POSITION
TITLE: CEO
LOCATION: Mumbai
REPORTING TO: The Board
OVERVIEW:
Praja
is a non-partisan organization, started in Mumbai in 1997 by a group of eight individuals
whose vision was to re-establish accountability and transparency in governance.These
individuals were also concerned about a general lack of interest among the
Citizens' in the local
government. At the same time, there was barely any interaction between the
Citizens' and the local government.
Praja’s
initial efforts were concentrated on improving the capacity of the Brihanmumbai
Municipal Corporation
(BMC) to deliver better services and to be responsive to the people. They felt
that this would
activate Citizens' interest in the affairs of the local government. The
conceptualization and implementation
of the idea of the Citizens Charter in 1999 was the beginning of their work
with the
municipality and later Online
Complaint Management System. Over time, Praja became a pressure
group that persistently influenced the city government into establishing a
pro-citizen work
ethic.
Praja
has prominent Board members and several goodwill partners; they bring in their
professional skills and network, to help the organization realise its goals.
Among them are pre-eminent names such as B.G. Deshmukh and Ajay Hattangadi.
Sumangali
Gada and Nitai Mehta are amongst Praja’s founder members. The funding partners of
the organisation are Fur Die Freiheit and Madhu Mehta Foundation.
Their
goal is to work in collaboration with the elected representatives who represent
them in the local, state and national legislatures, first, by increasing
people's interaction with them and eventually, by fostering a democratic
culture of questioning, debate and dialogue. Praja in its next phase of
expansion will focus on facilitating participation and active dialogue between
citizens and their elected representatives.
THE OPPORTUNITY:
Praja is looking to hire their CEO
who will be responsible
for Praja’s expansion into new ventures and initiatives. S/he will act as a catalyst
between the municipal corporation, civil society bodies and the individuals
residing in the respective wards.
The key responsibilities in this role will be as follows:
·
The incumbent would
play a leadership role and would need to enable a stimulating environment in
shaping the thinking, approach and strategies relating to all programmatic
aspects of Praja’s work.
·
S/he must be a self
starter and highly self motivated in the design and delivery of programme
objectives.
·
S/he should be passionate
about the cause and Praja’s projects.
·
The incumbent should be
able to influence policies and processes, and improve performance with a view
to creating transparency and accountability.
·
S/he should be able to
execute the tasks at hand within the specified timelines of the project.
·
S/he would be
responsible to raise funds along with the founders who are active members of
the organization.
·
S/he should have the
ability to manage all operational issues within the framework of necessary laws
and guidelines, including hiring and evaluating staff, office and program
functions, developing and implementing budgets, fiscal oversight, and strategic
planning, grant procurement and oversight.
·
S/he would work as a
catalyst between the Municipal Corporation and the ward members, and take
advantage of its partnership with other organizations to help implement the projects
of Praja.
·
S/he would be required to have
entrepreneurial skills and should be capable of defining and incorporating
measurable performance indicators in the projects.
·
S/he should have skills
in networking and building sustainable working relationships with all relevant
stakeholder groups, including government, NGO’s, private partners, and funding
partners.
·
S/he should be able to
develop strategic relationships with a range of agencies and organizations on
issues of public interest and governance.
Must Haves:
·
The incumbent should be
within an age group of 35 to 45 years.
·
S/he should be capable
of setting/ defining/ rolling out measurable performance/ success indicators
for each project.
·
S/he should have good
communication skills, with English being compulsory. Fluency in Hindi and
Marathi would be a bonus, coupled with the ability to interact with and speak
in Public.
·
S/he should have good
Project Management skills and a proven track record in management of projects,
including financial management and the delivery of business plans.
·
The incumbent could be
a program manager in a civil society organization as well.
·
The incumbent must be
able to commit to a minimum of 3 year full time stint.
COMPENSATION DETAILS:
A competitive and comprehensive compensation package, commensurate with experience,
will be offered to the selected candidates.
Third
Sector Partners, a leading CxO and board search firm in the Not for Profit
sector has been retained by Praja for this search. Interested candidates can send in their CVs along with three references
and a cover note to cxo.praja@gmail.com,
or Contact us at: +91 22 6660 3558/6660 3559.
Only short listed candidates would be contacted. Last date for receiving applications is
15th February 2009