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Urban Poverty Alleviation Expert – Bihar Urban Poor Graduation Program

Position:  Urban Poverty Alleviation Expert – Bihar Urban Poor Graduation Program (BUPGP)

Reporting Line: Program Management Unit-Lead(BUPGP)

Location: Patna

Number of Positions: 1

Duration – One Year

About the Project:

Similar to the Satat Jeevikoparjan Yojana (SJY) program in rural Bihar, there is a felt need for a graduation focused program in urban areas of Bihar for the urban ultra poor. Project Concern International, under the aegis of BRAC India, would therefore, work towards poverty alleviation of urban ultra poor, in two urban wards of the two districts Gaya & Patna. The Bihar Urban Poor Graduation Program (BUPGP) is envisaged to build on the knowledge of SJY program and partner with key stakeholders in urban Bihar to pilot this Graduation program in an urban context. The BUPGP would be piloted from July 2023 to March 2024 in the aforementioned geographies. The BUPGP is envisaged to have four pillars ; (1) facilitating social protection to support basic income security and immediate needs, such as food consumption support, crisis relief, and access to health, and education; (2) livelihoods promotion consisting of an asset transfer and/or skills training, or cash transfer, to manage the asset or access (self)employment opportunities; (3) financial inclusion to ensure direct access to convenient, formal or informal financial services, accompanied with financial literacy training; and (4) social empowerment through regular check-ins with Graduation coaches and life- skills support that build confidence and resilience. To successfully execute, the above-mentioned program, PCI would embed a team of 5 officials under Bihar Skill Development Mission (BSDM) to set up a program management unit (PMU). The farsighted approach of the program is to enable co-designing and implementing of program in close coordination with government department for attaining programs sustainability. For this the PMU, shall closely work with the following government departments; BSDM, the State Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM), the Urban Development and Housing Department (UDHD), and JEEViKA for converging efforts of multiple departments towards the program. Over the period, the program is expected to develop urban graduation coaches, enable access to government entitlements for the program participants, build an urban graduation ecosystem, establish linkages for financial inclusion through leveraging government programs, develop IEC & capacity building products along with robust MIS, for systemic program adoption and upscaling.

Position Brief:

The Urban Poverty Alleviation Expert would be responsible for developing and implementing strategies, programs, and interventions aimed at reducing poverty and improving the living conditions of urban populations living in poverty under the guidance of PMU-lead. S/he will play a crucial role in understanding the complex dynamics of urban poverty, identifying root causes, and designing holistic approaches to address the multifaceted challenges faced by urban communities. The Urban Poverty Alleviation Expert will conduct research, support development of policies, implement projects, and support systems strengthening of government partners for sustainable urban development. The professional is expected to work under the supervision of PMU-lead and BSDM leadership and take up any responsibility as assigned by them.

Key Roles and Responsibilities:

A. Urban Poverty Alleviation (60%)
• Conduct comprehensive assessments to identify the specific needs, vulnerabilities, and dynamics of urban poverty within target communities.
• Identify and map the root causes and dimensions of urban poverty, by analyzing socio-economic factors and urbanization trends with a special focus on marginalized groups.
• Identify government programs and gaps related to urban poverty, especially programs from BSDM, NULM, and UDHD.
• Analyze socio-economic factors, urbanization trends, and the impact of urban poverty on marginalized groups.
• Integrate cross-cutting themes such as gender equality, environmental sustainability, and resilience into program strategies.
• Facilitate participatory approaches and community engagement to ensure the active involvement of program participants in decision-making processes and program implementation.
• Facilitate knowledge sharing and learning exchanges among practitioners, policymakers, and researchers in the field of urban poverty alleviation.
• Jointly develop with governments departments social protection and health and nutrition programs that address the specific needs and vulnerabilities of target populations.
• Design and manage social protection components, including cash transfer schemes, social pensions, conditional asset transfers, and social insurance schemes by matching the targeting of program participant’s eligibility criteria, and receiving mechanisms.
• Regularly undertake field visits and handhold program beneficiaries for guiding them throughout the pilot.

B. Support Program Planning & Management (25%)

• Support in development and refinement of program strategies, goals, and objectives to address the needs of the urban ultra poor population.
• Support collaboration with key stakeholders to identify program priorities and ensure alignment with organizational objectives.
• Support in designing and implementation of a comprehensive program management framework to track progress and achieve program targets.
• Support the design and structuring of all major knowledge products (including reports, Lessons Learnt Documents, workshop reports, etc.)
• Identify best practices and lessons learned to guide programme improvement and strategy planning for scale up.
• Support in developing the MIS dashboard in consultation with the government partners.
• Support PMU lead in strategic interface with the key government stakeholders & personnel of the project on day-to-day basis.

C. Reporting & Documentation (5%)
• Support PMU lead in preparing for meetings by provisioning all required field insights.

D. Other responsibilities (10%)
• To carry out any other relevant duties as required.

Qualifications and Competencies:

Qualifications:
Minimum post-graduate/master’s degree preferably in public health, social sciences, development studies from premier institutes.

Experience:
The ideal candidate should have minimum 5 years of experience in livelihoods promotion, social development, capacity building, project management, working with governments, and with significant experience of working on large scale development programs.

Skills and Attributes:
• Experience in designing, implementing, and managing social protection and/or health and nutrition programs in urban areas.
• Strong knowledge of social protection systems, safety nets, health promotion, and nutrition interventions.
• Experience working with governments and familiarity with relevant policies, guidelines, and best practices in social protection, health, and nutrition.
• Experience in program planning, budgeting, and management, including monitoring and evaluation.
• Knowledge of ultra poor projects.
• Knowledge of large-scale women empowerment programs an advantage.
• Excellent oral and written command in English & Hindi
• Sound knowledge of database systems, and PowerPoint.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Interested candidates can apply for the position of Urban Poverty Alleviation Expert- BUPGP by 16th July 2023.

PCI India is an equal opportunity provider and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, and/or marital status. Due to the heavy inflow of resumes, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Female candidates are encouraged to apply.

 

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