Project Coordinator

Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) is a movement to empower women working in the informal economy. SEWA Bharat is part of the national SEWA movement. Established in 1984, it is a national federation of SEWA organizations of women working in the informal economy. SEWA Bharat emerged out of the need to address the SEWA movement’s challenges with geographical expansion and coordination. SEWA Bharat comprises a family of SEWA organizations to further informal women workers’ rights, livelihoods, financial independence, education, health and social security.

SEWA Bharat is hiring a Project Coordinator for a project titled ‘Building Climate Resilience of Small Cities in Bihar’, funded by TATA Trusts. The project is nested under the larger movement in SEWA Bharat on securing women’s access to infrastructure services and land tenure. Tier 2 and 3 cities in India are experiencing an increase in private investments and manufacturing hubs, and along with the government’s push towards developing aspirational districts, the housing demand in these cities is rising steeply.

Livelihood opportunities are bringing in a flux of migrants to these towns and smaller cities. With the increasing trend of climate disasters and exposure to climate risk, there is an urgent need to direct the attention and support from system-level actors to increase the climate resilience of vulnerable urban and peri-urban communities. In SEWA’s recent work in multiple districts of Bihar, one of the most impacted
states due to climate change, we have learned that there is an uneven exposure to climate hazards resulting in a disproportionate level of climate vulnerability for women.

Informal women workers are specifically vulnerable and they face significant losses in productivity, work hours and livelihoods during climate shocks. SEWA Bharat finds that mitigation strategies are only as effective as their ability to promote active participation by communities, local government and authorities. With a focus on small cities and towns, a possible solution is adopting sustainable, community-based strategies, in conjunction with local authorities. For the 4-year project, SEWA Bharat plans to work on themes
of climate risk and resilience, urban participatory planning, capacity-building of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), and facilitating access to basic infrastructure in informal settlements.

The project will engage with all actors in this ecosystem for sustained impact, through a host of strategies including participatory processes, understanding and strengthening municipal finance and advocating for gender budgeting. The project coordinators will work on themes of climate vulnerability, urban planning and infrastructure provisioning, capacity building of ULBs and building climate resilience.

The project coordinator will be responsible for the overall accountability and the implementation
of the project as detailed below. Specific activities include the following:

Programme Design:

● Design work plans, implementation strategies, training and capacity-building plans for the programme duration;
● Ensure timely preparation, update and implementation of the programme’s annual work plan, and other related documents for timely commencement and implementation of the programme activities;
● Ensure timely preparation and formulation of a theory of change describing project pathways to achieve climate-resilient planning along with a set of defined activity, output and outcome indicators set as per project objectives

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning:

● Formulate a detailed MEL plan in collaboration with the MEL team and a project work plan including timelines for the completion of various interventions and associated budgets;
● Ensure timely implementation and reporting of the monitoring and evaluation plan, and coordinate with all SEWA teams to ensure timely collection and reporting of data
Coordinate with the MEL team member to ensure timely analysis, reporting and re-strategizing, if needed;
● Ensure the availability of up-to-date information on all critical issues of the project

Programme Implementation:

● Coordinate and work with project experts, consultants and subcontractors, including the preparation of the terms of reference for consultants, experts and subcontractors recruited under the project, planning of project activities and budget expenditures, activity scheduling, and reporting to funders;
● Ensure overall operational management of the programme, in accordance with the programme documents such as work plans, budgets, MoU, and grants;
● Collaborate and work closely with external partners to conduct a SWOT analysis of selected ULBs, design capacity-building modules and organize capacity-building workshops for ULBs;
● Work closely and support the SEWA Bihar team to support the implementation of project activities and their optimum participation in project design;
● Identify and report any implementation challenges of the programme and design strategies to mitigate the same

Team Management:

● Motivate and supervise the team members and experts/consultants working on the project;
● Support knowledge building and knowledge sharing of the programme at relevant forums, and with relevant stakeholders;
● Support and manage implementation teams involved in the study

Strong understanding of and commitment to women’s economic empowerment and a passion for bringing about real, sustainable, large-scale change for women in India’s most marginalized communities;

● 4 – 5 years of experience working closely with women in low-income urban communities, thus having a
deep familiarity with their requirements and adequate experience in project implementation in this context;
● Minimum 2 years experience in understanding infrastructure provisioning in urban informal settlements
or building climate resilience for vulnerable urban communities;
● Required understanding of governance structures and collaboration/negotiation strategies with municipal
/state government representatives;
● Ability to work in an organized and efficient manner within a relatively unstructured work environment;
● Previous experience in conducting research and analysing qualitative and quantitative datasets;
● Ability to take initiative and leadership and be accountable for the project’s progress;
● Strong oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills in both English and Hindi;
● Willingness to travel and spend extensive time in the field in Bihar

Desirable:
– Direct experience in designing and /or implementing initiatives promoting climate resilience in informal worker communities;
– In-depth understanding of climate risk and vulnerability, and engagement with policy on land, housing and access to infrastructure in urban areas;
– Female candidates will be given preference.

The Project Coordinator will be guided by and work under the supervision of the Programme Coordinator and the organization’s leaders.

Salary will be commensurate with the candidate’s prior experience.

Equal Opportunities:

Women of all ages, caste groups, religious backgrounds and ethnic affiliations are central to the
work we do. We strongly encourage applications from marginalized communities and identities
to apply for the position.

Delhi (with frequent travel and stay in Bihar as per Project requirement)

1 year, with the possibility of an extension

To apply please email your resume and a cover letter expressing your interest in the position to
[email protected] and [email protected].