own initiative 

• Ability to network and build relationship with the Government and Non government organization 

• Proficient in MS Office tools and Internet