About Gray Matters Capital Foundation:
Gray Matters Capital Foundation (GMC), the charitable arm of Gray Ghost Ventures1, uses philanthropic capital to research and co-create initiatives with partners in developing countries to build sustainable, replicable business models for the benefit of underserved populations. One of GMC’s focus areas is to increase the access to and quality of primary and secondary education for the poor in India. To maximize the impact of our activities, in 2010 GMC plans to launch an independent US public charity. The public charity will continue to focus on affordable private schools, as well as take over other activities in which GMC has engaged. The aim is to build upon our expertise and create a robust and global social enterprise program. GMC is headquartered in Atlanta, GA, USA
Focus: Affordable Private Schools (APSs) in Hyderabad, India
GMC believes that access to quality education can provide new opportunities and significantly improve lives. Many countries are facing severe problems with their government-run education system due to limited resources and multiple layers of bureaucracy resulting in ineffective learning environments. As a result, privately owned schools for low-income families have been started by educational entrepreneurs. Families become paying clients with rights to insist on quality. They generate market demand and drive intense competition through school selection. Because these schools are social enterprises, they put an emphasis on quality, efficiency and performance, justifying the modest tuition charged that allow them to become sustainable enterprises. The combined business and academic model makes these schools a market-based solution to increase access and quality of education and provides parents with a viable alternative to ineffective government schools.
Approach: APS Ecosystem Development
GMC’s goal is to strengthen the ecosystem around the emerging affordable private school sector to ensure that schools have access to affordable tools and resources that allow them to offer quality education in a sustainable manner. We want to support schools in their quest to keep learning at the forefront of the business model, believing that quality is a key driver of viability. The ecosystem consists of a network of stakeholders including school owners/principals, teachers, parents and students working with external partners such as education service providers, donors, investors, and regulators.
We will fortify the ecosystem by focusing on the following strategic objectives: (1) Quality Teaching and Learning, (2) Management Leadership, (3) Infrastructure Development, (4) Advancing Knowledge, and (5) Transparency.
Philosophy: Social Enterprise
Sustainability is the cornerstone of GMC interventions. Activities are prioritized according to market demand and will not undermine the market-based models. Over the long run, it is our vision that school owners will recognize the benefits and adopt these new methods as part of doing business well. Therefore, they will incorporate the costs of the tools into their expenses without compromising financial viability.
Impact
By incorporating social enterprise philosophy into its ecosystem building initiatives, GMC aims to increase learning outcomes in 1,000 affordable private schools in Hyderabad, AP by 2011. Once a scalable and impactful model is developed and tested successfully, GMC will expand its activities to benefit India’s low-income children at the national level.
Job Summary:
GMC is seeking an experienced and energetic entrepreneur to carry out its mission in India. The Country Director is India’s senior representative and is responsible for providing strategic direction that strengthens the infrastructure and innovates market based solutions for an emerging low-income education market. She/he will cultivate ecosystem partnerships, position GMC as an industry leader for establishing practice and standards, and lead a growing dynamic team. She/he will ensure that GMC's role and mandate in the country are appropriate to the operating context, particularly when GMC launches its independent public charity in India. The ideal candidate will thrive in a start-up environment, and be exceptional in aligning time, talent, and funding to maximize impact.
Responsibilities and Tasks:
Build GMC India Presence:
- Transform a start up to a market leader by nurturing trust-based partnerships through a track record of successful programming that delivers results
- Build a compelling and authentic brand that transcends the APS ecosystem by demonstrating catalytic change through innovation, social enterprise, and collaboration
- Develop annual plans and long-term strategic agendas for India that complement GMC’s global initiatives
- Create a dynamic organization by cultivating a team-oriented work environment that inspires employees to develop and utilize their full range of professional talents
- Serve as the spokesperson for India, representing GMC in a variety of venues to diverse audiences from high level to the general public
- Maintain a thorough understanding of the APS landscape in the country and the key priorities, opportunities, and gaps
- Participate fully in GMC senior management by recommending, challenging, and debating ideas and opportunities openly and honestly, and then clearly communicating decisions and their reasoning to the team
- Establish the GMC – India office; including setting up operations and managing processes and tools for planning, budgeting and financial reporting
Direct Program Management Team:
- Oversee program management team; align ecosystem building initiatives and identify models that scale and replicate the school rating, program portfolio, industry association, and awareness interventions
- Establish processes and tools that assess impact of grants and programs, and provide evidence to inform decision making and maximize outcomes
- Evaluate and evolve team’s individual and collective talents to ensure sourcing, due diligence, monitoring, analysis, and planning are effectively and efficiently deployed
Lead Public Charity Development and Fundraising Strategy:
- Collaborate with senior management on the development of GMC’s public charity
- Leverage in-country networks to educate about venture philanthropy in India and identify advocates to serve as advisors
- Contribute to a fundraising strategy that will attract a portfolio of social investors and donors committed to social enterprise, emerging markets, and demand-driven solutions
Skills:
- A strong networker with an intuitive ability to understand stakeholders and build collaborative relationships
- Comfortable working in both low income communities and corporate environments
- Strong self-motivation, enthusiasm, the ability to work cross-culturally
- Superior organizational skills and ability to manage multiple tasks
- Excellent listening skills, and strong written and communication skills
Qualifications:
- Master’s Degree in relevant field
- Minimum 8 years work experience in both private and public sector enterprise with increasing levels of responsibility and leadership
- Proven track record to innovate and achieve outcomes in environments that are less structured
- Proficient at working on highly complex problems, with multiple stakeholders, and achieving consensus
- Experience in leading and mentoring teams and assessing performance
- Professional, social, and cultural experience in India
- Project management experience, particularly in project design and strategic/operational planning and establishing systems
- Financial management experience with the ability to manage a complex budget, donor compliance and reporting
- Fundraising experience
Working Conditions:
Position will be based in Hyderabad, AP and will require frequent visits to low income communities as well as travel across India and to the US. The GMC culture is results-oriented and similar to a start¬up. A competitive Indian salary will be commensurate with experience.
Application Instructions:
To apply, send the following items to Molly McMahon at mmcmahon@graymatterscap.com. Please state the position in the email subject heading. Applications must be received by August 17th.
1) Cover letter with responses (max 2 pages) to the following questions:
- What do you believe is the role of private schools for the poor in India?
- Please describe how you would lead the organizational development of GMC in India 2) CV (max 2 pages)
Please tailor CV to this specific position and include contact information for two references
