Job Openings Head - Strategic Public Finance

About the job Head - Strategic Public Finance

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. We believe that the most impactful lever for accelerating national development is to improve governance and state capacity to better deliver core public services at scale.

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. CEGISs vision and Theory of Change (ToC) are an outcome of extensive research done by Prof. Karthik Muralidharan (CEGIS Co-Founder and Scientific Director) and outlined in his multiple award-winning, national bestselling book Accelerating India's Development, and enabled by strategic philanthropic support provided by Ashish Dhawan (CEGIS Co-Founder).

CEGIS Approach and Model of Functioning:

CEGISs solutions to enhance governance are co-created with state governments in a state-led way, where we focus on deep partnerships with states using 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. Many of our solutions reflect ideas outlined in the book Accelerating India's Development, and these solutions are constantly refined based on real-time feedback and are designed to both be customized to the contexts we are working in, and to create templates that can provide the starting point for replication across contexts.

Our focus areas reflect evidence that key characteristics of high-performing organisations include (a) measuring outcomes through reliable, high quality data that enables goal setting and progress monitoring; (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 and revenue collection are based on evidence and cost-effectiveness; (d) and creating efficient systems to leverage external actors (including for-profit and nonprofit organisations). CEGIS partners with states to improve capacity by focusing on these pillars of State effectiveness, and aims to also integrate these horizontal governance improvements into integrated sectoral roadmaps to accelerate the achievement of state and national development outcomes.

Internally, CEGIS is organized into solutions teams that lead the design and technical quality control of our research and evidence-backed approaches to improving governance and state capacity; delivery" teams that lead state-facing work to contextualize the solutions, and support governments in implementing them; and enablement teams that enable the organization to function smoothly.

CEGIS@6 to CEGIS@10: Building on momentum to catalyse national development

Since its incorporation in 2019, CEGIS has gained significant momentum in building strong collaborations with state 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 1 state government engagement in 2019, today CEGIS is working across 9 Indian states (Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh). We also partner with union agencies/ministries such as Capacity Building Commission, Ministry of Women & Child Development (MoWCD), and Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) to share insights from our state-level work to inform national-level guidelines and dissemination to other states. Finally, we also take on selected work at the district level to design and test implementation templates.

From a small group of founding members, we have grown to become a team of 150+ members located across the country, and expect to grow to over 200 in the coming year. Led by a former senior civil-servant with deep governance experience; state and solution team leads with decades of domain expertise; and enabling functions led by professionals with considerable corporate experience, the team at CEGIS brings together knowledge and experience that spans various sectors – from development economics, research, governance, management consulting, and social entrepreneurship.

Over the last 6 years, CEGIS has also garnered support for our vision and theory of change from several foundations and philanthropists whose partnership has enabled us to build our organisational capacity as well as continue to experiment and improve our solution design to augment state capacity and governance. With the rapidly growing demand for CEGISs offerings, CEGIS is well-positioned to play a key role in accelerating Indias development.

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.

Position Summary

The Vertical Head – Strategic Public Finance (SPF) will play a pivotal role in contextualising and executing CEGISs vision on public finance. The role requires operating at two interconnected levels: (a) externally, as a partner to state governments driving fiscal reform implementation, and as a thought leader in the broader intellectual ecosystem of public finance in India; and (b) internally, as a solutions head advancing SPF frameworks and solutions, building teams across CEGIS states, and contributing to CEGISs knowledge and learning agenda. The role reports to the Chief of Solutions and is part of the extended leadership of CEGIS.

Reporting to the Chief of Solutions, you will oversee a diverse portfolio of projects, ensuring methodological rigor, quality, and alignment with strategic objectives, while fostering cross-learning and innovation. You will also be expected to work closely with CEGIS Founder and Scientific Director (Prof. Karthik Muralidharan) to understand the intellectual vision behind proposed reforms and work closely on refining them, and with PhD holding economists in the CEGIS Economics and Statistics Unit (ESU) to stay abreast of current research and methods.

Roles & Responsibilities

Solution Leadership and Design

  • Apply CEGISs six-stage Solution Maturity Model (SMM) to design, assess, and evolve SPF interventions - from diagnostic pilots to institutionalised systems—ensuring replicability and continuous improvement across states.
  • Head the design of fiscal analytics architecture, including data pipelines, forecasting models, dashboards, and reporting systems to strengthen evidence-based decision-making within Finance Departments and Financial Analytics Units (FAUs).
  • Synthesize research and analytical findings into clear, actionable insights and outputs policy briefs, presentations, and reports - tailored for senior decision-makers in government and partner institutions.
  • Foster creative problem-solving and solution design by combining rigorous analytical methods with deep operational understanding of state systems.
  • Codify SPF learnings into playbooks, diagnostics, and maturity rubrics that support cross-state replication and feed into CEGISs broader knowledge pipeline.
  • Build a presence in the broader public finance ecosystem in India and work closely with the ESU to identify domain experts who can be consulted as needed for solutions to specific technical problems.
  • Be a force multiplier across CEGIS: Partner with other CEGIS verticals and embed SPF inputs into solution design (ex-ante), implementation (in-flight), and institutionalization (ex-post), aligning with state capacity building and government processes.

Government Engagement and External Partnerships

  • Build and sustain trusted, long-term partnerships with senior bureaucratic leadership and key departments across state governments, especially Finance Departments and Treasuries.
  • Co-create reform roadmaps with state counterparts, aligning SPF solutions with state priorities, budget cycles, and institutional constraints.
  • Cultivate and manage partnerships with philanthropic donors, research institutions, and technical collaborators to co-develop fiscal reform initiatives and align external expertise with CEGISs strategy and state needs.
  • Own proposal development, pitch preparation, and scoping conversations for new SPF engagements with donors and state departments.
  • Represent CEGIS and the SPF vertical in external meetings, conferences, and events; contribute to public discourse through presentations, publications, and thought pieces showcasing SPF work and learnings.

Delivery, Portfolio Management, and Quality Assurance

  • Oversee end-to-end delivery of a portfolio of SPF projects across multiple states, ensuring clarity of objectives, well-structured workplans, and disciplined execution.
  • Provide strategic and technical guidance to project teams on diagnostics, modeling, analytics, and implementation challenges; troubleshoot bottlenecks proactively.
  • Ensure that project designs and deliverables are tightly aligned with CEGISs Theory of Change (ToC) and sector/state strategies.
  • Establish and oversee quality control (QC) processes for analytical outputs, dashboards, and policy products, maintaining high standards of rigour and clarity.
  • Work with internal functions (Finance, HR, Operations) to ensure that SPF projects are adequately resourced and compliant with organisational processes.

People Leadership and Capability Building

  • Build, mentor, and retain a high-performing, multi-disciplinary SPF team—including economists, data scientists, public finance specialists, and programme managers. The SPF team consists of ~18 members working across states and union agencies
  • Provide regular coaching to managers on stakeholder management, prioritisation, and communication with government counterparts.
  • Design and lead knowledge sessions, mentorship programmes, and training initiatives to deepen technical skills in public finance, analytics, and reform implementation.
  • Support capacity-building of government-facing support units such as FAUs and state teams through embedded mentoring, training, and joint problem-solving.
  • Embed knowledge management practices into project workflows so that insights, tools, and templates are systematically captured, shared, and reused.

Knowledge, Learning, and Organisational Contribution

  • Collaborate with ESU (Economics and Statistics Unit), MEL (Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning), KCM (Knowledge Creation and Management), and L&D (Learning and Development) teams to integrate measurement, learning, and communication into SPF interventions.
  • Contribute to cross-vertical initiatives where public finance is a key lever for sector outcomes (education, health, nutrition).
  • Champion a learning-oriented culture within the SPF vertical by generating and sharing insights from implementation, including what does not work and why.
  • Contribute to CEGIS-wide strategic discussions on portfolio design, resourcing, and state expansion from a public finance lens.

Required Qualifications, Skills, and Abilities

Educational Qualification

  • Masters degree in Economics, Public Finance, Public Policy, Statistics, Social Sciences, Development Studies, or a related field. A PhD in a relevant discipline is an advantage but not mandatory. What is essential is the ability to read, understand, and synthesize primary research with adequate judgment to assess the quality and generalizability of evidence.

Professional Experience

  • 15–20 years of relevant work experience in public finance, development sector, consulting, think-tanks, or government advisory roles, with significant exposure to Indian state governments.
  • Deep understanding of public finance concepts, policies, and practices; familiarity with public financial management (PFM) systems, budget workflows, and state-level fiscal institutions.
  • Demonstrated experience in fiscal modelling, forecasting, cost-effectiveness analysis, or expenditure tracking; comfort working with large administrative datasets.
  • Strong quantitative skills and comfort with tools such as R (strongly preferred), Stata, or Python for data management and analysis (or the ability to guide teams that use these tools).
  • Excellent problem-solving and strategic thinking skills, with the ability to synthesise complex quantitative and qualitative evidence into clear recommendations.
  • Outstanding written and verbal communication skills in English, with the ability to communicate complex ideas in a meaningful way across diverse audiences; proficiency in one or more Indian languages is an advantage.
  • Demonstrated ability to build and manage high-trust relationships with senior government officials and partner organisations.
  • Strong planning and organisational skills, with the ability to set priorities, manage multiple workstreams, and deliver against tight deadlines.
  • Alignment with CEGISs mission and values, including a strong commitment to improving the effectiveness of Indian states and a hands-on, problem-solving mindset.

Personal characteristics & Interpersonal abilities

  • Operating style suited to working in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment where teamwork, resourcefulness, and ownership are highly valued.
  • Ability to think creatively, take calculated risks, and translate ideas into action.
  • High ability to collaborate and actively listen, valuing and integrating diverse perspectives.
  • Versatility and comfort in taking on new problems and quickly diving into unfamiliar sectors or contexts.

Location and Compensation

Location: The role can be based out of Delhi/ Mumbai/ Chennai/ Hyderabad/ Bangalore. Travel to other states will be required.

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

Interested candidates are requested to submit their applications by clicking the apply button below

Note: CEGIS has zero tolerance for 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 for misconduct, appropriate action that may include employment termination would be taken. Please complete the details for self-declaration on the application form.

Pre-reads for the application process

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

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