ASHOKA is looking for Social Innovators

"Do you have a track record of entrepreneurial leadership for India?

Ashoka: Innovators for the Public is looking for social innovators as staff members for its programs in India. Apply to recruitindia@ashoka.org by Jan 31st, 2008 with answers to the following questions and a copy of your latest resume :

a)Have you launched and sustained innovative ideas for social change in school/college/workplace.

b) What is your vision for change in your field of interest?

If you are further interested in how you can be part of Ashoka's vision of Everyone a Changemaker, Read on…”

You can change the world.

Ashoka envisions a world where everyone is a changemaker, a world where anyone can tackle the toughest social problems and effect real and lasting change. We are looking for creative, entrepreneurial staff members who share this vision and want to make their mark on entrepreneurial challenges in India and South Asia.

Ashoka is a global association of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs – individuals with innovative solutions to society’s most pressing problems. We founded the field of social entrepreneurship over 25 years ago and continue to be pioneers in the movement for global social change. Ever since we elected our first Fellow in India in 1981, we have been committed to finding and supporting leading social entrepreneurs wherever innovation is needed.

At Ashoka, we have always believed that the divide between the citizen sector and the business world is an artificial one. Profit structures have little to do with the ability to be a force for positive change. What really matters is the quality of the ideas, the people and the systems. With an asset base of over 2,000 Fellows in more than 60 countries, hundreds of business partners in leading global companies, and 225 entrepreneurial staff members who catalyze this network into action across the globe, we are the perfect platform for the right people to become highly effective agents of change.

This brochure explains the work we do, how we think about social change and how we make it happen. We hope you will feel at home here, and find a place where you can start the rest of your life today.


We’re offering a different kind of experience.

Ashoka is much more than an organization focused on social entrepreneurship. It is a network of colleagues, business partners and Fellows, working together to find innovative and effective levers for social change. It is a community of people who support and inspire one another in their efforts to do more than they ever thought possible. It is also a platform for entrepreneurial individuals to realize their potential by developing high-impact ventures and creating lasting change on a local level.

As a team member, or ‘intrapreneur’, at Ashoka, you will be responsible for highly complex, long-term projects focused on social change. We don’t really have formal job descriptions; we create roles for people based on their skills and experience and the current needs of the organization. Because we know that change doesn’t happen in a straight line, we are unusually comfortable with ambiguity and our culture is flexible and supportive. We give our people room to explore, take risks and find the best solution to the particular problem they are working on.

This job is challenging in the best sense of the word. You will be asked to think harder than you have done before and to be creative in new ways. But you will also be supported and surrounded by people who share your passion for entrepreneurial problem-solving. You will work with an enormous network of some of the world’s best entrepreneurs in both the business sector and the citizen sector. Our partners include major global players such as McKinsey & Co., UBS, the Aspen Institute, and Nike. Because Ashoka is at the heart of social entrepreneurship, you will also play a role in shaping the future of the field.


The proof is in our work.

We achieve our changemaking vision through a three-pronged strategy: We support individual social entrepreneurs, both financially and professionally.
 We bring communities of social entrepreneurs together so they can learn and collaborate, leverage their impact, scale their ideas, and share their best practices.
 We build the awareness, practical infrastructure and financial systems needed to support and promote the growth of the citizen sector and to facilitate the spread of social innovation globally.

Here are a few examples of our successes:
 Anshu Gupta, through his organization Goonj, and with start-up capital and support from the Ashoka community and network, has provided over 3 million pieces of clothing annually to the poor in India. Anshu saw the opportunity to take the millions of garments that middle-class urban India throws away each year and put them to good use in rural India. Anshu has already expanded his project to six cities, and has won the World Bank Development Marketplace Award.
 Ashoka has created Youth Venture, a worldwide movement of 1,200 young social entrepreneurs. Youth Venture is based on the principle that one of the most effective ways to improve the lives of young people is to help them to realize their own ability to bring about positive social change. Youth Venture supports and promotes youth-led organizations in 14 countries, including the US, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, India, South Africa, Thailand, France, Germany, and Spain.
 Ashoka Fellows saw an opportunity to help small farmers in Latin America gain access to irrigation systems at fair prices, by brokering with Amanco, the largest irrigation company in Latin America. By bringing the farmers together as a group, Ashoka was able to create an attractive customer base for Amanco. Prices are set at a level that enables Amanco to make a fair profit but allows farmers to make important capital investments in irrigation systems, so they can grow more at less cost. In its first 3 years, this project generated $550,000 in sales and reached nearly 100 small farmers.

These are just a few examples of the hundreds of projects we are developing and supporting. We are growing rapidly and plan to launch activities in nine new countries in the coming five years. We attract more public attention, media interest and resources every year.


We’re looking for people like you.

If you have been starting and leading endeavors your whole life, then this is the place for you. You may have started your own venture, or significantly transformed the operations of an existing institution – a corporation, a media outlet or a citizen sector organization. The willingness to take risks is a prerequisite for our people, and an unwillingness to settle for less than excellence is a key asset. We want to work with people who have a proven track record of entrepreneurship, as well as the energy for and commitment to social change. Ashoka team members are creative, collegial, ethical, empathetic - and are inspired by challenges.

We are looking for people at all levels and in India, we have offices in Mumbai and Delhi. If are ready to start the rest of your life today, visit us at www.ashoka.org or write to recruitindia@ashoka.org .

Source: http://indianngos.com/careers/Ashoka%20Recruiting%20Brochure.doc

Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.