Senior Program Operations Associate

Climate Policy Initiative; Delhi; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 2,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Climate Policy Initiative in New Delhi seeks a Senior Program Operations Associate to coordinate grant and program operations across an assigned portfolio, ensuring compliance, operational efficiency, and high-quality delivery throughout the grant lifecycle. The role collaborates with program, finance, and operations teams to support project implementation and strengthen processes.

The position emphasizes pre-award/proposal support, post-award program operations, and contract/compliance

Qualifications

• Post Graduate degree in Business Administration/Management Studies/Finance/Social Sciences with minimum 5 years post-qualification experience.
• Familiarity with financial or operational tools systems (e.g., Netsuite, SharePoint) and project management skills.
• Professional experience in financial services, management consulting/advisory/research, international non-profit, government, and/or multilateral institutions.
• Independent, analytical mind with an excellent track record of applying sound financial judgment to complex issues.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, including fluency in English.
• High attention to detail and strong organizational ability.
• Willingness to travel internationally/domestically.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate operational inputs for proposal development including timelines, due diligence, legal review and submission requirements.
• Operations Lead for proposal development responsibilities, including timelines, inputs, and submission requirements across operations/legal teams.
• Support due diligence processes for prospective and existing partners, ensuring completeness and compliance of documentation.
• Provide guidance to program teams on proposal requirements, systems, and internal processes.
• Coordinate grant implementation activities across the portfolio, ensuring compliance with partner requirements and organizational policies.
• Monitor grant performance, including risks, compliance issues, and key milestones; elevate as needed.
• Ensure timely and high-quality reporting in coordination with program and finance teams.
• Coordinate invoicing processes with program and finance team.
• Support internal and external audit processes.
• Coordinate project closeout activities, ensuring completion of required documentation and operational closeout processes.
• Coordinate consultant onboarding, contract execution and contract administration in collaboration with Program, Legal and Finance teams.
• Ensure compliance of contractors, sub-grantees and vendors with organizational requirements.
• Maintain project compliance documentation and monitor adherence to partner and organizational requirements.
• Coordinate project setup and administration in SPP, Intacct and Fluxx, ensuring accurate project configuration and data integrity.
• Prepare portfolio dashboards and operational reports to support project monitoring, decision-making and management reporting.
• Serve as India point of contact for systems implementation and improvements, driving adoption and alignment with global program processes.
• Support continuous improvement of grant and program management systems, processes, and tools.
• Support onboarding and training of staff on compliance and internal operations processes.

Skills

English fluency

Project management

Financial analysis

Data management

Communication skills

Stakeholder management

Team collaboration

Education

MBA/PG degree

Tools

Netsuite

SharePoint

Intacct

Fluxx

Job description

Job Description

Senior Program Operations Associate

Location: New Delhi, India
Reporting to: Manager – Operations, CPI India
Employment Type: Full-time

About CPI

CPI is an analysis and advisory organization with deepexpertisein finance and policy. Our mission is to help governments, businesses, and financial institutions drive economic growth while addressing climate change.

With a team of experts across seven international offices, including a strong presence in emerging markets and developing economies,CPI is a leader in tracking sustainable investment trends,identifyinginnovative business models, and supporting the solutions that can drive the transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient, inclusive economy. We are unique in our focus on finance, our ability to get the right people to the table, and our analytical rigor.

About the Role

CPI is seeking a well-organized and motivated Senior Program Operations Associate who will be responsible for coordinating grant and program operations across an assigned portfolio, ensuring compliance, operational efficiency, and high-quality delivery throughout the grant lifecycle. The position works closely with Program, Finance, and Operations teams to support project implementation, strengthen operational processes, and ensure compliance with organizational requirements.

Key Roles & Responsibilities

1. Pre Award /Proposal support (25%)

• Coordinate operational inputs for proposal development, including timelines, due diligence, legal review and submission requirements.
• Operations Lead for proposal development responsibilities, including timelines, inputs, and submission requirements across operations/legal teams
• Support due diligence processes for prospective and existing partners, ensuring completeness and compliance of documentation
• Provide guidance to program teams on proposal requirements, systems, and internal processes

2. Post-Award Program Operations (25%)

Grant Management

• Coordinate grant implementation activities across the portfolio, ensuring compliance with partner requirements and organizational policies.
• Monitor grant performance, including risks, compliance issues, and key milestones; elevate as needed
• Ensure timely and high-quality reporting in coordination with program and finance teams
• Coordinate invoicing processes with program and finance team
• Support internal and external audit processes
• Coordinate project closeout activities, ensuring completion of required documentation and operational closeout processes.

Contract & Compliance Management (35%)

• Coordinate consultant onboarding, contract execution and contract administration in collaboration with Program, Legal and Finance teams.
• Ensure compliance of contractors, sub-grantees and vendors with organizational requirements
• Maintain project compliance documentation and monitor adherence to partner and organizational requirements.

Portfolio & Systems Management (15%):

• Coordinate project setup and administration in SPP, Intacct and Fluxx, ensuring accurate project configuration and data integrity.
• Prepare portfolio dashboards and operational reports to support project monitoring, decision-making and management reporting.
• Serve as India point of contact for systems implementation and improvements, driving adoption and alignment with global program processes
• Support continuous improvement of grant and program management systems, processes, and tools
• Support onboarding and training of staff on compliance and internal operations processes

About You: Competencies and Experience

• Post Graduate degree in Business Administration/ Management Studies/ Finance/ Social Sciences and demonstrable (minimum 5 yrs) post-qualification experience in the field
• Familiarity with financial or operational tools systems (eg : Netsuite, SharePoint) and project management skills.
• Professional experience in financial services, management consulting/advisory/research, international non-profit, government, and/or a multi-lateral institution.
• Independent, analytical mind with an excellent track record of applying sound financial judgment to complex issues.
• An ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, including fluency in English
• High attention to detail and strong organizational ability to be highly organised.
• Flexibility, professionalism, enthusiasm for working as part of a team, and ability to interact with diverse people.

About You:Personal Attributes

• You area team playerand aself-starter, andcan survive and thrivewithminimalguidance
• You have an independent, analytical mind witha track recordof applying sound strategic judgement to complex issues
• You are ableto interact with high-level external stakeholders independently
• You have strong quantitative, data management, data analysis, critical thinking, and team managementskills
• You have exceptionalattention to detail, organization, time management, and prioritization skills, and an ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines
• You are an advanced user of the
  MS Office suite, in particular Excel,andcan learn and adapt to new systems
• You have outstanding written and verbal communication skills, including fluency in English
• You are willing to travelinternationally/domestically

Position Details

CPI is recruiting for one full-time position of Senior Program Operations Associate (40 hours) to be based in our New Delhi office.

CPI India has adopted a flexible working policy whereby staff are able to mix working remotely with days in the office.

CPI offers an excellent and competitive compensation and benefits package.

Applicants must be eligible to work in India – we are unfortunately unable to offer any visa sponsorship for this role.

CPI Commitment

CPI’s mission is to create economic opportunity while protecting our environment. This worldview—grounding opportunity in something more fundamental that we all share and must protect—permeates our organization, and forms the foundation of our approach to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).

CPI’s approach to DEI mirrors our mission: within a culture that values transparency and dialogue, we strive to improve equity within our organization as well as in the communities in which we work. Internally and externally, we seek to remove inequitable barriers regardless of their origin, whether it be class, race, religion, nationality, region, political affiliation, gender, sexual orientation or physical ability. We are proactive in identifying and removing biases in our processes, seeking fairness in hiring, working conditions, and professional development.

If you have any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of application. We will then work with you to identify the best way to assist you through the recruitment process.