the challenge:
India has become the 5th largest economy in the world, but ~360 million are “poor” (using Government metrics) and 145 million live below the poverty line. This inequity is unacceptable. About 3.4% of our annual budget or 0.28% of the income of the top 1% of our population would lift and could bring everybody above the poverty line, however this is complex and we need the best of human intellects to be focussed on solving it.
about us:
The/Nudge Foundation exists to alleviate poverty. We are a collective of some of India’s best leaders and entrepreneurs from across industry, academia, government, and the development sector, passionately working on ways to address poverty sustainably and at scale.
In the five years since our inception, we have worked on a range of initiatives including developing innovative programs that enable underprivileged youth to lead flourishing lives, adapting evidence-based approaches to enable rural families to come out of extreme poverty, and incubating 80+ nonprofits focused on solving India’s biggest challenges. We have also used the knowledge and networks developed through our work to impact policy, address ecosystem barriers and launch scale programs.
We are now building on our capabilities and work to embark on an ambitious effort to nurture select “social transformations” (i.e., using effective solutions to create pathways to scale that address the underlying problem; examples of such transformations include microfinance and the white revolution). These transformations (or “programs” as we call them) will be anchored in “centers” which will provide domain expertise, connection to the broader ecosystem and thought partnership. The centers will also be thought leaders in their space and influence the broader ecosystem (including policy and practice). There will also be horizontal teams, e.g., Impact & Evaluation, Technology, and Data & Insights, that all the programs and centers will use. These teams will also be seen as exemplars in their space and will influence the broader ecosystem.
Specific to CSDE, over the last 5 years,
grown Future Perfect program - that skills youth for service sector employability through English+21st century skills - to over 25000-student annual run rate, with 100% placements and average starting salary of over Rs. 15000.
graduated over 10000 youth from Gurukuls in Bangalore and Delhi, serving youth from across 9+ states, with a 100% placement record, and average starting salary of Rs. 13500.
partnered with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to conduct research, create knowledge, do experiments and co-create solutions to challenges in our skilling ecosystem
consulted Delhi government for the entire concept, plan and model of their Skilling University
partnered with organisations like ADB, HSBC to create knowledge and thought leadership through research
implemented pilot in collaboration with UNDP on “Improving Industry Participation through Apprenticeship”
Spirit of The/Nudge
Honesty towards our purpose | Empathy towards others | Continuous innovation | Focused on scale | Impatience towards our goals
Role & Responsibilities
CSDE capabilities are structured across six areas - knowledge & research, strategy & consulting, innovation & action, programs & initiatives, technology & platforms, and convening & collaboration.
As the CEO, you will
set the vision for CSDE along with our founder, define its overall strategy and build CSDE into one of the world’s leading institutions in skill development and entrepreneurship
provide direction and guidance to all functional areas, including innovation, operations, consulting, technology, convening and so on.
serve as a public champion for the cause of CSDE and establish its credibility in the ecosystem
build a high-performance team aligned with the larger purpose of The/Nudge and committed to the goals of CSDE
execute effectively and efficiently, with natural comfort to roll-up your sleeves and work with the team whenever needed
proactively manage and mitigate risk, whether legal, financial or operations.
have a strong passion for social impact
have a target-driven, ambitious, high-performer background, with a history of consistently exceeding expectations and steep career growth curve
take complete ownership of your work, and take responsibility for outcomes
have overall experience of 20+yrs and leadership experience of at least 5+yrs (eg: CEO/VP/MD)
have a proven track record of building successful businesses/institutions from the ground up, ideally in recent roles
have demonstrated experience in managing large and diverse teams across geos