Senior Program Manager

Ground Zero; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 2,400,000 - 3,600,000; Full time

Job summary

Ground Zero in Bengaluru is seeking a Senior Program Manager for Women's Economic Empowerment (WEE). This role focuses on solving complex market challenges, shaping strategy, and delivering high-impact initiatives to increase women's economic participation.

You will lead multi-regional programs, manage budgets and governance, build partnerships with government, funders, and grassroots groups, and mentor a high-performing team.

Qualifications

• Postgraduate degree in Development Studies, Economics, or related field.
• 10+ years of progressive program leadership experience.
• Experience with women entrepreneurs, FPOs/SHGs, or inclusive supply chains.
• Proven ability to engage government, corporate partners, and funders.

Responsibilities

• Strategic problem solving portfolio development and scaling strategies.
• End-to-end design and delivery of multi-stakeholder WEE programs.
• Lead ecosystem partnerships and cross-sector collaboration.
• Direct a high-performing program team with accountability.
• Manage funder relationships and translate impact into proposals and reports.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Stakeholder management

Problem solving

Team leadership

Education

Postgraduate degree

Job description

Job Summary

Job Title: Senior Program Manager - Women's Economic Empowerment (WEE)

Location: Bengaluru

Experience: 10+ years

This is a problem-solving and program leadership role focused on shaping and delivering high-impact initiatives in Women's Economic Empowerment (WEE). Rather than standard administration, the position demands a strong understanding of market ecosystems and the ability to translate knowledge into clear strategies, practical interventions, strategic partnerships, and measurable outcomes.

The role bridges strategy and execution - identifying structural barriers, designing solutions, leading teams, and managing cross-sector partnerships to drive scalable economic participation, market access, and enterprise growth for women.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Problem Solving Portfolio Development (25%)
  • Identify structural barriers, emerging opportunities, and practical pathways to increase women's economic participation, incomes, enterprise growth, and agency.
  • Lead structured problem-solving around complex market challenges and translate sector insights into clear, evidence-informed program strategies.
  • Develop hypotheses and operational frameworks that can be tested, refined, and scaled across diverse geographies.
  • Independently own strategic workstreams from problem definition through to implementation, learning, and scale.
• Program Design, Leadership Execution (25%)
  • Lead the end-to-end design and delivery of multi-stakeholder WEE programs across multiple regions.
  • Establish work plans, milestones, budgets, governance structures, quality assurance, and risk management systems.
  • Conduct regular program reviews using data and field insights to course-correct and ensure focus remains on measurable outcomes rather than outputs alone.
  • Ensure execution discipline, timely delivery against commitments, and operational scalability.
• Ecosystem Leadership Partnerships (20%)
  • Maintain deep expertise in WEE, women's entrepreneurship, livelihoods, market systems, financial inclusion, and producer collectives (FPOs/SHGs).
  • Build and manage strategic relationships across government entities, funders, corporate partners, financial institutions, and grassroots organizations.
  • Identify synergies among ecosystem actors to unlock capital, markets, technology, networks, and scale for women-led enterprises.
  • Represent the organization in sector convenings, consultations, and strategic forums.
• Team Management People Leadership (15%)
  • Direct, mentor, and build a high-performing program team with clear accountabilities and goals.
  • Foster a culture of ownership, accountability, psychological safety, and continuous learning.
  • Delegate effectively while maintaining oversight of quality, timelines, and outcomes.
  • Coach team members and build a strong second line of leadership capable of managing complex programs independently.
• Funder Resource Management (10%)
  • Manage relationships with existing and potential funding partners, leading high-level external conversations.
  • Translate program impact and strategy into compelling proposals, reports, and narratives.
  • Oversee budget planning, financial compliance, contractual requirements, and resource allocation across programs.
• Knowledge Management Thought Leadership (5%)
  • Capture field insights, document best practices, and produce learning notes, case studies, and policy briefs.
  • Synthesize program evidence to inform internal strategies and broader industry practices.

Key Qualifications

Education: Postgraduate degree in Development Studies, Economics, Business Administration, Public Policy, Gender Studies, Social Sciences, Management, or a related field.

Experience: 10+ years of progressive experience in program leadership or complex program management roles within gender, livelihoods, financial inclusion, market systems, or enterprise development.

Domain Depth: Proven track record working with women entrepreneurs, producer collectives (FPOs/SHGs), market linkages, or inclusive supply chains.

Stakeholder Management: Demonstrated success working directly with government officials, corporate leaders, philanthropic entities, and grassroots institutions.

Team Leadership: Direct experience hiring, managing, coaching, and developing high-performing teams.

Travel: Readiness to travel regularly to project sites, including rural and semi-urban locations.

Core Competencies Traits

• Root-Cause Problem Solver: Able to break down complex, ambiguous problems into structured, actionable frameworks.
• Execution Rigor: Relentlessly focused on implementation quality, timeline adherence, and quantifiable impact.
• Influence Without Authority: Capable of aligning diverse stakeholders with varying interests toward shared goals.
• Adaptable: Comfortable making decisions in fast-paced environments with evolving contexts or incomplete data.

Disclaimer: This job posting has been aggregated from external source. Role details, content, and availability are subject to change. Applicants are advised to confirm the latest information directly on the company website before applying.