Specialist, State Program and Partnership

ChildFund; Hyderabad; On-site; INR 1,500,000 - 2,200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance (if provided)

Job summary

ChildFund India in Hyderabad seeks a Specialist, State Program and Partnership for Telangana to provide strategic leadership for program implementation, partnerships, and resource mobilization at the state level.

You will lead state-level stakeholders, strengthen partnerships with government, donors, and civil society, and ensure safeguarding standards and program quality across initiatives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in relevant field is required. Master's preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead and deliver state-level programs in Telangana with quality and on-time execution.
• Mentor partners and field teams to strengthen capacity and impact.
• Engage with government officials and donors to mobilize resources.

Job description

Job Summary

• Position title and grade: Specialist, State Program and Partnership (Grade 7)
• Position type/duration: Fixed-Term (Two years with possibility of extension subject to organizational needs, satisfactory performance, and funds availability)
• Position location: ChildFund India, Hyderabad office
• Work schedule: Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, 40 hours per week
• Telework eligible: Yes
• Reports to: Regional Lead, Program Partnership (South West)

Role Overview

The Specialist, State Program and Partnership - Telangana is a senior state-level leadership position responsible for ensuring high-quality program implementation, building strategic partnerships, and strengthening ChildFund India\"s presence and influence in Telangana. The role provides strategic leadership to partners and teams, leads state-level stakeholders and government engagement, and contributes to resource mobilization efforts in alignment with the Country Partnership Strategy. Remain alert and responsive to any safeguarding risks; acquire and maintain the relevant knowledge and skills necessary to promote strong safeguarding practices; understand and adhere to ChildFund India\"s Safeguarding Policy and Procedures; and conduct yourself at all times in a manner consistent with ChildFund India\"s safeguarding principles and standards.

Responsibilities

Program Implementation

• Accountable for effective and timely delivery of all programs in assigned states, in line with approved plans, budgets, and quality standards.
• Lead and strengthen the capacity of partners, field teams, and communities through mentoring, technical support, and supervision.
• Ensure robust monitoring, risk assessment, and adaptive management of programs, incorporating mitigation strategies into planning and implementation.
• Drive innovation and cross-learning to enhance program impact and scalability, in collaboration with technical leads and partners.

External Relations, Government Partnerships and Stakeholder Engagement

• Lead the state-level stakeholder engagement strategy, positioning ChildFund India as a trusted and influential development partner in Telangana.
• Build, manage, and sustain strategic relationships with senior government officials, departments, and state institutions to support program scale, convergence, and policy alignment.
• Serve as the primary interface with key external stakeholders, including donors, corporates (CSR), and institutional partners, ensuring effective relationship management and long-term collaboration.
• Strengthen ChildFund India\"s visibility and credibility by fostering partnerships with civil society organizations, academia, networks, and thought leaders at the state level.
• Identify and pursue opportunities for strategic collaboration, advocacy, and policy influence through campaigns and engagement with relevant government bodies and policymakers.
• Represent ChildFund India in state-level forums, networks, and policy platforms, contributing to sector dialogue, learning, and thought leadership.
• Support the expansion of the donor base in the state by nurturing partnerships that enable sustained and strategic program interventions.

Strategic leadership and Resource Mobilization

• Lead state-level resource mobilization planning and delivery in alignment with ChildFund India\"s Country Partnership Strategy.
• Accountable for achieving quarterly and annual fundraising targets from government, institutions, corporates, and other channels.
• Lead proposal development, donor negotiations, and partnership structuring at the state level, ensuring compliance with organizational policies.

Communication, donor positioning and reporting

• Provide strategic direction and oversight to communications and branding efforts supporting fundraising and stakeholder engagement, working closely with the Communications team to ensure alignment with ChildFund India\"s brand and messaging.
• Work with communications team in planning and implementing campaigns for fundraising and to enhance the impact and outreach of ChildFund\"s work with children.
• Guide communication team on developing relevant content for ChildFund India website to make it fundraising oriented in line with organization\"s branding guidelines.
• Ensure optimum utilization of organizational digital channels - website, email and social media accounts - for supporter engagement and to raise resource.
• Responsible for high quality donor servicing and regular communications, such as mailers and newsletters, with individual supporters, corporates and institutions.

Team management

• Be responsible for overseeing team/s at the state level, fostering culture of high performance and capacity development of team/s.
• Work closely with the Child Development team to strengthen program integration.
• Ensure timely completion and delivery of internal and external reporting requirements.
• Any other responsibilities as assigned by the Line Manager/Supervisor.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications Required for This Position

Education

• Bachelor\"s degree or equivalent in Social Work / Social Sciences / Management / Rural Urban development and other relevant disciplines is required. Master\"s or postgraduate qualifications in the above-mentioned areas are preferred.

Work Experience

• Minimum 5 years of development experience with minimum of 3 years experience in managing large programs and partnerships portfolio at the state level. Sound knowledge and experience on at least in one thematic programs - health, education, livelihood, child protection and building environmental sustainability and resilience.
• Prior experience in engaging with the senior level government officials from ministries and departments and ability to maintain government relationships.

Language Proficiency

• Fluency in English both verbal and written, is preferred. Proficiency in additional local languages will be considered an advantage.

Skills and Abilities

• Proven ability to lead, build and manage relationships with donors, stakeholders and partners in the state of operation (Telangana). Experience in both states would be a key advantage.
• Strong project management and communication skills (both verbal and written). Adept in using computers, particularly in using Microsoft Office suite applications. Organized, team player, self-starter and results-oriented individual. Gender sensitive with strong conviction and skills for the empowerment of excluded and disadvantaged children.

Job Knowledge

• Knowledge of standards and effective practices across multiple disciplines for children and to set strategic direction.

Core Competencies

• Teamwork: the ability to work effectively and collaborate with others; values and respects individual differences.
• Communication: demonstrates empathy and tact when communicating with others and uses a storytelling approach when appropriate.
• Results orientation: gets things done; takes proactive steps to achieve organizational goals and quality standards.
• Decision making: uses good judgement, critical thinking, and non-traditional ways to evaluate problems and opportunities; reflects and innovates to improve decisions and outcomes.
• Resilience: thrives and grows in rapidly changing, demanding, and complex environments.
• Digital literacy: adopts and champions new technology to relevant contexts, stays aware of technological trends and embraces technological solutions to business challenges.

Evaluation and Selection Criteria

Step 1: HR Pre-Screening: All Job Applications received will be collated by HR and preliminary screening will be conducted based on the minimum education and experience requirements mentioned above. The Applicants that do not meet the education and experience criteria will not be considered further for the selection process. All the qualified applications will be handed over by HR to the Selection Panel.

Step 2: Qualified applications will be further reviewed by the Selection Panel. The Selection Panel will assess and rank all the applications based on the following factors for a maximum of 100 points:

• Evaluation Factors Points
• Job Knowledge Academic Background 40 points
• Relevant Work Experience 40 points
• Digital Literacy Tool Proficiency 20 points

The written test will be conducted for the most highly rated applications.

Step 3: Based on the written test assessment, applications will be further shortlisted for Step 3 i.e. Interview. The applications will be evaluated by the Selection Panel.

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.