Volunteer Business Strategist, Pricing and Financial Sustainability Advisor for School of Public Life with School of Public Life

This is an opportunity to work with an Ashoka Fellow

Ashoka Fellows are leading social entrepreneurs that have been taken through a rigorous selection process, testing the quality of their ideas and character, to become part of the Ashoka Fellowship and Network. Ashoka Fellows take on the challenges of building innovative system change ideas to make and spread social impact in a world wrought with challenges. They refuse to let the ‘impossible’ stand in their way to creating a better world.

This is an unpaid, volunteer opportunity

About The Affiliated Organization

The School of Public Life is a grassroots civic education center founded in 2014 dedicated to building a democratic and just Hungary. We are a based in Budapest and have a nationwide reach. We work for a world where everyone is able to participate in public life and decision-making regardless of their social status. We help citizens dedicated to building a democratic and just Hungary, especially members of marginalized communities and those working on their behalf to organize themselves and stand up for their rights and interests effectively. Our motto is that “Democracy is not a noun, but a verb – it only exists if we do it”. In other words, we cannot expect democratic institutions to exist just because we need or like them or because they are expected to exist by external powers. Democracy has to be exercised by regular citizens on a daily basis. Also, democracy needs to go hand in hand with the fight for social justice and the just distribution of resources so that everyone is able to make their voices heard.

Education

The School of Public Life is a grassroots education center where we tackle these issues through adult education using the approach of critical pedagogy. Our aim is to:

make the knowledge and skills for grassroot organizing available to everyone, especially those who experience or fight against oppression support movements and civil society organizations that work for social justice to operate more effectively encourage grassroots groups and local organizations to engage with the elections, support them in running community-based campaigns and support citizens who organize for clean elections build a diverse community where critical thinking, democratic participation and solidarity are highly valued.

What We Do

Political education We organize free training courses, workshops and programs for adults to enable them to participate in political processes and actively shape public life.The first step on the way to change is the deeper understanding of social relations, so most of our introductory programs help participants develop a critical analysis of social inequalities. We also need to know what tools we can use to take action for a more just society. Many of our training courses are about concrete methods of advocacy and organizing, campaign skills, communications about social (in)justice as well as ways to understand and assert our rights and interests as citizens. The depoliticization of citizens and community organizations is a barrier to reclaime democracy. Many of our educational activities including workshops, training courses, conferences, film clubs and roundtable discussions aim to break down the prejudices and fear around politics and support the political engagement of progressive grassroots organizations and social movements. Change can be achieved by well-functioning groups and social movements, so some of our trainings address the democratic operation and sustainability of organizations. Strategic planning for organisations How can an organization achieve real impact and success? How can a group achieve its goals effectively? How can we build democratic, sustainable organizations where members feel appreciated? The answer to these questions is strategic planning, which is the creation and implementation of a comprehensive plan of action and operation.

Every year the School of Public Life supports around 20 progressive organizations in strategic planning to develop their effective, sustainable and systematic operation. This work is tailored to the needs of every organization and takes shape in intensive multi-day retreats where we help our clients develop their long-term goals and plan their concrete activities.

For more information, please visit https://kozeletiskolaja.hu/homepage/

Job Description

We are looking for a pro bono professional to support the School of Public Life in developing a well-grounded and sustainable approach to pricing our services. As a small civil society organisation (around 10 workers), we aim to ensure that our fees appropriately reflect the resources required to deliver high-quality programmes while remaining accessible to civil society organisations and community groups.

Volunteer Logistics

Estimated hours required per week: 4

The estimated duration of the project is: Under 1 month

This position is Virtual (Remote)

Language Requirements

English

Desired Skills And Experience

Experience in pricing strategy, financial planning, or business modelling, ideally for service-based organisations. Ability to develop cost-based and value-informed pricing models, including identifying direct and indirect costs and staff time associated with delivering services. Experience with financial sustainability and scenario planning, helping us understand the implications of different pricing approaches. Understanding of, or interest in, the nonprofit/civil society sector, where affordability and social impact need to be balanced with organisational sustainability. Ability to design transparent and practical pricing frameworks, such as differentiated fees, sliding-scale approaches, or other models appropriate for clients with different financial capacities