Program Manager - Strategic Public Finance

Centre for Effective Governance of Indian States (CEGIS); Delhi; On-site; INR 1,800,000 - 3,400,000; Full time

Job summary

Centre for Effective Governance of Indian States (CEGIS) in Delhi is seeking a Program Manager to operationalise Strategic Public Finance projects on the ground, coordinating data, analysis, and deliverables.

You will translate plans into action, manage data quality, drive insights, and engage with government departments and state teams to advance SPF objectives. The role requires a Masters in a related field, 5–7 years of experience, and strong communication and organizational skills.

Qualifications

• Masters degree in economics, statistics, public policy, engineering, social science, or related fields from a prestigious institution.
• 5 to 7 years of work experience with research, quantitative analysis, and client-facing exposure with government entities.
• Experience in public finance, social welfare, or development sectors, with engagement with government departments.

Responsibilities

• Drive day-to-day execution of SPF project plans and track milestones.
• Lead research outputs, ensure quality, and delegate tasks.
• Identify and mitigate on-ground risks and coordinate with stakeholders.
• Develop knowledge products and policy reports for dissemination.
• Prepare proposals and presentations for donors and state clients.
• Manage data access, quality control, and standardize protocols.
• Document methodologies and maintain state learnings repository.
• Engage with state teams and government officials to advance SPF objectives.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Data analysis

Strategic thinking

Communication skills

Education

Master's degree in economics/statistics/public policy/related fields

Tools

STATA

R

Python

Job description

A Program Manager owns the day-to-day operationalisation of Strategic Public Finance projects - driving execution, data management, analysis, stakeholder coordination, and internal tracking on the ground. They translate project plans into action, ensure meticulous data handling, drive insightful analysis, and maintain consistent momentum across deliverables and timelines. The Program Manager plays a central role in getting work done and advancing organizational objectives.

Project Management

• Drives day-to-day execution of project plans, ensuring tasks are operationalised on the ground and progress is tracked against milestones set.
• Manages the team's research efforts by delegating tasks, reviewing outputs, and ensuring the quality and rigor of outputs.
• Identifies execution-level risks as they emerge (e.g. data delays, stakeholder unavailability, on-ground bottlenecks) and resolves or escalates them properly.
• Tracks team bandwidth and resourcing needs to keep project execution on schedule.
• Operationalises project launches and conceptualisation on the ground, in line with SPF primary objectives.
• Collaborates with team members to develop impactful knowledge products, such as policy notes, analysis reports, and frameworks and contributes to knowledge sharing.

Analysis, Interpretation & Quality Control

• Applies technical approaches tailored to the specific capacities and needs of government counterparts, in collaboration with solution and delivery teams.
• Leads analysis and interpretation of information, translating data into actionable insights.
• Monitors global best practices and research, aiding the team in adapting these methodologies in the outputs.
• Ensures quality control of outputs by regular, thorough and structured reviews.

Stakeholder Engagement & Communication

• Contributes to the preparation of proposals and decks for donors and new states/departments.
• Synthesizes stakeholders' feedback to develop strategic communication strategies.
• Creates presentations, reports, and dashboards for diverse stakeholders.
• Interprets and presents data effectively, helping to convey meaningful insights to internal and external stakeholders.
• Engages with state teams on a regular basis, and participates in government stakeholder interactions as required to present concepts and advocate for impactful initiatives.
• Builds and maintains working relationships with public officials, government departments, and other stakeholders to facilitate collaboration on SPF projects.

Data Management & Analysis

• Facilitates access to administrative data from relevant government line departments, reviews them using a prescribed template, and conducts analysis as required.
• Ensures strict compliance with data quality protocols, including auditing enumerators, supervising data collection, and performing data quality audits.
• Manages all primary, secondary, and administrative data by strictly following data management and security protocols and creating standardization of protocols for projects.
• Leads/undertakes quantitative and qualitative analysis to generate high-quality and evidence based insights

Knowledge Management & Documentation

• Documents and codifies project methodologies, frameworks, and analytical approaches into reusable templates for use across states.
• Maintains a structured repository of state-specific learnings, data sources, and stakeholder context for internal handover and onboarding.
• Identifies relevant external research, government circulars, and comparative state practices, and incorporates them into ongoing project work.
• Participates in cross-team knowledge-sharing sessions (e.g. internal seminars, post-project retrospectives) to disseminate lessons learned across team(s).

Education & Experience

• Masters degree in economics, statistics, public policy, engineering, social science, or related fields from a prestigious institution.
• 5 to 7 years of work experience, including hands-on research, quantitative analysis, and client-facing exposure (including with government entities).
• Demonstrated experience working on prior projects in public finance, social welfare, or development sectors, ideally involving direct engagement with government departments or public sector institutions.
• Demonstrated expertise in quantitative data management and analysis, utilizing advanced tools such as STATA, R, or Python programming extensively.
• Strong written & verbal communication skills including report writing, presentation design, and policy documentation; proficiency in MS Office and related tools
• Understands the functioning of Indian state governments. Aware of the reform landscape - knows the challenges Finance and Planning departments face and what governance reform looks like in practice.
• Familiarity with public finance areas (such as taxation, revenues, expenditures, budgets, debt management) is a plus.
• Exceptional problem-solving and strategic thinking abilities, with a track record of formulating innovative solutions to complex challenges.
• Strong organizational and planning skills, adept at setting priorities, establishing timelines, and consistently meeting deadlines in dynamic environments.
• Ability to thrive under pressure, managing competing priorities while upholding meticulous attention to detail and delivering exceptional outcomes consistently.
• Capacity to build working relationships with partner organizations, including some prior experience engaging with Indian state governments.
• Flexibility to seamlessly transition between various projects and swiftly immerse oneself in new sectors.
• Deep commitment to enhancing the effectiveness of Indian states, coupled with a firm alignment with the organization's theory of change and impact.
• Supportive attitude – takes responsibility for outputs and follows through proactively without constant supervision
• Multi-tasking/ time management – manages multiple concurrent state engagements and competing deadlines without compromising quality or missing commitments to stakeholders
• Learning agility – curious, open to feedback, and willing to adapt approaches in dynamic reform environments
• Collaboration – actively listens, values and respects diverse perspectives, and works effectively within cross-functional teams
• Stakeholder sensitivity – understands the political and institutional context of government engagements and navigates day-to-day interactions with tact and professionalism.
• Cross-team awareness – maintains working awareness of other CEGIS teams relevant to the immediate project; proactive cross-team synergy-building sits outside the core scope of this role.

Role Logistics

• Language: Proficiency in English (written and spoken) is required
• Travel: must be open to intermittent travel to other States