Openings

We invite enthusiastic, determined lifelong learners with an interest in urban and community issues. Our programmes include Citizen Matters civic media platform, Open City urban data platform, and several civic engagement and capacity-building initiatives.

Open Positions

1. Community Coordinator

Location: Bengaluru/Chennai

Key Responsibilities
You will nurture and grow Oorvani’s community of citizens, changemakers, and volunteers and experts by creating meaningful opportunities for learning, collaboration, and civic participation. The role is responsible for strengthening both online and offline communities, facilitating knowledge exchange, designing engaging learning experiences, and empowering citizens to become active contributors to improving their neighbourhoods and cities.

Key Responsibilities

Community Engagement

• Mobilise and engage communities across digital and in-person platforms to foster active participation in Oorvani’s mission and civic initiatives.
• Lead and facilitate discussions within the Change Network community, encouraging peer learning, sharing updates, and gathering community insights and feedback.
• Build strong relationships with community members, ensuring sustained participation and a sense of belonging.

Community Building

• Build, grow, and support citizen storytellers and documenters by providing mentorship, learning opportunities, resources, and avenues for collaborative storytelling and local reporting.
• Foster connections among civic leaders, volunteers, citizen journalists, and partner organisations to strengthen the broader civic ecosystem.
• Connect to the larger civic and urban ecosystem, reaching out to experts and policymakers on topics of mutual interest.

Capacity Building & Learning

• Design and deliver engaging capacity-building initiatives to strengthen civic knowledge and participation.
• Organise workshops, learning challenges, contests, and other experiential learning programmes focused on topics such as urban governance, data literacy, civic technology, and community leadership.

You will need to work closely with programme, communications, and partnerships teams to ensure community initiatives align with organisational goals, capturing community insights and feedback and tracking engagement, participation, and learning outcomes

Expectations

• Undergraduate degree in media, social sciences, public policy, or related fields
• 1–2 years’ experience in community engagement, event coordination, or research
• Strong organisational, communication, and documentation skills

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2. Community Anchor (Part-time)

Location: Bengaluru / Mumbai

Build and sustain an active civic network by engaging with RWAs, activists, and local groups. Source stories, support civic journalists (CJs), and facilitate events to drive community participation and storytelling.

Key Responsibilities:

• Connect regularly with stakeholders to strengthen civic ties.
• Track developments in the civic and urban space, relevant news and work of research organisations
• Plan online/offline events (webinars, discussions) 
• Source stories, images, and data from citizens and expert
• Document community activities 

Expectations

• Passion for the city and civic change
• Strong connections in the civic space in your city, and experience in civic initiatives.
• Strong communication, coordination, and storytelling skills

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Volunteering opportunities

Community Anchor

We are looking for people passionate about improving their cities. If you are a knowledgeable civic volunteer and want to be part of our programmes committed to empowering citizens, we’d like to hear from you. You’d need to commit 8-10 hours a month, and be based in any major city of India. Do send us a note about yourself and why you’d like to help.

Researchers

We also welcome volunteers who can support us with research and data analysis. Email us explaining your interest, expertise and time commitment.

Citizen Writers

We work with a large pool of citizen contributors who share stories of change from their own neighbourhoods or spheres of work. Our work has been recognised for its innovative approach to community storytelling! We believe citizens have context and insight into their neighbourhood issues. Citizens have a point of view — “what is in it for me and my community” that drives their commitment and action. Citizens can also connect the dots between policy and how it impacts them. (See: What is Cognitive Surplus)

You could share an update on a local happening, or have in-depth knowledge of a field that you could share with others. You can write, contribute photo essays or make short films! It could be a report, opinion, analysis, interpretation, or a commentary on a local development, written with balance, fairness and an open attitude.  If you have a story to share, click here.

Note: Citizen contributions are voluntary.

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for the next stage of the recruitment process.

We strive to be an equal opportunity organisation with an open and inclusive environment. We do not discriminate on the basis of religion, ethnicity, caste, class, language, gender (identity/expression/status), sexual orientation, appearance, disability, age, beliefs or any other basis.