Program Leader
GMR Varalakshmi
Foundation
C/o Kakinada SEZ
project
Contact Details:
H No. 70-14-15/6
Road No. 6 Sidhardha
Nagar
Kakinada : East
Godavari District
PIN : 533 003
09849009168
1. Introduction about your job /
career, define your career?
Ans: Basically
I am a professional social worker working for development sector since last 20
years
·
Currently working for CSR arm of GMR Group in
their foundation as Program Leader, looking after the community services for
the thrust areas viz. Education, Health, Livelihoods
·
My career in development sector is quite
unique as worked for tribal development, urban development, women empowerment,
livelihoods, public health, research and CSR in different intervals executed
varied interventions
2. Qualification required for this job?
Ans: MSW and above (Any other, Pl.
specify)
I did my PG in Social work and also done Graduation in
Law as a value edition
3. Personal qualities / skills required
for this job?
Ans: Basically it
requires proper attitude viz. commitment, professional competence, empathy, and
dedication to support the needy / clientele
·
In GMR group the employees led by a series of
values and believe and constant trainings to have continuous learning.
·
The career in development /CSR sector needs
the skills viz. Facilitation, negotiation, advocacy, enabling, training,
communication, conflict resolution, research skills & Multi stakeholders
relationship management
4. Best aspects of this job?
Ans:
Serving the communities and win-win
situation in CSR front & attaining sustainable development with ethical
business.
5. Challenging aspects of this job?
Ans: Continuous conflicts may arise sometimes with
project affected communities, driving them towards development stride it &
building ownership
6. Your achievements?
Ans:
Its several fronts in entire career; some of them could be :
·
Nurturing the Best practices and scaling
(replicating) in Nutrition sector for entire Andhra Pradesh
·
Promoting livelihoods mandate in urban sector
for 4 districts in Andhra Pradesh
·
Wining the hearts of around
50000 project affected communities in East Godavari district as part of
present portfolio in GMRVF
7. Your secret of success in your
career?
Ans: Basically its commitment and dedication to
work for the profession & attempting for sustainable interventions &
much more thing is continuous learning.
8. Give us some interesting accounts of
your academic /education days?
Ans:
I received gold medal in SSC, stood III rank in MSW (University)
9. How did you plan your career?
Ans:
It’s a continuous effort to work in different portfolios with
varied hierarchies in the sectors viz. Tribal, Urban, Rural development and
community organization
10. Describe your experience of your
first day at work in your first job?
Ans:
Its’ a wonderful one in tribal area to have observation of habitats
of Tribal folks and learning their skills to combat the issues
11. Your major achievements have been in
…………….which opportunities steered you on that path?
Ans: Its’ Community
engagement and training them in several fronts; the opportunities to work with
APUSP, CARE India and GMR has been
provided me to equip with much more strengths and imparted capacities
12. Being a leader / social worker
yourself what do you think you possess as a leader/social worker that sets you
apart from other leaders?
Ans:
Its’ nothing but the empathy and providing enabling environment.
13. How as a leader / social worker, do
you go about developing yourself today?
Ans:
Knowledge must imparted
as wisdom and wisdom would drive us to get more results by means of proper
activity planning and vision to achieve results / outcomes.
14. What keeps you so passionate about
working in social work?
Ans: It’s basically a self
help process and its nitty-gritty’s viz. making communities self reliant, self
sustenance, with self regulating systems, made me more passion to continue in
the field of social work.
15. What are your current ambitions for
the next phase in your life /career?
Ans: I want to prove myself
as a best professional in CSR sector and integrate with other aspects like,
corporate relations, corporate communications, & support sustained ethical
business practice.
16. Your reading. How this does helps
you in your personal and professional life?
Ans:
Its’ a way of observing several aspects in the field and in
personal front. I do read so of the Management books and keep updating in my
professional approaches viz. CSR, Development sector, and people’s management.
I also possessive towards improving my wisdom in spiritual aspects which also
helps me to develop my knowledge and work style; currently I am pursuing PhD in
Climate science which is related to fishers community and impacting their
overall life.
17. What are your interest / hobbies?
Ans:
My interests are reading
spiritual and technical books related to my job / career. I am a student of Sri Vishista Advita and
psychology and always intents to update my knowledge; basically my hobbies are
reading books and watching TV occasionally.
18. A family bonding experience ……………….?
Ans:
Though I hails from a
Joint family, later I am living in a nuclear setting ; though I relates myself
a good family member I am not a strong person in the possessiveness which got
triggered in my after 42 years of my life.
19. Tips for aspiring professional social
workers?
Ans: Need to have / improve
or cultivate the following traits (irrespective of innate instincts)
·
Commitment
·
Dedication to field and
·
Regular persuasion
·
Technical updation
·
Self imposed discipline, communication,
togetherness would support a lot
·
Advocacy, Mentoring and enabling skills are
much needed
20. Bitter experience in your career?
Ans
When management won’t understand our stands and our strategies
it gives us more agony which may hamper us in to bitter experience.
21. How do you relate with other
professions and professionals?
Ans: Now a days the role of social workers is much
related and needed coordinated effort with other professions and professionals
based on the project we are working; sometimes we may have work with several
other professionals based on the need and project rollout.
22. What is your opinion about the need
for social workers association?
Ans:
It’s very much needed but formulate the objectives on broad
base. Ensure no egos, internal politics etc; if thy work in a positive /
professional ways and means it would be useful for several fora and different
clientele.
23. Not all social workers are
documenting their experiences in their profession, can you please throw some
light on it.
Ans: Now
a day’s every organization / project must have the documentation / reporting
and recording systems must be placed. Knowledge management is key to success
and it would relates to next generations to continue, review and reserve for
best possible opportunities for the future
24. What are the most challenging
aspects of your job/career?
Ans: They are :
·
Stakeholders management
·
Conflict resolution
·
Crisis management
·
Technical updation and dissemination through
trainings etc
25. How do you balance career and
other aspects of your life?
Ans:
It’s
a way of commitment and sometimes sacrifices of personal life are needed which
may be essential for the professional life to flourish.
26. What advice do you have for
someone contemplating a career in social work in a professional position
similar to your current position?
Ans: it’s a
continuous perseverance in the management aspects and inclined to learn and
lead the teams to achieve the goals / objectives said in the project design.
27. What are the most rewarding aspects
of your job?
Ans:
I was the best regional officer in the APUSP
project funded by DFID, and I was
praised for best Replication officer for replicating the nutrition protocols
first time in India and scaling to entire Andhra region being a national member
(while I was working with CARE India for their INHP Project)
28. How did you first become
interested in your current professional position?
Ans:
It’s a part of development sector later I
rolled out to CSR field and nurtured and learnt similar projects and dealt with
Standard operating procedures etc.
Thanks & regards,
Dharmavaram Sudhakar
Interviewed by:
Dr. Sreenivasa Reddy D
Associate Editor
Careers in Social Work
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