Programme Manager – Integrated Development in New Delhi | Smile Foundation

aikyam; New Delhi; On-site; INR 2,500,000 - 6,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Smile Foundation seeks a Programme Manager for Integrated Development in New Delhi to lead village development projects and ensure donor KPIs, budgets and outcomes are met. The role requires strong leadership, budgeting, and cross-functional coordination across multiple geographies.

You will guide field teams, align programme plans with donor commitments, and oversee health, education, livelihoods, and governance convergence, travelling up to 50% of the time to ensure delivery and impact.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Development Studies, Rural Management, Social Work, Public Policy, Management or a related discipline.
• 8+ years of experience in development, CSR or social sector.
• Experience in integrated rural or village development is preferred.
• Experience managing multiple projects across geographies and donor budgets.
• Strong budgeting, reporting, monitoring and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience with CSR funded programmes and government convergence is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic direction and technical guidance to field teams for village development projects.
• Design annual action plans and implementation roadmaps across multiple themes.
• Supervise projects across geographies, ensuring milestones and outcomes.
• Monitor budgets of ₹5–10 crore annually and forecast variances with finance teams.
• Ensure donor KPIs, reporting readiness and governance dashboards.
• Lead capacity building for Project In Charges and field teams, and engage stakeholders.
• Travel 30–50% to assess quality and community outcomes.

Skills

Leadership

Budgeting

Donor management

Communication

Program planning

Monitoring & evaluation

Education

MSc/MA in Development Studies or related field

Tools

MIS tracking

Job description

Programme Manager - Integrated Development in New Delhi | Smile Foundation

Smile Foundation

Smile Foundation works for the welfare of underprivileged children and their families through programmes in education, healthcare, skilling, women empowerment and grassroots strengthening. It was started in 2002 by a group of young corporate professionals and has grown into a national development organisation that has touched the lives of over 2 million children and their families, with work in 27 states, 10 offices and more than 650 employees. The organisation holds Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council and is accredited with global bodies such as GuideStar, United Way, CAF America and Give2Asia. It has been certified as a Great Place to Work for six years running. This role sits within Smile Foundation's Programmes function, which designs and runs CSR funded projects in urban and rural India, including aspirational districts.

Role

The Programme Manager provides strategic and technical leadership for Integrated Development programmes running across several geographies. The person in this role turns donor commitments and organisational strategy into workable programme plans, guides field teams, watches over quality and budgets, and makes sure agreed outcomes and KPIs are met. The role oversees a set of village development projects that together carry an annual programme portfolio of ₹5 to 10 crore.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic direction and technical guidance to field teams designing and running village development projects.
• Support ground teams in building local strategies, annual action plans and implementation roadmaps that work across themes rather than as standalone activities.
• Supervise multiple projects in different geographies and ensure delivery against approved plans, milestones and outcomes.
• Review progress regularly, spot emerging challenges, and guide teams on corrective action.
• Oversee work across health, education, rural livelihoods, agriculture and allied activities, women entrepreneurship, public infrastructure and WASH, and government convergence.
• Track programme budgets of ₹5 to 10 crore a year, monitor utilisation against approved budgets, and work with finance teams on forecasting and variance analysis.
• Identify financial risks early and support teams in fixing them.
• Ensure agreed donor KPIs, outputs, outcomes and timelines are met, and that documentation and evidence are ready for donor reporting and audits.
• Support the preparation of donor reports, programme updates, review presentations and management dashboards.
• Build strong monitoring and review systems, analyse programme data, and use it to drive decisions and adaptive implementation.
• Mentor Project In Charges, Project Leads and field teams, and build their capacity in planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting.
• Support teams in building relationships with government departments, Panchayats, local institutions and community stakeholders, and find openings to converge with government schemes.
• Travel across project locations for 30 to 50 percent of working time to assess programme quality, community outcomes and use of resources.

Requirements

• Master's degree in Development Studies, Rural Management, Social Work, Public Policy, Management, Agriculture or a related discipline.
• 8 or more years of experience in the development, CSR or social sector.
• Significant experience in integrated rural or village development is preferred.
• Proven experience managing multiple projects across different geographies.
• Experience managing programme portfolios of roughly ₹5 to 10 crore a year.
• Experience working across at least three or four of these areas: health, education, livelihoods, agriculture, women entrepreneurship, infrastructure and government convergence.
• Strong experience in programme planning, implementation, budgeting, monitoring and donor management.
• Experience with CSR funded integrated village development programmes, large NGOs, development agencies or government convergence programmes is strongly preferred.
• Experience in monitoring, evaluation and learning, outcome measurement, impact assessment or MIS based tracking is an added advantage.
• Additional qualifications in programme management, development management or MEL are an advantage.
• Strong understanding of rural development and community institutions.
• Good budgetary and financial tracking skills, with the ability to turn programme data into management decisions.
• Strong team leadership, mentoring, and government and stakeholder management skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, presentation and reporting skills.
• Ability to manage several priorities across locations and willingness to travel 30 to 50 percent of the time.
• Lead a multi state portfolio worth ₹5 to 10 crore a year with real decision making scope.
• Work across seven thematic areas, from primary healthcare and FLN to women's enterprise and government convergence.
• Learn alongside thematic leads and a national programmes team in an organisation working in 27 states.
• Join a Great Place to Work certified organisation, recognised for six years running.
• Direct field exposure to communities, frontline teams and government stakeholders across India.

Apply

Integrated programme management Programme budgeting and financial tracking Donor KPI and compliance management Monitoring and evaluation / MIS Government convergence and stakeholder management