Program Manager

Overview on Personnel Management 

To enhance the effectiveness of government work in India, CEGIS' Personnel Management team is pioneering a competency-driven approach to Capacity Building. This shift addresses a significant challenge wherein the existing system prioritises strict adherence to rules linked to specific offices rather than attaining the desired outcomes. While this can limit the autonomy of frontline staff and managers, potentially hindering accountability for results, the innovative approach actively seeks to empower individuals and cultivate a results-oriented culture. This approach ensures the establishment of a more impactful and accountable government framework.

Purpose statement of PM Vertical: We believe that empowered, equipped and future-ready government officials are crucial to achieving citizen-centric service delivery.

We work with central, state, and local governments to actualise their human capital by improving human resource management practices and organisational effectiveness. We believe that supporting governments in undertaking these reforms will result in improved execution capacity and a fulfilling career journey for government officials.

The competency-driven approach focuses on the skills, knowledge, and attitudes required for specific government roles. By prioritising these 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.

The Personnel Management team achieves this through three key workstreams.

1. Competency-Based Recruitment: Ensures that the right people are selected for the job, bringing the necessary skills on board from the outset.
2. Competency-Based Capacity Building (Learning & Development): Equipping government officials with the ongoing training and development they need to excel in their roles.
3. Revamped Performance Management System: Evaluating and improving individual and team performance based on achieving defined goals, not just by adherence to procedures.

Project and Position Summary

We are seeking a PM, Solution Delivery, Government of India (GoI) initiative to join our team in driving transformative, competency-based capacity-building initiatives for public officials across India. The role involves providing strategic direction, spearheading solution design and delivery, and ensuring alignment of interventions with broader governance and capacity-building goals of the state/MDO.

The ideal candidate brings a deep understanding of competency-based HR systems, coupled with strong experience in project management, stakeholder engagement, and institutional reform.

This role offers a unique opportunity to influence systemic change at scale, working closely with senior public officials, donors, and implementation partners to shape the future of HR and governance reform in India. Its an ideal opportunity for someone passionate about combining strategic foresight with hands-on leadership and seeking to create measurable, lasting impact in public service delivery.

Roles and Responsibilities

Research and Solutioning

• Leads diagnostic research, analyses datasets and generates insights to identify system-level gaps in HRM within an MDO and inform contextualised design and delivery of existing solutions
• Contextualises frameworks and tools for enabling competency-based human resource reforms and the rollout of learning and development solutions (such as competency mapping, training needs assessments, curated learning programs) within the MDO
• Stays abreast of emerging trends in HR practices such as recruitment, capacity building and performance management in the public sector to inform solution refinement
• Informs iterative improvement of solutions by relaying field insights to the solution design teams

Project and Knowledge Management

• Leads end-to-end program design and delivery by formulating precise problem statements, goals, and project plans
• Oversees and leads the team towards execution of assigned projects, ensuring adherence to quality standards, timelines, and interdependencies
• Monitors project progress, risks, and dependencies, and implements timely course corrections
• Strengthens project delivery and institutional capability by embedding competency-based frameworks (ensuring quality in competency mapping, assessments and learning programs), standard operating procedures, and scalable processes
• Maintains a system of knowledge capture and documentation to build institutional memory and scalable delivery of solutions across states/ MDO

Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement

• Manages relationships with key government partners, training institutions, and internal teams to ensure alignment on program scope, design and implementation
• Maintains a regular communication cadence with external stakeholders, ensuring timely sharing of project updates, reports, and deliverables
• Ensures cross-functional collaboration with internal teams to gather inputs, share learnings, avoid duplication, and maintain consistency across tools and communication artefacts
• Leads advocacy efforts with senior bureaucratic and political leadership to build consensus and institutionalise customised HR reforms within the state/MDO

Team and Organisational Development

• Leads and mentors a team, guiding work planning, quality control, and developmental support to ensure timely, high-quality delivery
• Supports team performance reviews and identifies opportunities for skill enhancement and role progression
• Contributes to end-to-end talent hiring and management within the organisation, ensuring alignment with organisational culture
• Strengthens organisational culture and visibility by championing internal learning initiatives, fostering a culture of collaboration, and representing the organisation in external forums, partnerships, and knowledge-sharing platforms

Education and Experience

• Bachelors or Masters degree in Economics, Public Policy, Social Sciences, or a related discipline from a reputed institution
• 5-8 years of relevant professional experience in HR management, capacity building, or project management/consulting, including at least 12 years of experience working within the Indian government ecosystem
• Prior experience in leading teams or managing cross-functional collaborations

Required Competencies

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

Domain Competencies

Public Administration Understanding: Understands Indias governance and policy landscape to ensure solutions are contextually relevant and aligned with governmental priorities

Competency-based Learning and Development: Applies competency-based tools and processes to design learning and development programs and frameworks

Organisational Capacity and Systems: Analyses organisational performance to drive sustainable improvements in capacity and efficiency

Functional Competencies

Project Management: Skilled in planning, resource allocation, risk management, documentation and delivering results aligned with organisational objectives

Analytical Acumen: Ability to assess patterns, synthesise insights to inform decisions

Communication and Knowledge Practices: Communicates ideas clearly across formats and captures knowledge for dissemination

Behavioural Competencies

Developing People: Guides and mentors the team to support professional development

Learning Orientation: Seeks feedback, reflects on gaps, and fosters a culture of adaptability and continuous improvement within the team

Collaboration: Builds trust with stakeholders and fosters collaboration and alignment through clear, consistent engagement

Note

• The role will be based in New Delhi
• Proficiency in Hindi and English
• 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 review the following materials before submitting your application.

• CEGIS website
• CLOP Initiative website
• Karmayogi Bharat website
• Concept note on CEGIS
• Chapter 5 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.