Position: Project Manager

Location: Delhi

About Asian Century Foundation

Asian Century Foundation (ACF) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization founded in 2019 by Ashish Dhawan. Our mission is to increase knowledge sharing and people to people understanding between India and other Asian countries. Our work is focused in developmental areas of priority to India.

The Foundation was set up initially to enable knowledge transfer amongst academia (scholars, practitioners, policy makers) primarily of China & India and aimed to build the capacity of China studies in India, enabling deep understanding of contemporary China, a thriving network of scholars, and people-to-people exchanges.

In the 90s, China and India were similar in GDP and population. In the three decades since, China has powered ahead to 5x India’s per-capita GDP. This transformation came about through meticulous planning & execution, combined with innovative implementation. The single party government had a significant role to play, however, it was matched in equal measure by good management practices and effective deployment. This offers valuable insights to developing countries. ACF seeks to make these insights available to the Indian Government, social enterprises, academics and practitioners. Our approach is to study the Chinese experience and adapt insights to the Indian context thereby supporting India’s development story and enhancing India’s ability to understand China.

With growing economies of Asia collectively overtaking the west in size and scale, the need to have a similar approach with other Asian countries has often been highlighted. While we stay focused on China as the first step, we now have an expanded scope including other South East Asian countries in our mission.

Our work is organized in three verticals – Education, Culture and Knowledge & Policy.

Position Summary

We are looking for a Program Manager for the Education vertical of the Asian Century Foundation.

The Education vertical is committed to building new knowledge about China and ASEAN in India through highquality programs in collaboration with top Universities across the country and the region. Our initiatives are focused on online learning, institution building and knowledge-exchange. Through these, the team is building an active knowledge corridor between India and her Eastern neighbours. The Manager will be responsible for designing, leading and implementing one of the programs housed in the Education vertical. The role will also entail leading research projects aimed at policy advocacy in education-associated areas such as Skilling, National Education policy, EdTech and so on.

The role requires – a. Intrapreneurial skills with an ability to create new, innovative programs and implement them and b. an interest in public policy and the ability to work with diverse stakeholders in the sector.

The manager will report to the Associate Director. The role is suitable for candidates who are interested in building their career in the development sector and have a few years of work experience. Experience in the education sector is preferred but candidates from other backgrounds may also apply. The candidate should be self-motivated and comfortable in planning their work independently.

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to

● Designing, implementing and managing programs with top University in India and ASEAN

● Taking on diverse tasks to ensure program success

● Working with top academics across the country and the region

● Leading project and program delivery

● Preparing white papers through comprehensive secondary research on education-related fields. The research area will be decided mutually. This includes,

o Understanding the objective of the document, collating qualitative data from credible sources, and analyzing the information accurately. o Presenting the information in a clear and cohesive manner in a document.

● Supporting the Associate Director in other research-related and program-building tasks.

Required Qualifications, Skills and Abilities

● Bachelor’s / Master’s degree in relevant field

● 2-5 years of work experience with managerial responsibilities, demonstrating superb project delivery and team leadership

● Advanced writing and presentation skills (ability to communicate complex ideas in a meaningful way)

● Ability to build and maintain positive and collaborative relationships both within and outside the organization

● Ability to work independently and proactively, without support staff and with minimal supervision

● Willingness to travel Desired Qualities

● Drive to excel in every aspect of work with high level of innovation and strong perseverance

● Ability to be rational in taking smart risks and being nimble

● Ability to lead teams with diverse backgrounds and work with a variety of external stakeholders

● Ability to adapt and exhibit confidence in a highly evolving and fast paced work environment

● High level of collaboration and consistent passion for work and a positive attitude

● Proactive, result-driven and flexible nature with reliable follow-through and great attention to detail

● Operating style suited to working in a small-organization setting, where teamwork and resourcefulness are highly valued

● Ability to manage multiple projects at a time Compensation

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

Apply

Interested candidates can apply through the Application Form

 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScMZtjYl1uEKQvRvNn_lwQRACLvnZpTUZflSYgRS8ZIm2aV_w/viewform

with a writing sample.