Established in 2012, Central Square Foundation (CSF) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to enhancing the learning outcomes of all school-going children across India through system-led reforms. Our initiatives span innovation and policy to practice and focus on learning impact at scale. At the heart of CSF's mission is our strategic focus on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN), which drives our collaborative efforts with 11 state governments to design and execute statewide FLN Missions.
Additionally, we prioritise EdTech integration, aiming to deploy digital solutions for in-class and at-home learning and establish evidence-based practices while harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to augment learning outcomes. CSF is deeply committed to Early Childhood Education (ECE) reforms, recognising the critical role it plays in laying a strong groundwork for children's learning journey, thereby augmenting FLN outcomes. CSF also works in the area of School Governance, extending its system-level approach to children in both private and government schools, to strengthen the country's education landscape.
To learn more about us and our work, please visit our website at www.central square foundation.org
"FLN State Reform" in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh:
Central Square Foundation has developed a comprehensive playbook to support state governments in undertaking large-scale reform initiatives. This playbook involves close collaboration with the State Project Directors' offices and the development of a 5 to 7-year roadmap to fundamentally transform critical workstreams. You can find more information on this initiative by following the link provided here - Critical Workstreams for FLN.
We have been working closely with the education departments of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana since 2019. A version of our initial playbook in these states has also been adopted by the Ministry of Education when they launched the NIPUN Bharat mission.
We strongly believe that significant progress has been made in all three states, as all major inputs have been implemented with strong reforms known to work for our typical multigraded classrooms where teachers are often burdened with administrative tasks. We also have tremendous support from political and state education leadership to genuinely improve FLN delivery capacity in a more permanent manner.
For the next three years, Central Square Foundation is committed to raising resources and operating in these states with a focus on stabilizing the aforementioned inputs and then guiding all districts towards a situation where the majority of students achieve FLN competence by the time they cross grade 3. This would involve the following initiatives:
- Strengthening the project management units in each state and adopting districts to drive implementations through district project management units established by the government.
- Working closely with the Mission Director to continuously iterate the design of all academic inputs based on insights from the field. Additionally, influencing the state leadership to prevent any rollback of design changes already achieved.
- Collaborating with the Mission Director to improve the quality of data collected by mentors and other stakeholders regarding classroom observations and student assessments from all districts.
- Supporting all districts in understanding their progress with respect to the mission implementation and helping them develop action plans to achieve the mission's goals.
- Working closely with the Stakte Mission Director to strengthen the district PMU by running FLN fellowships or placing CSF teams in select districts.
Consultant-Graphic Designer role, SRT Haryana
The FLN reforms in Uttar Pradesh (UP), Madhya Pradesh (MP), and Haryana are managed by a "State Reform Team" within the Central Square Foundation. This team operates from Delhi, Lucknow, Bhopal, and Panchkula. As we progress further into the NIPUN Bharat mission in these states, we will also undertake assignments and projects based in districts.
Objectives of this role:
- Work on a wide range of projects and media, using various software programs to visualize and develop innovative graphic designs that meet business goals
- Obtain input from project leads, project managers, and state stakeholders to ensure that designs meet organisational/ mission standards and brand expectations, express ideas accurately, and represent the state initiatives appropriately.
- Work independently as well as cooperatively with project teams to meet deadlines, stay within budget, and schedule project implementation based on workload, which may include many simultaneous projects
- Examine existing processes, identify flaws, and create solutions that improve design capabilities
- Update and maintain internal databases for designs, photography, and video
Responsibilities
- Collaborate, brainstorm, and strategise with multiple teams or state stakeholders on a wide range of materials that may include web pages, presentations, programming collateral, signage, internal communications, newsletters, and magazines
- Translate strategic direction into high-quality design within established guidelines.
- Develop concepts by hand or with software, and execute original content by determining the ideal usage of color, text, font style, imagery, and layout
- Manage the design and uploading process for all project materials, based on best practices for using a content management system
Required skills and qualifications
- Exceptional creativity and innovative design skills
- Two or more years of experience (academic and professional) with design software, including Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Dreamweaver
- Excellent communication and presentation skills
- Organisational and time-management skills for meeting deadlines in a fast-paced environment
- Desire to continue building skill set with education and training
What would make you a good fit for the role:
- At least 3 years of experience in professional graphic design, preferably with a creative or marketing agency
- Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in graphic design, art, or related discipline
- Working knowledge of CSS3, HTML5, and JavaScript
- Knowledge of WordPress and content management systems
- Photography experience and proficiency with photo-editing software
- Experience working with government agencies, educational institutions, or non-profit organizations is preferred
- Mission-driven, optimistic, and enthusiastic, with a belief in achieving transformational change
- Ability to identify and address execution gaps in a timely manner, working closely with project leads to generate viable solutions
- Ability to build and maintain positive and collaborative relationships with government stakeholders
- Willingness to be based at the state site (Panchkula, Haryana) close to stakeholders and the team, with openness to regular travel to Delhi
Duration of the position: Full Time
Time Period: 6 Months (Can be extended based on performance)
Compensation: Remuneration will be competitive with Indian philanthropy pay scales and will depend on the candidate's experience levels.