Children's Investment Fund Foundation
Location: New Delhi (Delhi)
About the Organization
Children's Investment Fund Foundation is an independent philanthropic organisation, working with a range of partners seeking to transform the lives of children and adolescents. Our programmes are designed to support bold ideas to solve seemingly intractable problems.
Job Description
As an advanced expert and a key leader in data analytics and assessing programme performance, you will drive the development of innovative, evidence-based strategies that ensure CIFF’s work in India is grounded in data-driven decision-making and operational excellence.
Your focus will be on generating actionable programme and operational insights through rigorous data analysis, econometric modelling, and predictive analytics to optimise India’s programme performance and long-term sustainability. You will manage, and regularly update a high-quality portfolio of programme analytics and models that support strategic decision-making, contributing directly to the achievement of CIFF’s operational and programmatic goals in India.
In addition, you will develop and maintain strong internal collaborations and external relationships, ensuring that data insights drive impactful decisions across CIFF and its broader ecosystem of mission-specific partners, further positioning CIFF as a leader in evidence-based philanthropy.
Job Responsibilities
Strategy and Planning:
- Lead the collection, analysis, and interpretation of complex datasets to generate actionable insights for the Director, Programme Excellence - India, and the Executive Team.
- Lead the development and implementation of data-driven strategies to optimise programme performance and operational excellence, ensuring alignment with CIFF’s mission and goals.
- Oversee the development of econometric and predictive models to forecast program outcomes and resource needs to support informed decision-making for programme Directors and Director, Programme Excellence - India.
- Collaborate with Programme teams to continuously improve models based on evolving data insights.
- Collaborate with senior leadership to develop program analytics and operational insights strategies, backed by robust data and evidence.
- Implement data validation processes for missions and programme investments to ensure accuracy and reliability, identifying trends, risks, and opportunities.
- Provide insights on performance metrics and operational efficiency, ensuring they align with long-term organisational goals.
- Programme Development, delivery and performance
- Support Directors in regular reviews of program progress and performance to identify issues and delays, working with programme teams to develop effective solutions, and escalate to senior colleagues when needed.
- Lead the design and implementation of monitoring frameworks to accurately measure program impact, ensuring data quality and consistency.
- Monitor and report on the performance of assigned portfolios against key corporate and mission team indicators, providing real-time feedback to program teams to support continuous improvement.
- Apply agreed due diligence and risk management protocols appropriately throughout the development and delivery of proposals and programmes, to ensure the interests and reputation of the Foundation are protected.
- Collaborate with program teams and the Director of Programme Excellence to conduct structured feasibility analyses on investment proposals, using appropriate methodologies to ensure they are based on robust methodologies and can withstand scrutiny from the Executive Team (ET) and CIFF Board.
- Lead on the development of summary reports, board reports and portfolio investment reports, ensuring these are produced to a high-standard and in a timely fashion, often within tight timeframes, in collaboration with programme colleagues
- Oversee and Co-ordinate as needed the development of grant agreements, to forecast and process grant payments and to enable effective grant management and reporting within the organisation.
- Using expert judgement, propose solutions in relation to complex, non-routine and unclear problems where limited information may be available.
- Lead development of new, and identifies opportunities and options for improving processes, procedures, and programme management approaches within (and beyond) the team, to support increased organisational efficiency and effectiveness.
- The role will require collaboration with the Digital and Technology Solutions (DTS) team on building, managing and utilising the Mission reporting architecture.
Stakeholder and Partner management:
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including finance and operations, to ensure data-driven decision-making fostering a culture of data excellence and continuous learning within the organization.
- Act as a key advisor to the Director, Programme Excellence - India and Executive Director providing regular insights on program performance, risks, and opportunities for improvement.
- As a subject matter expert, support programme teams to conduct rigorous research and evaluation of potential partners, using agreed corporate protocols and techniques, to assess their suitability and credentials for collaborating on CIFF initiatives.
- Apply CIFF’s agreed account management disciplines and approaches in all dealings with programme partners and stakeholders, to ensure productive and professional relationships are maintained in a coordinated and strategic manner.
- Working alongside senior colleagues, help to develop strategic partnerships to support adoption, replication, co-funding or scaling-up of CIFF programmes.
- Make recommendations for transformative change within CIFF in relation to its Missions and broader organizational priorities achieving engagement from leadership on proposals for future strategies and delivery of tactical results.
Sector knowledge and profile-building.
- Keep abreast of developments within national and international development sectors around effective philanthropy, implementation science and measuring impact, establishing appropriate information gathering networks and channels to deepen professional knowledge and skills.
- As required, contribute to the development of thought leadership, PR, marketing, and advocacy materials, to support CIFF’s ambitions to scale-up, mainstream and leverage additional support for its initiatives.
- Engage with and maintain open and constructive dialogue with relevant international, national, and state level stakeholders particularly across Government ministries and agencies with an emphasis on data, evidence and sustainability.
- Represent CIFF at conferences, workshops, professional events.
Membership and leadership of the team
- Be a role model to other team members, demonstrating CIFF’s leadership behaviours and providing mentorship to aid their growth.
- Adopt a coaching approach with colleagues which instills a culture of openness and trust, embraces diverse thinking, and encourages continuous improvement and learning.
- We operate a matrix structure so reporting lines can vary between specific aspects of the role.
Key Working Relationships
- CIFF Board members
- Other CIFF teams – particularly programme teams
- Global partners and stakeholders – e.g. WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, DFID, World Bank, USAID et al
- International charities and NGOs – e.g. Gates Foundation, Theme specific partner INGOs
- National and State governments and local NGO partners in priority geographies
- Research and academic institutions active on CIFF priority areas.
- DTS team
Management Dimensions
- Responsible for managing a personal pipeline and delivery targets of USD 3-5 million, while contributing to decision-making for a combined portfolio valued at over USD 200 million.
Education Qualification/Required Skills & Experience
- Expertise in econometric and predictive modeling, statistical analysis, and data-driven forecasting, with proficiency in at least one of the following tools - Stata, MATLAB, advanced Excel or similar.
- Strong understanding of how data models impact operational, financial, and program outcomes to support strategic decision-making.
- Proficiency in financial analysis, including cost-benefit analysis, scenario planning, and financial forecasting.
- Experience in maintaining programme related mission dashboards, KPIs, and performance monitoring tools, along with proficiency in data visualization tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI) for clear communication to non-technical stakeholders.
- Strong experience in data validation, quality assurance, and ensuring data consistency for accurate decision-making.
- Extensive experience working with public datasets, including a strong understanding of the public data landscape, access protocols, and how to leverage these datasets for analysis, reporting, and decision-making across various programmatic and strategic initiatives.
- Strong communication skills, able to translate complex data into actionable insights for senior leadership and external partners.
- Proven ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams and external partners, including the Government, to drive strategic alignment.
- Strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail, with experience managing complex projects and leveraging data for operational improvements.
- Knowledge of the evidence bases pertaining to programme design and implementation, and belief in the importance of evidence-based decision making.
- An innovative thinker with a pragmatic and solution-oriented mindset
- Ability to analyse an organization’s strength of management, vision and adaptive capacity. Ability to recruit, guide, influence and/or advise management teams to effectively implement programs.
- Experience working within one of more of the following - government systems and/or experience influencing the policies of government agencies, private sector or donor organizations.
- Effectively champions and promotes causes – credible and professional, they always present the Foundation’s programs in a compelling way to engage the audience.
- Skilled in relationship building and strengthening; able to influence others and work collaboratively, uniting groups with a shared purpose.
- English is CIFF’s business language – we expect all our people to display outstanding verbal and written communication skills across all aspects of their role.
- Capacity to work in a range of cultural and socio-economic contexts, adapting style and approach appropriately and in a culturally sensitive manner to maximize effectiveness.
- A proven self-starter, who works with pace and resilience.
