Job Description

Job Title: Senior Project Manager - District Project Management Unit (DPMU) - Odisha

Organisation: Central Square Foundation

Department: Foundational Learning - Odisha

Location: Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Nabrangpur, and Sambalpur

About Central Square Foundation

Founded in 2012, Central Square Foundation (CSF) is a non-profit philanthropic organisation working towards the vision of ensuring quality school education for all children in India. We believe that effective foundational learning is essential for better learning outcomes for all children in school. The development of foundational literacy and numeracy skills by Grade 3 can help children progress to higher levels of learning and is an essential building block in a child's life.

We are driven by our mission to enable the school education system to adopt solutions that are scalable, sustainable, and effective so that all children get equal access to opportunities needed for leading a better life.

Read more about our work on our website

About the Foundational Learning Team at CSF

The Foundational Learning team (FL) drives CSF's mission to ensure that all children in India achieve foundational literacy and numeracy by Grade 3.

We collaborate with state and district governments to:

• Support state and district administration in the design and on-ground implementation of State Foundational Learning Missions aligned with NIPUN Bharat.
• Strengthen teacher capacity, academic design, and monitoring systems to improve classroom practice.

• Strengthen middle management to mentor teachers and

  drive effective teaching-learning in classrooms
• Leverage data and technology for evidence-based decision-making and targeted interventions.

• Drive EdTech adoption and innovation for in-class and at

  home learning.
• Our teams work across multiple states, helping governments translate strategy into execution and ensuring that every reform yields tangible learning gains for children.

About the Position:

The Senior Project Manager will lead district-level transformation of FLN outcomes through strong governance, data systems, teacher support, and capacity building. This role requires strategic thinking, execution excellence, and deep engagement with government stakeholders. This is a high-ownership, field-intensive role focused on improving cluster levels. Project Coordinators will focus on building mission salience, set short- and mid-term goals, strengthen capacity for data-driven decision-making, and undertake micro-innovations that improve student learning outcomes for grades 1-3. The role offers an opportunity to build system capacity, improve the mechanics of education delivery, and ensure effective implementation of foundational learning through strategic, system-level engagement.

Key Responsibilities include, but are not limited to

• District Strategy & Governance

- Liaison with district leadership for NIPUN Odisha Mission, and maintain their in salience with key district stakeholders

- Ensure governance structures are in place for effective implementation of the project and institutionalise review mechanisms for FLN

• Data Systems & Decision-Making

- Operationalise the data flow system and facilitate the use of the data for planning and decision-making.

- Ensure periodic reports are available to stakeholders, and identified gaps are addressed.

- Deploy systems to drive improvement in data quality and reliability.

• Capacity Building Systems

- Oversee monthly agendas for teachers' meetings with contextual inputs

- Ensure quality teacher mentor training cycles as per planned frequency

- Design quarterly training modules aligned to data insights

• Instructional Improvement

- Drive the recurring use of observation tools by mentors and adherence to observation protocols

- Align mentoring to priority learning outcomes (embed core agenda into mentoring plans, meeting agendas, reviews, etc)

• Student Learning Outcomes

- Work with district leadership to drive annual improvement in learning levels at the district level

- Oversee learning improvement strategy design and implementation across all schools

• Project Quality & Team Leadership

- Lead and mentor a team of project associates

- Ensure adherence to intervention timelines and high own responsibility for outcomes

Required Qualifications, Skills and Abilities

• A Master's in Public Policy, Education, MBA, or related fields

  preferred, and a Bachelor's degree in a relevant field is

  required.
• 4 to 8 years of relevant work experience, especially in education, development, the public sector, or field program implementation
• Prior experience working with government stakeholders at state or district levels and familiarity with social development reform program are preferred.
• Strong project management and organisational skills, and an analytical mindset with the ability to derive insights from data.
• Entrepreneurial mindset, resourcefulness, and a can-do attitude.
• Optimistic and enthusiastic, believing in achieving transformational change, and proactive in driving results in complex environments.
• Excellent communication skills and spoken and written proficiency in Odia are required.

Location:

• Based in either of the following districts:

  Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Nabrangpur, and Sambalpur

• Requires significant travel to the field (~2 weeks/month).

• There may be some travel to the state office in Bhubneshwar and the central office in Delhi.

Compensation: Remuneration will be competitive and will depend on the candidate's experience levels.

How to Apply:

Fill out the application form and upload your resume (File Name: Firstname_Lastname_Resume).

Central Square Foundation is an Equal Opportunity employer and encourages applications from qualified individuals regardless of race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or disability.