Resource Person - Chennai

Resource Person – Urban Initiatives (Chennai)

About the role

The Foundation works in Chennai with families living in the settlements of the city, through implementing partner organisations. The current interventions include welfare rights and entitlement facilitation, elderly care, running creches, community-based rehabilitation for persons with disability, work with specific communities, and addressing drinking water and sanitation needs. These are largely implemented in the settlements, with some needs addressed at the city level as well.

The Resource Person is responsible for seeing that the planned programme interventions are implemented well on the ground in the allotted geography. Working closely with the field staff and coordinators of the partner organisations, the Resource Person makes sure the interventions are carried out as per the programme design and that the intended objectives are met.

The nature of the work stays the same, but as the Foundation’s city-level programme grows, new components and different types of interventions will be added from time to time. The Resource Person is expected to understand these new interventions and put in the effort to get them implemented on the ground. The scope of work may also change in line with the Foundation’s evolving priorities.

Responsibilities

Programme implementation and ground engagement

1. Understand clearly how each planned intervention is to be carried out, and make sure it is implemented on the ground as designed.
2. Spend good quality time in the field with the partner field staff and coordinators across the allotted geography, staying close to the programme on the ground.
3. Understand the concepts behind each intervention and the vulnerabilities being addressed, and work out practical ways to achieve the intended objectives.

Supportive supervision

1. Provide supportive supervision to the partner coordinators in the allotted geography – welfare rights, children’s centre, youth centre and elderly centre coordinators.
2. Visit each centre regularly to support operations, provide feedback, address issues and interact with the community.

Capacity building and training

1. Act as an enabler for the partners to get the interventions implemented well on the ground.
2. Support the capacity building of coordinators on identified topics.
3. Help plan and develop training for the partner teams, based on the needs on the ground and the gaps in interventions and team capacities.
4. Identify gaps and build capacity-building plans for the allotted geography.

Review meetings

1. Facilitate coordination meetings of all coordinators in the allotted geography.
2. Attend the monthly review meetings of coordinators and programme coordinators at the city level.
3. Participate in the fortnightly, monthly and quarterly meetings organised by the implementing partners.

MIS and reporting

1. Support efficient usage of the MIS systems by all staff, and the rollout and stabilisation of the MIS in the field.
2. Prepare reports and documents as required by the programme.
3. Maintain a working familiarity with programme budgets and utilisation reports, without owning grant-management responsibilities.

What we are looking for

Candidates who have

1. 5–8 years of experience working in a civil society organisation in a programme role at the ward, zone or field level.
2. Prior experience in using MIS systems.
3. Familiarity with basic budgeting and reading of utilisation reports (this is not a grant-management or finance-expert role).
4. Fluency in Tamil and English (both mandatory).
5. A two-wheeler, and the willingness to travel extensively within the city every day.