Senior Program Manager

Centre for Effective Governance of Indian States (CEGIS); Hyderabad; On-site; INR 2,500,000 - 4,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Centre for Effective Governance of Indian States (CEGIS) seeks a Senior Program Manager – Education, Telangana. This senior leadership role partners with the state government, oversees education projects, and mentors an embedded team.

Based in Hyderabad with travel across the state, the role translates complex analysis into governance solutions and drives strategic partnerships to improve learning outcomes.

Qualifications

• Degree in public policy, economics, management, engineering, social sciences, or related field.
• 9–12 years of experience in management/strategy/impact consulting or govt-facing partnerships.
• Experience building relationships with senior government officials in India.

Responsibilities

• Represent as primary liaison with Telangana School Education Department leadership.
• Oversee end-to-end design and implementation of education projects.
• Lead and mentor a multidisciplinary team embedded with the Telangana education department.
• Translate analysis into governance solutions and drive measurable improvements in learning.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Strategic thinking

Leadership

Analytical skills

English communication

Education

Public policy

Job description

The Senior Program Manager – Education, Telangana will serve as CEGIS's primary engagement point for its education portfolio in the state. This is a senior leadership role that combines strategic government partnership, project execution, and team management.

The incumbent will serve as the primary relationship manager, while ensuring institutional continuity of government partnerships across the CEGIS team

The role requires an experienced professional who can operate credibly at the senior levels of a state government, translate complex analytical work into implementable governance solutions, and build and mentor a high-performing embedded team - while being supported by the Education Lead, State Lead and CEGIS's technical functions.

Key Responsibilities

Government Engagement & Strategic Partnership

Serve as CEGIS's primary representative with senior officials of the Telangana School Education Department Leadership.

Build and sustain trusted, high-quality relationships with government counterparts; represent CEGIS effectively in high-level reviews, policy consultations, and decision-making forums

Drive the government engagement agenda—identify priority areas for collaboration, facilitate strategic discussions, and support agenda-setting with senior leadership

Accountable for influencing and enabling programme outcomes through strong partnerships and execution excellence

Strategy & Theory of Change

Champion CEGIS's theory of change across all education projects in Telangana; ensure that every workstream reflects CEGIS's core approach of evidence-data-backed.

Co-create and continuously refine project strategy with the state government, anchoring it in an understanding of the Telangana education system's specific context and constraints

Identify systemic bottlenecks, surface opportunities for intervention, and bring cross-state learnings to strengthen project design

Define and monitor indicators of success at the programme level; ensure projects are oriented towards measurable improvements in learning and governance outcomes

Project Design & Implementation

Oversee the design and end-to-end implementation of education projects, including workstreams related to foundational learning, teacher professional development, academic monitoring, data systems, and capacity building

Structure complex problems, synthesise hypotheses, and develop appropriate analytical frameworks in collaboration with CEGIS technical functions and senior academics

Ensure timely delivery of high-quality project outputs, applying CEGIS-wide protocols for data management, data protection, and project management

Conduct quality control over field and desk research, quantitative and qualitative analysis, and all deliverables produced by the team

Data, Evidence & Decision Support

Enable evidence-based decision-making by ensuring robust data collection, analysis, and reporting across all projects

Set up and strengthen monitoring mechanisms, dashboards, and feedback loops that help government counterparts track implementation progress in real-time

Translate technical rigor into actionable, contextually appropriate recommendations for government stakeholders

Proactively identify project risks and implementation bottlenecks; communicate upward with timely, suggestive remedies.

Team Leadership & Operations

Lead, mentor, and manage a multidisciplinary team embedded in or closely partnering with the Telangana education department

Support reportees in planning and prioritising workstreams, setting timelines, and meeting deliverables; provide substantive intellectual and professional development support

Ensure the team operates in alignment with CEGIS's values and protocols, including data ethics, quality standards, and stakeholder engagement norms

Draft and review high-quality written outputs—strategy notes, policy briefs, presentations, analytical reports, and government-facing documents

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Degree or equivalent in public policy, economics, management, engineering, social sciences, or a related field from a reputed institution
• Experience: 9 to 12 years of relevant experience in one or more of the following:
• Management or strategy or impact consulting, with significant development sector exposure or in leading government-facing partnerships for private or non-profit organizations
• Programme leadership roles with government advisory entities, multilateral organisations, international development institutions, or strategic philanthropy organisations
• Demonstrated track record of building and sustaining productive working relationships with senior officials in Indian state governments
• Proven experience leading and mentoring multi-disciplinary teams in a fast-paced, complex programme environment
• Experience in the education sector is preferred; strong candidates from other social sector domains are also encouraged to apply

Exceptional stakeholder management: able to engage credibly and confidently with senior bureaucrats and build durable, trust-based relationships

Strategic and systems thinking: ability to understand complex government systems, identify leverage points, and develop solutions that are both analytically rigorous and implementable

Strong analytical skills: comfort with quantitative and qualitative data, research methods, and translating evidence into governance recommendations

Outstanding written and verbal communication in English; ability to tailor communication for diverse audiences including government officials, academics, and internal leadership

Basic to intermediate proficiency in Telugu; ability to navigate working contexts where Telugu is the primary language of communication

Execution orientation: ability to manage multiple workstreams, set priorities, meet deadlines, and deliver high-quality outputs under pressure

Team leadership: ability to inspire, develop, and hold accountable a diverse team while maintaining a collaborative and supportive working environment

Adaptability and creativity: comfortable with ambiguity, willing to experiment with new approaches, and able to pivot as project contexts evolve

Personal Characteristics

Deep commitment to improving the effectiveness of Indian state governments and alignment with CEGIS's mission and theory of change

High degree of personal ownership and accountability; proactive in identifying and solving problems

Ability to work under pressure by handling competing priorities

Collaborative working style that values and actively incorporates diverse perspectives

Comfortable operating in a small-organisation environment where resourcefulness, agility, and initiative are essential

Ability to hold firm on quality standards while remaining pragmatic and solution-oriented in the face of real-world implementation constraints

Location

This role is based in Hyderabad, Telangana, with regular travel to districts across the state and occasional travel to CEGIS offices as needed.