Programme Coordinator - Maharashtra

Based in Maharashtra (preferably Pune)

Application deadline: 26 July 2023​

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About Suvita

Suvita is a startup nonprofit working to increase the uptake of routine childhood immunisations in India. We are impact-focused and currently deliver two evidence-based programmes to boost attendance at vaccination appointments:

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1. Identifying natural community influencers and supporting them to act as immunisation ambassadors. 

2. Sending SMS reminders directly to new parents and caregivers, to help them remember when their child is due for a vaccination. 

 

As Suvita’s programs are scaling up significantly in Maharashtra, we need a dedicated team leader who effectively manages the surveys conducted particularly for Ambassadors Program and will continuously engage with the field team to improve the delivery of the programs.

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About the role

You will support the Program Manager on the constant improvement on delivery of our programmes across Maharashtra, in line with Suvita’s organisational strategy. You will report to the Program Manager in Maharashtra and you'll manage our Sr. Field Officers (and, indirectly, our team of Field Officers in Maharashtra) and contribute to shaping our plans and putting them into action at the state level. You will also work closely with our Bihar Programme Co-ordinator, Head of Tech, and Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Specialist to deliver programme improvements across multiple dimensions. You will also help in holding and strengthening our relationship with the State Family Welfare Bureau, Maharashtra.

 

This role will involve a range of focus areas including: providing continuous support to the field team to improve the delivery of the surveys; effectively cleaning and managing large datasets; process improvements for different aspects of the Ambassador Program. 

 

We, therefore, require someone strong at detail-oriented planning, who is highly organised and proactive, has excellent communication skills in Marathi and English and has a good understanding of program and team management.

Your responsibilities will include:

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1. Managing Surveys for Suvita’s Programs (35%)

• Support the Program Manager (PM) for the development of survey instruments and primary testing of content. 

  • Contribute with ideas for improvement in the survey instrument from previous experiences

  • Get Field Officers’ feedback during the development of the survey instrument

  • Track version updates on the survey instruments.

• Translate the survey instruments into Hindi and Marathi. Check translations more than once using Google Translation and other apps. 

• Ensure that the data generated through different surveys on the Survey CTO platform meets the desired quality standards.

• Work with the PM to identify opportunities to optimise survey quality and efficiency. Coordinate with and give inputs to Senior Field Officers (SFOs) to ensure that surveys are being conducted efficiently and Field Officers (FOs) are working optimally.

• Keeping track of all the changes made to the survey instruments, codebooks, survey processes and the outcomes those changes have generated (e.g. We changed the script in the survey where we introduce ourselves and in the next survey round, xx% more/less respondents completed the survey)

• Make sure that mobile phone applications used for conducting surveys are functioning smoothly 

 

2. Management and staff support (25%)

• Task assignment to team members so that everyone is working optimally 

• Support PM and Head of Operations in field team recruitment according to the processes developed by them. 

  • Spreading the word by sharing openings with partner organisations and local network

  • Running interviews and tests designed by Head of Operations and PM

  • Grading interviews based on answer keys, and sharing feedback and opinion on the participants.

• Provide administrative support for conducting in-person surveys, and managing office logistics as and when necessary 

• Train new recruits [Associate Field Officers (AFOs) and (FOs)] according to their role and organisational protocol 

  • Contribute to the development of training material for AFOs and FOs

• Run training and feedback sessions designed together with the PM.

• Note progress to contribute to the “being better meeting” and ending the probation period 

• Support Sr.FOs and FOs in their daily tasks including but not limited to monitoring of data quality and implementation plans 

• Provide support to Head of Monitoring and Evaluation and Head of Tech with program related inputs whenever needed 

 

3. Stakeholder Management (20%)

• Maintain relationships with state and district governments and other immunisation partners through phone calls and regular office visits under the guidance of the Program Manager (PM)

• Plan and manage field visits for other staff members at hospitals, attending RI sessions etc. as necessary and required by the organisation to improve stakeholder engagement 

• Engage and coordinate with district, block and village level authorities for permissions for different surveys, informing them about various developments in program implementation

 

4. Data Management for SMS Reminders Program (15%)

• Coordinate with the Program Manager and Head of Tech for effective management of data provided by the government partners for SMS Reminders program

• Every month, maintain logs on validity of phone numbers, and issues regarding data quality, and share with respective government partners to improve data quality.

 

What would your day look like?

In the morning, you brief the field team for a couple of hours about the new survey that we are starting. Afternoon, you clean up the Reproductive and Child Health data and make it ready to be uploaded to software used to send out SMS reminders. Later in the day, you jump on a call with the Programme Manager to give updates and plan for the next activities. 

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Who should apply?

If you consider yourself a self-motivated thinker who wants to work in an impact driven development sector organisation, enjoys working across a wide range of focus areas, who is a good communicator and a team player, please consider applying.

 

Essential requirements:

• You have a bachelor’s degree in public policy, economics, statistics, engineering, social sciences or other relevant fields 

• You are excellent at leading the work of a team. You are personable and a team player.

• You are a conscientious self-starter who is highly organised and able to set up your own routine, without requiring lots of supervision and oversight

• You are proficient in MS-Excel and have a working knowledge of STATA / R / Python. 

• You have excellent oral and written Marathi and English skills, and are adept at getting information across in simple language to different stakeholders

 

What we are looking for:

• You are excellent at planning, with a natural ability to breakdown a large project into manageable tasks, and a tendency to identify critical tasks before they become a bottleneck

• You communicate clear context and purpose which connects individuals’ work to the organisational strategy. You ensure that colleagues have the right combination of autonomy and freedom alongside support and guidance. You help colleagues solve tricky problems whilst also nurturing their problem-solving skills.

• You are easygoing and resilient which is needed sometimes to communicate with diverse authority figures amongst external stakeholders

• You are agile, able to work flexibly and enjoy working in a startup environment where the needs are likely to change week to week

• You are passionate about contributing to Suvita’s mission and impact, and driven to support our users to improve their families’ health and wellbeing

 

Nice to have:

These qualities are not a requirement for the role and the best candidate may have none of them, but they are nice to have:

• Experience with running programs in a social sector/research organisation 

• Experience in leading teams and conducting training 

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Benefits

• Suvita’s work saves lives. You get the opportunity to work in a mission-driven, impact-focused organisation with strong values, delivering programmes grounded in a solid evidence base. 

• A friendly, passionate, curious team. 

• 30 days’ paid holiday leave per year plus 12 days’ sick leave at full pay.

• Reimbursement towards an annual health insurance policy for all India-based team members.

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Details

• Hours: Full-time

• Duration: Fixed one-year contract (with the possibility of extension subject to performance and organisation’s needs)

• Location:  Pune, Maharashtra (Preferred but not a strict requirement)

• Pay: Gross monthly salary in the range of ₹35,000 - ₹42,000 

• Reports to: Sumit Swami, Programme Manager (Pune)

• Deadline: 11:59 pm, July 26th, 2023.

• Application process: 

  • Application form deadline (round 1): July 26th, 2023

  • Test task (round 2): 1 week to complete, immediately following the application deadline.

  • Interview (round 3): during the week after the test task. We aim to make an offer shortly after the interviews are complete.

  • Start date: as soon as possible - we are aiming for the mid to end of August but can discuss any specific timeline needs with shortlisted candidates.

• To Apply,  please fill out the form using the button below: