Position Name: Senior Program Manager - MEL

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Location:

New Delhi, Delhi, India

Organization Name:

Centre for Effective Governance of Indian States (CEGIS)

Job Description

About CEGIS

Centre for Effective Governance of Indian States (CEGIS pronounced See-Jis) aims to

improve lives by helping Indian state governments deliver better development outcomes.

The four key characteristics of any high-performing organisation are (a) measuring outcomes through reliable, high quality data that enables goal setting and monitoring progress towards these goals; (b) strategic use of personnel competency based hiring and training, skilling, and performance appraisals to determine job assignments, pay, and promotions to achieve the goals above; (c) strategic budgeting where resource allocation is based on evidence and cost-effectiveness; (d) and creating efficient systems to leverage external actors (including for-profit and nonprofit organisations). The Indian State needs to perform better on all four fronts above, by enhancing its capacity. CEGIS partners with states to improve this capacity by focusing on these four pillars of the State.

Informed by cutting-edge research and evidence as well as a practical orientation toward implementable ideas, CEGIS works with State Governments in India to enable a transformative improvement in their functioning. This vision and Theory of Change (ToC) is an outcome of extensive research done by Prof. Karthik Muralidharan (CEGIS Co-Founder and Scientific Director) and strategic philanthropic support provided by Mr. Ashish Dhawan (CEGIS Co-Founder).

Prof. Karthik Muralidharan is the Tata Chancellors Professor of Economics at the University of California, San Diego. Over the past two decades, he has led extensive research projects in India across education, health, and social welfare. His book, Accelerating Indias Development: A State-Led Roadmap for Effective Governance, systematically analyses Indias governance challenges and provides actionable, evidence-based strategies, emphasising state-level reforms as critical for Indias advancement.

Ashish Dhawan is a leading Indian philanthropist and the Founder-CEO of The Convergence Foundation (TCF). He is also the Founding Chairperson of Ashoka University and the Central Square Foundation, and is a governing board member of the Gates Foundation. Before his second career as a philanthropist, Ashish was among Indias most successful private equity investors.

CEGIS Approach and Model of Functioning

Our solutions to enhance governance are co-created with state governments in a state-led way, where we focus on deep partnerships with states with an iterative cycle of think-demonstrate-document-transfer. We work closely with the top bureaucratic leadership, front-line workers and public officials in Finance, Planning, Human Resources and a few other priority line departments.

In alignment with our four principles or pillars of change - outcome measurement, personnel management, strategic public finance, states and markets, CEGIS is currently working with the governments of Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, NCT of Delhi, Assam, and a few Government of India entities like the NITI Aayog and Capacity Building Commission (CBC) across a range of projects and sectors. Through CEGIS flagship offering, the KPI (Key Performance Indicators) Survey, we are helping enable state governments we are working with to collect better quality citizen level data, make informed, evidence-based decisions, and institutionalise this process of securing periodic citizen-level feedback. We are setting up a Financial Analytics Unit (FAU) to enhance analytical capacity and increase the effectiveness of budgetary allocations of the Finance Department in another state. In alignment with our personnel management workstream, we are also working with the HR/Administrative Reforms & Training Department to set up and institutionalise an in-house Capacity Building Unit (CBU) that aids the adoption of competency-based Learning Management Systems (LMS) and Performance Management Systems (PMS) with a few of these entities. Similarly, to improve the value of public money, we are working at the interface of states and markets which encompasses procurement, regulation, and policy formulation. Our solutions are constantly being refined based on real-time feedback and are designed to be customised and replicated across contexts.

CEGIS@5: A Journey of Learning & Building Capacity

Since its incorporation in 2019, despite the enormous challenges posed by COVID, CEGIS has gained significant momentum in building strong collaborations with the government(s) as a trusted partner who can provide both thought leadership and implementation support on key governance reforms. CEGIS position as a non-profit that does not take any funding from the government (other than in-kind contributions of office space/staff) has been a key enabler in earning this trust.

Beginning with 2 state government engagements in the first 2 years of its inception, today CEGIS is working across several Indian states with 15+ projects across several sectors, including education, nutrition and local governance. From a small group of founding members, we have grown by leaps and bounds to become a team of 150+ members located across the country. Helmed by a former bureaucrat with invaluable governance experience, state and solution team leads with decades of domain expertise, and enabling functions led by professionals with considerable corporate careers, the team at CEGIS brings together knowledge and experience that spans various sectors - from developmental economics, research, and governance to management consulting and social entrepreneurship.

Over the last 5 years, we have also been able to garner support for our vision and theory of change from a diverse range of foundations and philanthropists whose partnership has enabled us to build our own organisational capacity as well as continue to experiment and improve our solution design to augment state capacity and governance. We believe that this approach will gradually enable all government officials to achieve their goals more effectively, thereby improving the ability of the State to deliver services to all Indian citizens in the decades to come.

To explore what the mission of CEGIS is and the impact we hope to have, please take a look at this video of our CEO, Dr Vijay Pingale.

Funding Partners:

CEGIS Approach and Model of Functioning

Our solutions to enhance governance are co-created with state governments in a state-led way, where we focus on deep partnerships with states with an iterative cycle of thinking and doing. We work closely with the Chief Secretary and other top bureaucratic leadership, front-line workers and public officials in Finance, Planning and other line departments, with guidance from the Chief Minister and Finance Minister of the respective states. Today, CEGIS works across 6 Indian states and 15+ projects across 6 sectors - Education, Nutrition, and Local Governance among others.

Our team at CEGIS has extensive technical experience: renowned economists, former bureaucrats, consultants, researchers, social entrepreneurs, development sector professionals. We are trained academically in the best institutions in India and abroad across disciplines such as development economics, management, public policy, international development, and the like. We also seek extensive strategic advice from our pool of supportive external experts who further guide us in refining our solutions.

Overview:

Within CEGIS, the primary objectives of the MEL function are outlined below.

  • To lay the foundations for incorporating a MEL lens into project design by establishing a systematic approach monitor and evaluate the progress of projects,
  • To measure and document the progress and impact of interventions for internal learning and external communication,
  • To facilitate data-backed decision-making and project management by aiding progress tracking, course correction and learning, and
  • To create a repository of MEL resources, promote adaptive learning, and build internal CEGIS capacity on MEL.
  • The MEL Lead will play a crucial role in executing this vision across the organisation, working closely with all the vertical teams, the State teams and other enabling functions.

Position Summary:

As the MEL Lead, you will collaborate with project and state teams to design and implement project monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning frameworks and plans and design evaluation methodologies and protocols catering to specific contexts, to report on outputs and outcomes. Your role will encompass contributing to adaptive management across programmes to drive programme quality, efficiency and effectiveness. You would lead the development of and reporting against the CEGIS MEL Results Framework and lead

the design and delivery of a strong learning agenda to build evidence of what works in bringing transformative improvement in state capacity.

Roles and Responsibilities:

MEL Oversight:

  • Support the design of MEL frameworks across projects to guide all MEL across the organisation.
  • Evaluate and review programme ToCs and MEL frameworks to ensure periodic updation in response to emerging learning.
  • Lead the development of, and reporting against the MEL Results Framework, including designing qualitative and quantitative indicators, means of verification and reporting and quality assurance processes for all data.
  • Ensure evidence and learning produced by the programmes are communicated externally to the wider sector, and that programme approaches are informed by the most up-to-date external evidence.
  • Lead the design of technical evaluations and oversee quality control mechanisms in alignment with specific contexts and organisation protocols.
  • Develop an annual MEL workplan and routinely update it, incorporating key project MEL activities.
  • Ensure that technical and operational learnings from MEL work on projects are documented and inform the project trajectories and organisation priorities.
  • Oversee training of project personnel on the MEL operations including performance indicators, data collection processes and their responsibilities.
  • Establish and facilitate feedback forums on a regular basis to share accumulated learning within project teams and advise programme decision-makers on the improvements to activity design and implementation processes.

Research and Data Management:

  • Regularly check progress on data analysis and provide necessary inputs for improvement.
  • Oversee accuracy and validity of data collected to inform decision making.
  • Enhance accuracy, validity, and completeness of collected research and data.
  • Develop protocols and guidelines for managing data quality, security, access, verification, and validation.

Project Management:

  • Support adaptive management across projects, to drive quality, efficiency and effectiveness.
  • Collaborate routinely with project leads, state leads, and vertical leads to align on MEL operations and ensure successful completion.
  • Ensure that adaptive management processes, and the learning that feeds into them, are well-documented and shared (internally and externally).
  • Lead/coordinate technical inputs into monthly, quarterly and annual reviews and reporting.
  • Manage MEL outputs on projects and ensure timely completion.
  • Support budgeting processes for data collection activities.
  • Ensure quality and technical integrity of MEL outputs.
  • Prepare and pitch proposals to donors and stakeholders.

Communication and Stakeholder Engagement:

  • Identify and cultivate strategic partnerships with external stakeholders.
  • Synthesize stakeholders' feedback to develop strategic communication strategies.
  • Shape stakeholder perceptions through engagement and relationship building

Knowledge Product Development:

  • Collaborate with team members to develop impactful knowledge products, such as policy notes, analysis reports, and frameworks and contribute to knowledge sharing.
  • Transform insights and findings into actionable knowledge products.
  • Facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration

Qualifications and Attributes:

  • 10 to 12 years of progressive work experience in the MEL space, including field research, managing evaluations, and quantitative and qualitative analysis.
  • Masters or advanced degree in economics, statistics, public policy, engineering, or related fields from a prestigious institution.
  • Deep and up-to-date understanding of programme evaluation and learning cycles, data analysis and presentation of results
  • Experience using major evaluation methodologies (qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods) and data collection and analysis methodologies
  • Strong qualitative and quantitative data analysis and management skills using STATA, R, or Python programming and qualitative data analysis software.
  • Strong planning and organizational skills, adept at setting priorities and meeting deadlines.
  • Deep passion for enhancing the effectiveness of Indian States, with an operating style conducive to autonomy, adaptability, and resourcefulness under pressure.
  • Proven ability to manage competing priorities and deliver high-quality outputs consistently.
  • A creative mindset and willingness to experiment with new ideas.
  • Exceptional collaboration and active listening skills, fostering an inclusive environment.
  • Adaptability to transition between projects and sectors, demonstrating versatility and agility.
  • Superior problem-solving, strategic thinking, and research acumen for analyzing complex data.
  • Excellent proficiency in English, with exceptional writing and communication skills tailored to diverse audiences.
  • Advanced planning and organizational skills, including effective team management and collaboration with stakeholders.
  • Proven ability to consistently deliver high-quality results and innovate new initiatives.

Compensation:

Remuneration will be competitive with Indian philanthropy and social sector pay scales and will depend on the candidates experience levels.

Note: CEGIS has zero tolerance to sexual harassment. We therefore expect each applicant to self-declare related to the same. CEGIS could, if required, initiate a prevention of sexual harassment-based background verification. If an applicant is reported of misconduct, appropriate action that may include employment termination would be taken. Please Click the link for self declaration.

Pre-reads for the application process:

Please go through the following materials before sending in your application: