CEO required by Leading Indian NGO

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.


Contact:
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


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