Chief of Staff

REPORTS TO

Director, CSBC

ABOUT CBSE

he Centre for Social and Behaviour Change (CSBC), Ashoka University – India’s leading liberal arts University – is funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). The vision of CSBC is to establish an institution, based out of India, that is globally reputed for thought leadership and excellence in impactful behaviour change interventions for low-income and marginalised populations. The Centre is focused on bringing new capabilities such as behavioural science, design thinking, advanced data analytics and responsive feedback to governments, practitioners and donors to help better design and optimise behaviour change interventions. We work closely with Central and State Governments as well as other stakeholders in the areas of nutrition, sanitation, financial inclusion, maternal & newborn care, data privacy and agriculture.

OVERVIEW OF THE ROLE

Leaders cannot do it all themselves. Steering the ship requires ceaseless levels of effort, energy, and ingenuity, and even the most experienced leaders know their limits. For this reason, Center for Social and Behavior Change (CSBC) is seeking an energetic and resourceful Chief of Staff to support our Director and help coordinate – and, at times, lead – the execution of strategic initiatives and priorities throughout the organisation. This is an all-encompassing position. From managing key strategic initiatives and analysis, to engagement with key stakeholders, to development of high-priority board and donor content, the Chief of Staff will keep a pulse on all important issues within CSBC. This is a highly visible role that provides an up-close perspective on what it takes to establish a global organisation. It is a very dynamic role (no two days will look the same!) that requires superior organisational and people skills, as well as comfort with ambiguity and frequent change.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• External Engagement:Shadow and support the Director in all external engagements especially with government and key partners. Lead these engagements as and when entrusted/assigned by the Director.

• Strategic anchor: Oversee and manage the strategic priorities of the Director, senior leadership teams, and the organisation, by serving as a trusted advisor to the Director and senior leadership. Take internal and external meetings on behalf of the Director.
• Business Development & Sustainability: Engage with potential donors and key stakeholders, identify opportunities for growing the funding base of the organisations through responding to relevant RFPs, making relevant connections in the sector and presenting CSBC’s work to generate interest amongst donors (private philanthropy, multi-lateral and bilateral organisations and corporate sector.
• Establish and manage partnerships: Identify core partners relevant to CSBC’s work, establish relationships, oversee and manage any work that CSBC is undertaking in collaboration with partners/outsourced to the partners.
• Executive-level presentations:Create materials for key donor discussions, board meetings, and organisation-wide conversations
• Team coordination: Build trusted relationships within the organisation and lead a rhythm of internal communication to enable effective collaboration across the organisation.
• Overall support: Dynamically provide cross-functional support, gap-filling and process management to ensure the operational rhythms of the organisation are running smoothly.

The above responsibilities will be carried out by working closely with the Director, the Deputy Directors and other team members.

QUALIFICATIONS

• • Master’s degree in Business Administration or Economics. PhD preferred.
  • Minimum 10 years in management consulting (or similar roles), preferably with a focus on strategy and operations management
  • Extraordinary attention to detail with an ability to track and execute multiple work streams at once
  • Demonstrated ability to self-start, work cross-functionally, and manage multiple stakeholders
  • Excellent people skills with an ability to quickly earn trust and credibility with senior leaders / board members as well as team members
  • Strong project reporting skills, with a focus on interdepartmental communication
  • High degree of comfort with change and ambiguity
  • Superior written and verbal communication skills

  The position will be located in New Delhi, with work from home till the COVID-situation persists. The candidate should have work authorisation in India (preferably Indian citizenship or Overseas Citizenship of India). The candidate should be available for travel, with and without the Director.

COMPENSATION

Remuneration is competitive with the sector, but may vary subject to the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience.

HOW TO APPLY

Please send your application to careersatcsbc@ashoka.edu.in.In your application, please include:

• The position title (Chief of Staff) in the subject line of the email
• A two-page CV
• A one-page cover letter highlighting your experience relevant to the job requirements

Closing date:Within 15 days from the date of publishing.

We encourage early application as applications will be processed as they are received. Thus, the recruiting process may end earlier than the closing date.

We are an equal opportunity organisation and encourage diversity. Women, differently abled persons, SC/ST/OBC candidates are especially encouraged to apply.