Project Overview

Project Sammaan is an urban sanitation initiative dedicated to redesigning and improving toilet
facilities in slum communities across India, beginning in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. The project
was borne out of the abysmal state of sanitation in India and the enormous public health hazard
the lack of a basic infrastructure like toilet poses for urban and rural populations in India.

Project Sammaan is a unique project that seeks to:
(1) design improved versions of shared community toilet blocks for formal and informal urban
settlements,
(2) institute financial and organizational management systems for sanitation facilities to ensure
proper maintenance over the long run, and
(3) build rigorous evidence on the optimal combinations of toilet infrastructure design,
management systems and service delivery models. The ultimate goal of the project is to identify
which solutions will produce the most attractive, sustainable and hygienic alternatives to open
defecation for slum residents and replicate that model in cities across India.

Project Sammaan is the first pilot project of its kind focusing on community toilets and will
design and build 119 operating toilet facilities in slums located in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar
and Cuttack, Odisha. These facilities are intended to directly impact more than 65,000
beneficiaries.

The initiative is partly funded by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and is being led by co-grantees
Quicksand Design Studio and the Institute for Financial Management and Research
(IFMR).


About Quicksand

Quicksand is a multi-disciplinary design and innovation firm with studios in Delhi and Bangalore
(www.quicksand.co.in). Established in 2005, Quicksand has steered several projects in the
development sector, in partnership with multi-lateral and international development
organizations such as The World Bank, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, GIZ, PATH etc.
Quicksand’s approach has been to bring together principles of design, business, technology and
research in order to conceptualize and implement innovative products, services and programs in
areas of water and sanitation, education and livelihoods, financial inclusion and others.
Our work in the area of sanitation started in 2010 with a year long research study on the
attitudes and perceptions of urban slum residents towards issues pertaining to sanitation
(www.pottyproject.in) - which eventually paved the way for Project Sammaan.


Job Purpose and Description

The Project Manager is responsible for the overall supervision of the facilities’ construction in
Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, Odisha. The underlying focus of the Project Manager should be
ensuring that the individual facilities are completed within the allocated period of time and
within the budget that has been assigned.

The Project Manager is expected to operate under a certain degree of autonomy using the staff
and resources allocated to them. The Project Manager is directly accountable to a Senior Project
Manager and ultimately accountable to the Project Sammaan’s lead grantees (Quicksand and
IFMR).


Responsibilities

The specific responsibilities of the Project Manager include, but are not limited to, the following:
Liaising and Relationship Management
• Represent Project Sammaan to the Government for all critical issues and approvals. Maintain
an open channel of communication with all the concerned government personnel in order to
diagnose where the project is stuck and liaise with them to ensure timely redressal and
resolution
• Coach, mentor, motivate and supervise project team members and contractors, and influence
them to take positive action and accountability for their assigned work.
• The Project Manager is expected to work closely with state and other municipal
authorities to ensure all appropriate approvals are granted prior to commencement of
construction.

Project Management
• A Project Management Consultancy (PMC) will be appointed to supervise the construction
sites, do quality audits, provide engineering and technical expertise for site specific issues,
prepare monitoring and completion reports and keep the construction schedule on track. The
Project Manager is Quicksand’s representative on the ground and will be expected to direct and
manage construction for the project through the appointed PMC.
• Determine and assess need for additional staff and/or consultants and make the appropriate
recruitments if necessary during project cycle.
• Set and continually manage project expectations with team members and other stakeholders.
• Delegate tasks and responsibilities to appropriate personnel.
• Identify and resolve issues and conflicts within the project team.
• Identify and manage project dependencies and critical path, including resources and
participants needed to achieve project goals.
• Plan and schedule project timelines and milestones using appropriate tools.
• Track project milestones and deliverables.
• Proactively manage changes in project scope, identify potential crises, and devise contingency
plans.
• Define project success criteria and disseminate them to involved parties throughout project life
cycle.


Technical Oversight

While it is not expected for the Project Manager to have in-depth technical knowledge (which
the PMC is suppose to provide), the PM should have no qualms about acquiring the necessary
knowledge about multiple key factors including:
○ Sound engineering practices
○ Municipal regulations and requirements
○ Client-dictated criteria
○ Sensitivity to costs
○ Construct-ability of the design

• The Project Manager will be expected to have a detailed understanding of the field conditions
and challenges faced by the Contractor(s). They must be able to convey specific elements of
the design and overall project to the Contractor(s) throughout the construction phase.

Communications and Documentation

• Develop full-scale project plans and associated communications documents, and effectively
communicate this to all team members and stakeholders .The important stakeholders during
the construction phase will be - Quicksand (Delhi/Bangalore), Architects (Delhi), Sewage
Technology Experts (Bangalore), Grassroot Community Engagement Firm (Bhubaneswar/
Cuttack), PMC (Bhubaneswar/Cuttack) and the Municipal Corporations (Bhubaneswar/
Cuttack)
• Develop and deliver progress reports, proposals, requirements documentation, and
presentations.
• Determine the frequency and content of status reports from the project team, analyze results,
and troubleshoot problem areas.
• Draft and submit budget proposals, and recommend subsequent budget changes where
necessary
• Oversee preparation and implementation of construction documents and to provide the client
with a set of documents which will allow the successful bidding contractors to construct the
project efficiently and with minimal changes.


Qualifications





This position requires a degree in engineering and management (ideally both but the lack of a
management degree can be made up through years of relevant managerial experience). The
ideal candidate will have approximately 15 years of practical experience. The applicant should
have exceptional communication skills, exhibit great attention to detail, and be capable of
managing multiple job sites and multiple team members simultaneously. !
Additional qualifications include, but not limited to:
● Construction project management experience, along with experience working on
government projects.
● Strong familiarity with technology tools for collaboration, analysis and reporting such as
project management software, word processing, spreadsheet analysis, emails, internet
tools etc.
● Demonstrated experience in personnel management.
● Experience at working both independently and in a team-oriented, collaborative
environment is essential.
● Can conform to shifting priorities, demands and timelines through analytical and
problem-solving capabilities.
● Reacts to project adjustments and alterations promptly and efficiently.
● Flexible during times of change.
● Ability to read communication styles of team members and contractors who come from a
broad spectrum of disciplines.
● Ability to elicit cooperation from a wide variety of sources, including upper management,
clients, and other departments.
● Persuasive, encouraging, and motivating.
● Ability to defuse tension among project team, should it arise.
● Ability to bring project to successful completion through political sensitivity.
● Strong written and oral communication skills.
● Strong interpersonal skills.
● Adept at conducting research into project-related issues and products.
● Ability to effectively prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment is crucial. !


Location

The Project Sammaan field office is in Bhubaneswar, where 60 Community Toilets and 27 Public
Toilets will be constructed; an additional 32 Community Toilets will be constructed in Cuttack
(~25kms from Bhubaneswar). The Project Manager will be located full time in Bhubaneswar with
occasional travel to Delhi as necessary. !
Compensation
Salary will be commensurate with experience and is negotiable.


Contact

In case this resonates with you, please get in touch with us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., with a
portfolio of selected work and/or links to relevant online work, along with a thoughtful cover
letter. Please mention “Project Manager - Project Sammaan” in the subject line of your
application email.

We look forward to hearing from you.