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Programme Manager - Bihar

Based in Patna

Application deadline: 27th November 2022​

 

About Suvita

Suvita is an impact-focused start-up non-profit working to boost uptake of routine childhood immunisations in India. We currently deliver two evidence-based, scalable programmes in Bihar and Maharashtra:

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  1. Sending SMS reminders to new parents and caregivers, to help them remember when their child is due for a vaccination. In the last 12 months, we have enrolled over 1 lakh families in Bihar for reminders. We currently work in Saran and Patna districts, and plan to expand further in 2023.

  2. Identifying community influencers and recruiting them to act as volunteer immunisation ambassadors. This year, we rolled the programme out across several blocks in Saran district. Next year, we will continue to iterate on the programme design, generate further evidence about the programme's impact and continue scaling across Saran district.

 

As Suvita’s programmes scale significantly, we are seeking a dedicated lead for our Bihar work, who will drive successful delivery of programmes at the state level, with a constant eye to evidence-based improvement and scalability within the state context.

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About the role

You will lead on the implementation, improvement and scaling of our programmes across Bihar, in line with Suvita’s organisational strategy. You will report to a Co-founder and you'll manage our Programme Coordinator (and, indirectly, our team of Field Officers in Bihar) to contribute to shaping our plans and putting them into action at the state level. You will also work closely with our Maharashtra Programme Manager, Head of Tech and Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Specialist to deliver programme improvements across multiple dimensions. You will also hold and strengthen our relationship with the Bihar State Health Society.

 

This varied role will involve a range of focus areas including: programme planning; team management; M&E co-ordination; government relationships; setting up programmes from scratch in new districts; process improvement.

 

We therefore require someone strong at both high-level and detail-oriented planning, who is highly organised and proactive, has excellent communication skills in Hindi and English and has a strong understanding of the basic principles of evidence-based programming.

 

Your responsibilities will cover the following areas:

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  1. Be the linchpin connecting strategic planning to programme implementation and scaling in Bihar.

    • Oversee high-quality programme delivery in Bihar and ensure that this upholds Suvita’s organisational strategy (for example you will be planning survey activities, planning hiring rounds, and leading government support and communications). This will involve working closely with the Bihar Programme Coordinator and Field Officers, as well as frequently liaising with our government partners.

    • Drive rapid scaling of Suvita’s programmes in Bihar, and contribute to strategic decisions about when/where/how to scale across the state.

    • Work closely with the Co-founders on Bihar programme strategy, ensuring that this accounts for contextual factors (such as government needs, local data infrastructure) in Bihar.

  2. Lead on the improvement (in terms of impact and scalability) of programmes in Bihar.

    • Ensure a rigorous and evidence-driven approach to identify and prioritise programme improvement opportunities, utilising information from a range of sources including:

      • Close coordination with our Head of Tech and ME&L Specialist

      • Your own ideas, based on your overarching knowledge of programmes in Bihar

      • Close coordination with our Maharashtra Programme Manager, to identify ideas and lessons which can be translated between contexts

      • Other members of the Bihar team (ensuring that colleagues are encouraged and supported to share their unique perspectives on the programmes, fostering a culture of continuous improvement)

    • Present and justify top improvement ideas to the Co-founders, and contribute to decision-making about what to implement

    • Deliver priority programme improvements. This could involve e.g. changing programme design at the micro or macro level, strengthening team training/management, etc.

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Who should apply?

If you are a self-motivated systems thinker who enjoys working across a wide range of focus areas, excels at strengthening partner relationships and strongly values the importance of data-driven decision-making for impact, please consider applying.

 

A Programme Manager’s day at Suvita

If you can see yourself thriving in the scenario below, please apply.

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Morning - you are planning the week/day against project deadlines and priorities; check-in with Programme Coordinator on survey implementation and monitoring activities.

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Lunchtime - you are playing with data, writing a brief for your meeting with the State Immunisation Officer later this week, or working through priorities for a monitoring dashboard with the Head of Tech.

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Afternoon - You jump on your weekly call with a Co-founder to flag issues and brainstorm ideas for programme improvement and scaling, or join our Friday afternoon chai-pakora virtual hang-out to catch up with the team, join a quiz and debate the answers to life, the universe and everything in between.

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Requirements

  • You have a strong quantitative background with a Bachelor’s degree (Master’s degree or equivalent experience preferred) in an evidence-centred, quantitative field such as public policy, economics, statistics, engineering, science or similar.

  • You are a highly analytical systems thinker, able to plan excellently with a natural ability to breakdown a large project into manageable tasks. You have a tendency to identify critical tasks before they become a bottleneck.

  • You have excellent oral and written Hindi and English skills, and are adept at getting information across in simple language to different stakeholders.

  • You are a conscientious self-starter who is highly organised and able to set up your own routine, without requiring lots of supervision and oversight.

  • You are excellent at leading the work of a team. You are personable and a team player. You communicate clear context and purpose which connects individuals’ work to the organisational strategy. You ensure that colleagues have the right combination of autonomy and freedom alongside support and guidance. You help colleagues solve tricky problems whilst also nurturing their problem-solving skills.

  • You are agile, able to work flexibly and enjoy working in a startup environment where the needs are likely to change week to week.

  • You are passionate about contributing to Suvita’s mission and impact; and driven to support our users to improve their families’ health and wellbeing.

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Bonus qualities

These qualities are not a requirement for the role and the best candidate may have none of them, but they are nice to have:

  • Experience with running public health / behavioural economics programmes in collaboration with government bodies

  • Skills/experience in delivering quantitative/qualitative research methods (e.g. previous experience working on a randomised controlled trial or on focus groups)

  • Proficiency in Bhojpuri and/or Maithili

  • Proficiency in STATA / R / Python or other programs for data analysis. 

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Benefits

  • Work in a mission-driven, impact-focused organisation with strong values. 

  • A friendly, passionate, curious team. 

  • A high-leverage role in a young organisation. Our programmes in Bihar are poised for huge growth in the next year, and we are in the early stages of setting up the M&E systems in the organisation, so there are plenty of opportunities for personal impact. 

  • Independence, autonomy and a flexible work schedule (though please note government asks and timelines may leave less room for flexibility). 

  • 30 days’ paid holiday leave per year plus 12 days’ sick leave at full pay

  • Reimbursement towards an annual health insurance policy

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Details

  • Hours: full-time.

  • Duration: fixed one-year term with plans to make long term subject to performance and organisation plans and budgets.

  • Location: based in Patna.

  • Pay: Rs 84,113 - Rs 1,05,141 per month.

  • Reports to: Co-founder.

  • Manages: Programme Coordinator (Deepak).

  • Application timeline: 

    • Application form deadline (round 1): 27th November​

    • Test task (round 2): 1 week to complete, immediately following the application deadline.

    • Interview (round 3): during the week after the test task (likely 7th-9th December).

    • We aim to make an offer shortly after interviews are complete.

    • Start date: as soon as possible - we are aiming for the end of December but can discuss any specific timeline needs with shortlisted candidates.

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