Program Manager- Learning

Position: Program Manager, Learning & Development (Human Resource Unit)

Reporting to: Senior Program Manager, HRU

Location: Bhubaneswar, Odisha

Experience: 6-8

About CEGIS Foundation

Centre for Effective Governance of Indian States (CEGIS) aims to improve lives by helping Indian state governments deliver better development outcomes.

We work with the state governments of India to enable a transformative improvement in state functioning in the coming decade. Informed by cutting-edge research and evidence, as well as a practical orientation toward implementable ideas, CEGIS aims to provide Indian states with both an analytical roadmap for governance and expenditure reforms and strategic implementation support to deliver on this vision.

The organisation has a sharp focus on improving the quality of public expenditure, personnel, and data and, through it, develops templates for achieving a step-function improvement in development outcomes across India. We strive to produce high-quality economic analysis to inform state-level policy-making and work closely with top bureaucratic leadership in states. CEGIS possesses world-leading technical expertise across teams and a deep understanding of service delivery in India. Today, CEGIS works across 6+ Indian states and 15+ projects across sectors - Education, Health and Agriculture. Some central government agencies we work with are NITI Aayog, Capacity Building Commission, Karmayogi Bharat, and Intellectual Property Office.

About Human Resource Unit (HRU)

CEGIS intends to collaborate with the Government of Odisha in establishing a Human Resource Unit (HRU).

The Human Resource Unit (HRU) shall function as a dedicated think tank to enhance and strengthen HR practices across the state government. Its primary mandate shall be to drive comprehensive and integrated HR management within the state, focusing on recruitment, learning and development, and performance management systems. The HRU shall provide strategic direction and support to HR teams or Capacity Building Units (CBUs) across various line departments and ensure their alignment with state and national priorities, fostering a well-rounded HR ecosystem within the state government.

HRU will be responsible for institutionalising the strategic work done by CEGIS in pioneering a competency-driven approach to Capacity Building. By prioritising competencies, CEGIS aims to bring clarity to the work done by officials and empower them to achieve better results. This translates to a shift in accountability from simply following processes to delivering tangible outcomes.

Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced and dynamic Program Manager Learning & Development (L&D) to lead the design, development, and implementation of capacity-building solutions that address competency gaps among public officials in the state government. This role is pivotal to translating the HRUs vision into actionable L&D programs, piloting, operationalising, and scaling them across departments, while ensuring strong alignment with Mission Karmayogi and the mandates of the Capacity Building Commission (CBC).

The ideal candidate will have a deep understanding of competency-based approaches in learning and development and demonstrate advanced research and synthesis capabilities to translate field insights into high-impact interventions. With a proven track record in project management, stakeholder coordination, and implementation, the candidate should be driven by a commitment to strengthening public service capacity and enabling systemic reform in government HR practices.

Roles and Responsibilities

1. Design and Implementation of Competency-Based L&D Solutions

• Lead the design and rollout of competency-based L&D interventions, including training needs assessments, and curated learning pathways for key government positions.
• Coordinate and support extensive role-competency mapping exercises to inform the creation of work allocation orders
• Support the design and implementation of competency-based training needs assessments, ensuring quality control, administering assessments, and analysing results
• Oversee the mapping, curation, quality assurance, and onboarding of competency-based training interventions/courses and collaborate with institutional partners for sourcing high-quality L&D content.
• Work closely with Administrative Training Institutes (ATIs) and other training partners to align delivery mechanisms with competency needs and institutional mandates, while helping them streamline their processes to enhance quality and compliance.
• Promote a culture of continuous learning by integrating diverse methodologies, e-learning, instructor-led sessions, workshops, job rotations, performance support interventions, etc.

1. Research, Synthesis, and Knowledge Management

• Conducting secondary research regarding competencies and learning opportunities associated with the identified positions
• Conduct primary research (interviews, FGDs, surveys) with public officials to map roles, responsibilities, activities, and associated competencies.
• Translate field insights and research into structured knowledge products such as frameworks, facilitation guides, reports, presentations, and policy briefs for internal and external dissemination.
• Maintain a robust system of documentation to ensure institutional memory and shareable learnings from the program's implementation.

1. Project and Team Management

• Maintain project trackers, documentation systems, and communication plans to ensure clarity, alignment, and accountability across workstreams.
• Support the Senior Program Manager in tracking project milestones, identifying risks and dependencies, and reporting progress to CEGIS and state leadership.
• Lead and mentor a team of associates, providing work planning, quality control, and developmental support to ensure timely, high-quality delivery.
• Inform iterative improvement of L&D solutions by relaying field insights to design and technology teams.
• Stay abreast of emerging trends in adult learning, learning technologies, and public sector capacity building to inform solution refinement.
• Actively participate in internal capacity-building workshops to enhance your practice in L&D implementation aligned with organisational standards.

1. Stakeholder Engagement and Coordination

• Manage relationships with key government partners, training institutions, and internal teams to ensure alignment on program design and implementation.
• Facilitate regular review meetings, capacity-building workshops, and structured consultations with CBUs and other stakeholders across departments.
• Maintain a regular communication cadence with external stakeholders, prepare discussion notes, and ensure timely sharing of project updates, reports and deliverables.
• Ensure cross-functional collaboration with internal teams to gather inputs, avoid duplication, and maintain consistency across tools and communication artefacts
• Coordinate with colleagues working on performance management systems to feed in relevant field insights, identified competency gaps, and departmental needs, ensuring learning solutions and performance frameworks are mutually reinforcing.

Education and Experience

• Degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Management, Public Policy, Social Work or a related field.
• 6 to years of experience in a high-performing environment, focusing on human resource management, capacity building or project management, preferably within the Indian government ecosystem
• Prior Experience of working on complex multi-stakeholder projects, especially with governments, donors, and research organisations

Required Competencies

The competencies required to perform the above-mentioned roles and responsibilities are as follows:

Functional Competencies

• Learning and Development Design: Applies user-centric insights to design, test, and improve competency-based learning pathways and builds end-to-end L&D ecosystems
• Research and Analytical Acumen: Synthesises qualitative and quantitative insights to inform decisions
• Project Management: Skilled in planning, resource allocation, risk management, documentation and delivering results aligned with organisational objectives
• Writing and Documentation: Creates high-quality reports, frameworks, and learning materials with clarity and structure.

Professional and Leadership Competencies

• Ownership:
  Exhibits self-motivation and proactivity in managing multiple tasks, timelines, and responsibilities, ensuring accountability for high-quality results.
• Learning Orientation: Seeks feedback, reflects on gaps, and continuously works to improve effectiveness.
• Relationship Building: Builds trust with stakeholders and fosters collaboration and alignment through clear, consistent engagement.

Note

• The role will be based out of Bhubaneswar
• Remuneration will be competitive with Indian philanthropy and social sector pay scales, depending on the candidates experience levels.

CEGIS is an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against based on race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, ancestry, or national or ethnic origin.

Pre-reads for the application process

Please go through the following materials before sending in your application.

• CEGIS website
• CLOP Initiative website
• Karmayogi Bharat website
• Concept note on CEGIS
• Chapter of Accelerating India's Development: A State-Led Roadmap for Effective Governance by Prof. Karthik Muralidharan
• You are also encouraged to read more of Prof. Karthik Muralidharans work here.