Work With Us

Job Description: Associate Manager – Citizen Engagement & Youth

Position

Associate Manager – Citizen Engagement & Youth

Experience

4- 5 years (preferably from the social sector)

Reporting To

Director Programmes, Praja Foundation

Location

Mumbai

 

About Praja

Over the past 25 years, Praja Foundation has worked to enable accountable governance.  We partnered with the Mumbai Corporation to develop its first Citizen Charter, revamping their Citizen Complaint Grievances Mechanism (CGM). Complaint number 1916 remains functional with some enhancements.

Praja conducted a study on urban governance reforms Study to assess the implementation of 74th Constitutional Amendment Act. This pioneering study, led to the development of the Urban Governance Index (UGI) with the goal of creating a network of key influencers, thought leaders and, local government bodies to democratize city governments and improve service delivery.

In 2024, Praja launched the Urban Governance Index 2.0, which maps and ranks the status of urban governance across 31 cities from 28 states, 2 Union Territories, and the NCT of Delhi. The data compiled by UGI is regularly used by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), NITI Aayog, and the National Institute of Urban Affairs for their policy work.

Over the years, Praja has established close collaborations with state governments to facilitate policy changes across four key reforms that aim to strengthen urban governance structures. These reforms will promote structured discussion and deliberation in council and committee meetings, enhance the deliberation and leadership skills of elected representatives, ensure adequate financial resources for efficient public service delivery, and empower citizens to participate actively in local decision-making processes.

 

The Role

Praja’s continuous engagement with local elected representatives (ERs) and administration through capacity building, research and advocacy has had a positive impact on city governance. This role primarily focuses on Youth Capacity Building for urban governance.

The Associate Manager, Citizen Engagement, will play a pivotal role in scaling and strengthening youth capacity-building initiatives focused on urban governance. Reporting to the Director programmes, the associate manager will be responsible for supporting program design, planning, implementation, stakeholder engagement, research and team management. Additionally, will also assist in building a network of organisations and individuals that have a deep knowledge of urban governance issues and are willing to partner with Praja to take this initiative forward.

Main Responsibilities:

  • Lead engagement with a broad range of stakeholders (ERs, colleges, academia and CSOs) to ensure that advocacy messages are disseminated in an effective manner.
  • Strategizing, Planning, coordination and execution of workshops, training sessions, and capacity-building programs for diverse stakeholders.
  • Identify, initiate and nurture collaboration and follow-up of initiatives with key program stakeholders and partners.
  • Establish a network of project partners at municipal, state, and national level to create a professional platform for further networking and partnership between CSOs, youths and government at all levels to initiate dialogue on governance matters.
  • Assist in preparing promotional material on the project, including pamphlets, videos and training module.
  • Prepare event reports, activity summaries, and impact stories for internal and external reports.
  • Oversea Governance Fellowship program across Praja foundation project cities in India.
  • Conduct research and collect data on various governance and service delivery issues, as per the need of the organisation.
  • Organise the Monitoring, Evaluation and Impact assessment processes for the program
  • Manage program officer & supervise interns and volunteers
  • Resolve any challenges coming up in the program in relation to fellows, interns & others stakeholders
  • Willing to travel extensively within the city and outstation as required (60% time will be spent on the field; 40% within the office).

Qualification, Experience and Competencies

  • Graduate/ Postgraduate in Public Administration/ Social work/ Development Studies any other relevant course
  • 4-5 years of proven working experience in the social sector or from other sectors (open to people from corporate/education sectors)
  • Enthusiastic about engaging with college students and the community to raise awareness of urban governance. Highly self-driven, with a strong sense of dedication and the capability to work independently with Youth.
  • Comfortable and adept at building strong relationships with a wide range of stakeholders including elected representatives, bureaucrats, civil society organisations, various colleges, academia and NGOs.
  • Ability to read and comprehend complex literature such as Municipal Acts, Municipal Budgets, state & union government policies, etc.
  • Strong research and analytical skills, people management, training, analytics & process orientation skill.
  • Good knowledge of Microsoft Word/Excel/ PowerPoint and Internet/social media. Ability to clearly articulate his/her views in both written form and through presentations.
  • Excellent communication skills, both spoken and written in English, Hindi and Marathi.
  • This role also involves fieldwork and travel to different cities on short notice.

 

Please send your resume to hr@praja.org  with a cover letter why you wish to join Praja Foundation and how the work profile will help you to achieve your goals.

 

While applying for the position, kindly keep the email subject as “Applying for Associate Manager – Citizen Engagement & Youth”