Teachers (Mumbai & Pune)

Akanksha works primarily in the field of education, addressing non-formal education through Akanksha centers focusing on English, Math and Values and also formal education by initiating school reform in Mumbai and Pune. Akanksha is looking for people to teach in these centers and schools. Part time and full time positions are available.

Responsibilities:

• Managing a class of 30 students
• Teaching Akanksha curriculum according to the level of the center/class
• Ensuring that the curriculum objectives are completed in time for the assessments
• Visiting the communities which the students of the center come from
• Attending all trainings and meetings as required
• Ensuring effective learning is taking place at the centers/class at all times
• Assuming total responsibility of the center/class
• Making sure the center/class plans are in place
• Conducting and documenting evaluations of the students

Qualifications required:

• Graduate in any discipline
• Fluent in English
• Strong communication skills
• Commitment to the cause
• Good planning and organizing skills
• Prior teaching experience/qualifications preferred but not necessary

Assistant Education Manager (Mumbai/Pune)

Responsibilities:

• Work with Education manager in planning and conducting induction and training for teachers
• Overall support to the teachers and volunteers
• Help teachers in centre management and Planning and providing resources to teachers
• Develop a plan for our struggling children
• Track trends in centers every month / every quarter
• Work closely with Social work and HR dept. w.r.t. teacher issues and retention
• Use data to analyze trends & strengths
• Conduct both formal & informal assessments
• Planning and conducting special events and projects for teachers and students
• Ensure that volunteers are being effectively used at centres.

Qualifications and attributes required:

• B.ed, D.Ed. with 2+ years exp. Or M.ed.
• Prior teaching/supervisory experience preferred
• Fluent in English
• Strong communication skills
• Good planning and organizing skills
• Ability and willingness to work in a team
• Willing to commit for 2 years

Training Coordinator (Mumbai/Pune)

Akanksha is looking for a Training Coordinator to span its Mumbai/Pune centers.

Responsibilities of the Training Coordinator

• Developing and implementing on-going monthly training sessions for all teachers across Mumbai-Pune centers (about 160 teachers)
• Developing and implementing on-going training for our new Vidya Niketan school in Pune (grades 3,4,5) which has been set up by Thermax Foundation in collaboration with the Pune government
• Developing and implementing on-going training for the teachers at our Supari Tank school in Mumbai which is an existing government school staffed largely by Akanksha teachers
• Training a team of Akanksha teachers/Assistant Education Managers on how to train
• Updating and enhancing a month-long new teachers training that all new Akanksha teachers go through before joining Akanksha
• Developing an abridged version of the month-long training for teachers who come in during the academic year
• Developing and implementing a week-long Education Convention for all teachers in Mumbai and Pune respectively at the start of the academic year
• Updating the Learning to Teach Manual
• Developing Level 5 and 6 Language and Math Curriculum

Suggested Qualifications
Required:

• B.A. or B.S.Ed
• minimum 3 years work experience in the field of education
• experience training primary level teachers (theory)
• experience training primary level teachers (classroom application and feedback)
• teaching & learning philosophies/methods that align with Akanksha’s
• fluency in English
• experience teaching English/ESL and math
• experience teaching and/or administrating in primary school
• experience developing and documenting curriculum
• excellent oral and written communication skills
• excellent organizational skills
• excellent time management
• willingness to travel between Mumbai and Pune (can be based in either)
• highly motivated, persevering, achievement-oriented attitude
• strong inter-personal skills
• flexibility in planning and working with a team

Preferred:

• M.A. or M.S.Ed.
• familiarity with Akanksha (specifically, its curriculum)
• familiarity with Indian languages and cultures
• familiarity with contemporary issues in Indian education
• ability to make a 2-year commitment (minimum)

School Leaders (Mumbai/Pune)

Responsibilities:

Lead
• Willingness to work relentlessly to achieve goals/achievement oriented
• Ability to mobilize resources
• Ability to build, manage and support teams
• Problem solving ability
• Ability to work under pressure and in unstructured environments/flexibility
• Positive attitude
• Organization and planning skills
• Desire to make a long-term commitment to a particular region/city
Educate
• Passion for education
• Love of teaching
• Belief in every child
• Commitment to development, education and low-income communities

Director, Education (Mumbai)

Akanksha seeks to expand from its current four schools to up a significant cluster in the city of Pune over the course of the next 3-5 years. In order to build model schools that are able to demonstrate results in terms of student achievement and that can be used as laboratories for sharing effective education practices with the government and other education providers, Akanksha seeks an experienced educator and leader who can work with the Akanksha team of school leader coaches, school leaders and teachers to build excellent educators along with strong systems and processes for the Akanksha school to support student learning. The Director of Education will work closely with the Director of Training and Support, both playing a critical role in helping realize the vision of these schools as a model that can be eventually replicated by cities around the country. This position offers an incredible opportunity to redefine the possibilities of what children from low-income communities can achieve and create a model for schools that can be scaled to cities across India, serving as a turnkey for education reform.

Responsibilities:
Major responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Instructional Leadership

• To design and oversee the effective implementation of the academic program for The Akanksha Schools, including:
• Ensuring rigorous standards are set for each grade level
• Oversee the development of an Akanksha school-wide curriculum that integrates Akanksha standards with the government requirements
• Developing an effective data-driven instruction system along with the school leaders and school leader coaches for each school
• Share effective practices with all other Akanksha Academies through the development of an effective knowledge management system

Training and Support

• Work with the Director of Training and Support to design and oversee the implementation of effective teacher professional development systems (training, support, performance management) to support student learning
• Work directly with the Director of Training and Support to ensure the effective training/support of school leaders and coaches

Networking

• To work with local and international organizations and schools to maximize existing expertise and resources to support/enhance the schools
• To build strong local partnerships that can support/enhance the schools

Akanksha School Team

• Use observations and progress in schools to feed into overall Akanksha Academy strategy and goals
• Participate in all Akanksha School department meetings and activities
• Provide necessary data and information to the team/organization in a timely manner

Qualities/Traits:

• Be positive and solution-oriented
• Have excellent communication skills
• Be able to give and receive effective feedback
• Be flexible and able to function in an unstructured environment
• Be entrepreneurial and innovative
• Believe in the Akanksha Academy vision
• Embody the organizational values and culture of rigor, relevance, relationships and reflection

Qualifications/Experience :

• Bachelor’s degree
• At least 5-7 years of relevant experience in a school or nonprofit

Operations Director (Mumbai)

The Akanksha Foundation is a non-profit organization with a mission to impact the lives of less privileged children, enabling them to maximize their potential and change their lives. Akanksha works primarily in the field of education, addressing non formal education through the Akanksha centre and also formal education by initiating school reform.

Currently, Akanksha reaches out to the 3500 children through two models: the after-school or centre model and the school model. Akanksha has 54 centers and 7 schools in Mumbai and Pune. Through the centers, a commitment is made to support each child by providing a strong educational foundation, good time, self esteem and values, and to help them plan how they can earn a steady livelihood as a step towards improving their standard of living. The School Project is a venture to open high-quality schools serving children from low-income communities in Mumbai and Pune. These schools are in partnership with local municipalities, with the vision of creating small clusters of model schools in these cities that can be used to impact the mainstream education system.

Akanksha is seeking a Director Operations. S/he will be responsible for the overall functioning of the Mumbai centers and schools and ensuring smooth operation of various departments.

Major responsibilities include:

Operations
Education
• Overseeing the functioning of all centers and schools and ensuring the quality of education is never compromised by appropriate allocation of resources and training/support programs that focus on student learning outcomes
• Monitoring learning targets to ensure that progress is being made through the school and center review systems

Community Engagement
• Work with the social work team to set goals and work effectively with the school or center teams
• Help develop key partnerships/relationships to expand the scope/impact of the department in the areas of health/hygience, social awareness, housing issues and beyond
• Develop measurable outcomes to ensure community engagement and parent relationships are positively linked to student outcomes

Programs
• Work with program managers to develop the strategy and operational plan for their programs
• Monitor the effectiveness of programs through the development of outcomes and ensuring operational efficiency
• Ensure reporting requirements are met

Human Resources
• Assist in bringing in the right people and building the existing team
• Building and communicating Akanksha culture to different stakeholders
• Mentoring and developing key managers and staff
• Implementing systems/processes across the team
• Overseeing the administrative activities
• Aligning individual actions to the mission and vision of the organisation
• Setting the right culture at all levels in the organisation

Fundraising/Finance
• Support finance and fundraising teams to ensure reporting requirements are met
• Meet with potential and existing donors to give an overview of the different programs and their impact
• Work with department managers to set department budgets and with the finance team to ensure they stay within the budgets

Strategy and Development
• Overseeing impact of the models and different programs and using data to drive strategic decision-making and changes
• Work directly with the CEO and Director of Operations- Pune to ensure organizational alignment at various levels and use operational data to help shape strategy

Systems and Processes
• Implementing key Akanksha processes and systems consistently
• Overseeing compensation process including salaries and increments for the teams

Qualities/Traits
At least 7-9 years of experience in a senior managerial role preferably in a leadership position and overseeing a large team
3-4 years experience in operations management
Experience in the education/social sector preferred
Sound strategic and analytic skills
Good communication skills
Strong interpersonal skills
Relationship management skills
Demonstrated ability to achieve ambitious results in prior positions
Thrives in achievement-oriented, results-oriented and fast-paced environment
Strong critical thinking, analytical skills, and operational instinct

Contact: avantika.sinha@akanksha.org

School Leader Coach (Mumbai)

Akanksha National is a venture to open high-quality schools serving children from low-income communities across the country.  These schools will be in partnership with local municipalities, with the vision of creating small clusters of model schools in key cities around the country that can be used to impact the mainstream education system.  In its initial phase, Akanksha will be focused on ensuring its first schools are set up to achieve the impact in terms of student learning that it envisions.

Role:
The role of the coach is an integral one to ensure the school leader is supported by the organization and is given the type of critical feedback s/he needs to set up and manage a school that supports high achievement and achieves the defined objectives for all Akanksha Academies.  In the first year, the coach will visit the school as many as 2-3 times a week to conduct observations on everything from teacher practices to school culture to systems and processes.  The coach will have weekly strategy meetings with the school leader to define action steps to achieve the yearlong goals for the school and each class.

Responsibilities:

School Leader Support

• Serve as a sounding board for the school leader through weekly brainstorming/strategy/feedback meetings
• Be the first point of contact between the organization and the school
• Assist in problem solving

School Leader Coaching

• Conduct observations in the school 1-3 times/week in classrooms and in the school
• Provide critical feedback in a positive, solution-oriented manner to enable the school leader to better achieve his/her goals
• Help the school leader develop the leadership/management skills needed to lead a team and build strong systems/processes/culture in the school
• Attend staff meetings and trainings on an as-needed basis (potentially weekly)

Documentation

• Ensure the school leader documents all curriculum, schedules, trainings, etc used in the school
• Share effective practices with all other Akanksha Academies through email, trainings, posting on collaborative websites
• Share progress, challenges and strategy plans with Akanksha National team

Akanksha National Team

• Use observations and progress in assigned schools to feed into overall Akanksha Academy systems and processes, helping to develop a strong infrastructure for future schools, including curriculum development, professional development, and other effective practices in all areas
• Ensure there is a timely reporting of any required data/impact from all assigned schools

Qualities/Traits:

To be a successful School Leader Coach, s/he must:

• Be positive and solution-oriented
• Have excellent communication skills
• Be able to give and receive effective feedback
• Believe in the Akanksha Academy vision
• Embody the organizational values and culture of rigor, relevance, relationships and reflection

Mentorship Program-Volunteering Opportunity

An Akanksha mentor is an individual working within one of Akanksha’s mentor companies who becomes a guide to an Akanksha child. In this mentor program we seek to pair Akanksha child (class 9 and above) with a corporate mentor. The mentor-mentee pair meets once a week for about 2 hrs at the mentor’s corporate office to work on matching a child's aspirations with his or her skills and family reality. Mentors open the world of careers to their mentees and guide them through the difficult adolescent phase. Mentees, in turn, offer mentors a meaningful insight into a different world, friendship and respect, and the ability to bring about positive change through service.

The mentees stay in this program for 2 years, so we try as far as possible to have consistent mentors for them. Therefore, to volunteer for this program we require a commitment of at least 1 year. Only then can the objectives set could be met with.

Individuals can also join this program as a part of the existing weekend groups. Or, an individual who is a part of a corporate can start a new corporate mentor group if they can gather around 8-10 volunteers from the organization willing to mentor for a year.

Interested volunteers can contact Connie Fernandes at connie.fernandes@akanksha.org