Grameen Foundation for Social Impact (GFSI)
ABOUT THE ORGANISATION
Grameen Foundation for Social Impact (GFSI) is a not-for-profit organization registered under section 25 of Indian Companies Act, 1956 (now Section 8 of the Indian Companies Act 2023). GFSI is a leading implementation organization working in the space of financial inclusion, agriculture-based livelihoods promotion and farm, off-farm and non-farm enterprise development. With a focus on the most marginalized communities, particularly women, the organization strives to leverage the potential of technology, and connects individuals to vital resources such as information, markets, capital, and skill development opportunities. By collaborating closely with agritech and fintech players, government agencies, market actors, start-ups and innovators, the organization enables communities and their institutions to build assets, navigate crises, mitigate risks, and cultivate resilience.
JOB DESCRIPTION/ RESPONSIBILITIES
Position Summary
The position of Senior Director, Programs has been designed to manage and further grow, in terms of both scale and diversity, the program portfolio of Grameen Foundation in India. The Senior Director, Programs is expected to take leadership in program design, business development, quality of program implementation, stakeholder relationships, knowledge management and organizational learning.
The person will be a seasoned professional with deep experience and knowledge in at least two of Grameen’s program domains- one of - Agriculture and Livelihood Practices, Health and Nutrition, or Innovations in Digital Finance, and Advancing Women’s Entrepreneurship (essential). S/he will have a strong technical grasp of program themes, excellent program management, monitoring, evaluation and learning credentials, business development capabilities, an entrepreneurial mindset, result orientation, and a strong commitment to creating impact.
Working closely with the Senior Leadership Team of Grameen, the Senior Director, Programs will work on program strategy and its roll out, enhance program quality, program monitoring and measurements, manage key stakeholder relationships, curate the learning from Grameen’s programs and those of its peers, and take charge of new program design and development. S/he will also co-ordinate actively with the global program team of Grameen Foundation to translate and implement its signature programs in India and contribute to the design of new programs.
Jointly with the Senior Director, Operations, the Senior Director, Programs will work to monitor programs for timely, quality and effective implementation and reporting, develop realistic project plans and budgets and monitor deliverables and effective and complete utilization of project budgets.
Key Accountabilities
Senior Director, Programs will be directly accountable for:
- Quality of programs and projects
- Knowledge management and organisational learning
- Thought leadership
- Research studies and consulting
- Design of new programs and projects
- New business development
- Design and Implementation of Program Strategy
S/he will have shared responsibility for
- Timely, quality and effective implementation of projects
- Donor reporting
- Budget utilization
- Operational risk management
- Fostering an Entrepreneurial Culture steeped in Mutual Trust and Respect
- Talent management
Scope of Work
- Provide leadership in the areas of program strategy design and its implementation
- Develop and manage partnerships with technical and resource organizations, donors and sector peers
- Guide the design and implementation of knowledge management, learning and evaluation frameworks
- Support implementation leads in addressing program quality issues, donor reporting, program documentation, learning and evaluation
- Support the fund-raising team in new opportunity identification and proposal development
- Support processes that enable the program teams to curate emerging learning into publishable outputs and next phase proposals
- As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, contribute to Grameen’s long term programming, represent the organization at external fora, and build and strengthen organizational positioning and credibility
- Provide subject matter expertise in relevant domains, as applicable
- Ensure that Salesforce records are kept updated, analyzed for management decision making and risk assessment and management
SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES
- Thematic expertise in at least two of the program domains of Grameen
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and Hindi
- Cross-cultural understanding and sensitivity, concern for diversity, and commitment to gender mainstreaming
- Proven people management skills
- Strong stakeholder orientation, ensuring all program actions are undertaken with a view to beneficially impacting the end-client
- A healthy mix of theoretical grasp and practice wrt programming in the sector
- Can build partnerships and work collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives
- Manage ambiguity by operating effectively, even when things are not certain, or the way forward is not clear
- Gain the confidence and trust of others through honesty, integrity, and authenticity
- Demonstrate fiscally responsible decision making as applicable to one’s role
- Handle conflict situations effectively, with a minimum of noise
- A strategic mindset, looking ahead towards future possibilities and translating them into breakthrough strategies
- Ability to take risks and innovate to find lasting solutions to resilient problems faced by the client communities and key stakeholders of Grameen
- Adept at the use of technology and standard office software; skills in the use of statistical software will be an added plus
QUALIFICATIONS
- Postgraduate (MSc / MA / MTech / PGD) from a reputed institution in a subject related to Grameen’s work themes – ALPs, AWE, H&N, IDF, Gender, with first class or above
- Additional certifications related to adult learning / training, communication, data analytics, project management, strategy and/or research will be a plus
EXPERIENCE
- At least 15 years of experience in developing and managing development programs with reputed organizations, of which at least five years should be in a senior management role with a min INR 20 Cr budget organization
- Proven direct engagement (of at least five years) in the design and management of CSR projects, projects from multilateral donors, is essential
- Should have designed at least five new, multi-year projects and successfully realized funding for the same in the last five years
REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS
- The Senior Director, Programs will report to the CEO.
- Thematic Leads will report to the Senior Director, Programs
GFSI is an equal opportunity employer and particularly encourages women candidates to apply.