Manager / Senior Manager – Digital PFM (PFM Domain Expert)

Arthan; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 3,000,000 - 6,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Arthan is seeking a strategic adviser to lead the macro-vision for public finance management, shaping frameworks for fiscal data integration across government programs. The role demands cross-functional collaboration with field implementation teams and internal technical groups to translate ground realities into scalable policy and data architecture.

The ideal candidate combines deep PFM expertise with strong communication to co-create solutions with government partners, ensuring interventions

Qualifications

• Master's degree or CA with strong public finance foundation.
• 8–12+ years of hands-on experience in PFM/advisory or consulting.
• Deep authority in public finance flows, governance, and data governance.
• Proven field experience with central or state government finance departments.
• Knowledge of Government Financial Rules, budgeting, procurement, and treasury operations.
• Experience with legacy or modern PFM networks (IFMIS, PFMS).
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.

Responsibilities

• Define early-stage PFM vision, policy frameworks, and strategic foundations.
• Serve as internal advisor translating field requirements into standardized fiscal logic.
• Analyze state-level public finance landscapes to identify gaps and interventions.
• Author whitepapers linking open digital public infrastructure to service delivery.
• Build partnerships with finance departments and multilateral bodies.
• Guide state leads during rollouts and provide practical workaround strategies.
• Design advocacy strategies to overcome governance resistance.
• Represent the organization at national and global forums.

Skills

Public policy expertise

PFM knowledge

Stakeholder management

Strategic communication

Policy advocacy

Government liaison

Education

Master's in Economics

MBA

CA certification

Tools

IFMIS

PFMS

Job description

About the Role

This is a strategic advisory position. You will own the macro-vision, set the strategic direction before implementation begins, and design the overarching frameworks for fiscal data integration. Operating at the strategy layer, you will serve as a critical, non-siloed, cross-functional bridge—collaborating closely with both field implementation teams to unblock bottlenecks, and internal technical teams to translate ground realities into scalable, standardized system logic.

The ideal candidate will combine deep technical and practical PFM knowledge with strong communication skills to co-create solutions with government partners, build compelling narratives around fiscal data architecture, and ensure that interventions address real-world challenges in fund flow, transparency, and data quality.

• Reporting & Team Dynamics: You will report directly to the Director of PFM, working as a core strategic resource alongside state field teams, project owners, and internal architecture divisions to translate field realities into standardized institutional fiscal logic.
• Travel: Regular travel to active state program sites is expected to anchor high-level government advocacy and align diverse stakeholder groups.

Role Responsibilities

A)Drive PFM Domain Strategy & Insights

• Contribute deep domain expertise right from the foundational planning and proposal stages for new national and international initiatives, expanding the strategic horizon beyond current active geographies.
• Act as the definitive subject matter expert on PFM, defining the early-stage vision, policy frameworks, and strategic foundations long before technology implementation begins.
• Serve as an expert internal advisor to technical and architectural divisions, establishing a fluid, two-way feedback loop that decodes complex field requirements into structural, standardized fiscal logic.
• Analyze and document the public finance landscape across Indian states; identify structural lacunae (such as unspent administrative balances and data latency) and conceptualize strategic interventions using modern data-exchange frameworks.
• Author authoritative whitepapers and policy briefs that demonstrate how open digital public infrastructure links financial outlays directly to public service delivery outputs.
• Partner with macro-level PFM ecosystem actors and think tanks to co-create scalable programs and drive wider institutional adoption

B) Accelerate Ecosystem Adoption & Institutional Reform

• Formulate powerful value propositions illustrating how modern, open-source fiscal platforms complement and augment existing national and state financial architectures (such as PFMS, IFMIS, and other legacy fiscal systems).
• Act as a direct strategic guide to state leads and project owners during active rollouts, diagnosing structural hurdles on the ground and providing practical, alternative institutional workarounds.
• Build, expand, and maintain robust strategic partnerships with state/central finance departments, multilateral development organizations, and research institutions.
• Advise and handhold senior government practitioners as they design large-scale, sustainable PFM reform roadmaps leveraging digital public infrastructure.
• Act as a senior escalation point to unblock state field teams and Project Owners when initiatives hit complex bureaucratic or administrative bottlenecks.

C) Lead Strategic Advocacy and Narrative Building

• Design evidence-based advocacy strategies to successfully navigate and dissolve political or administrative resistance from government stakeholders.
• Promote and anchor the advancement of prominent national public finance collaborative networks to align diverse reform and implementation partners.
• Represent the organization at elite national and global forums, championing the global transition toward open, interoperable digital public finance frameworks.
• Own the internal digital PFM thesis ecosystem, coordinating experimental design, gathering field evidence, and disseminating thought-leadership findings.

Role Requirements

• Education: Master's degree in Economics, Public Policy, Business Administration, or a Chartered Accountant (CA) certification with a robust foundation in public finance.
• Experience: 8 to 12+ years of hands‑on experience in PFM, advisory, or consulting roles (with a strong preference for candidates with 10+ years of domain depth). Backgrounds within consulting, public finance think tanks, national working groups, or specialized governance development organizations are highly preferred.
• Domain Depth: Must demonstrate profound subject‑matter authority rather than generalist project/program management capabilities. The ideal candidate can actively dissect, critique, and architect public finance flows, frameworks, and institutional data governance strategies.
• Field‑Tested Expertise: Proven track record of working on the ground with central or state government finance departments. Purely theoretical or academic research experience will not suffice; the candidate must demonstrate practical, "by‑doing" PFM implementation success.
• Regulatory Knowledge: Deep familiarity with Government Financial Rules (GFR), state budgeting processes, procurement, treasury operations, and reporting.
• System Understanding: Strong practical knowledge of working with legacy or modern PFM networks (IFMIS, PFMS, etc.).
• Stakeholder Management: Demonstrated ability to interact with, influence, and build trust with senior bureaucrats, administrative officials, and multilateral partners.
• Core Competencies: Excellent presentation, oral, and written communication skills. Must be a proactive self‑starter who can operate independently and consultatively make key strategic decisions with organizational leadership.