Job Openings Program Manager- Performance Management System

About the job Program Manager- Performance Management System

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.


About Human Resource Unit (HRU)

CEGIS intends to collaborate with the Government of Odisha in establishing a Human Resource Unit (HRU).

The Human Resource Unit (HRU) shall function as a dedicated think tank to enhance and strengthen HR practices across the state government. Its primary mandate shall be to drive comprehensive and integrated HR management within the state, focusing on recruitment, learning and development, and performance management systems. The HRU shall provide strategic direction and support to HR teams or Capacity Building Units (CBUs) across various line departments and ensure their alignment with state and national priorities, fostering a well-rounded HR ecosystem within the state government.

HRU will be responsible for institutionalising the strategic work done by CEGIS in pioneering a competency-driven approach to Capacity Building. By prioritising competencies, CEGIS aims to bring clarity to the work done by officials and empower them to achieve better results. This translates to a shift in accountability from simply following processes to delivering tangible outcomes.

Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced and dynamic Program Manager Performance Management System (PMS) to design and drive strategic initiatives around performance management, specifically leveraging an Electronic Human Resource Management System (eHRMS) within a government framework. This role aims to ensure that the eHRMS streamlines HR processes and aligns with the government's objectives for efficiency, accountability, and transparency in public sector performance.

The ideal candidate will understand competency as a concept and its wide application in performance management. The candidate must also possess deep knowledge and understanding of how technology can be used in performance management in government systems. The candidate is expected to have a proven track record of using principles of systemic thinking and change management and has developed some compelling knowledge resources built to advocate novice frameworks and concepts.

Roles and Responsibilities

Design and Implementation of Performance Management Frameworks

  • Lead the development of department-specific performance management frameworks aligned with public service delivery outcomes and state priorities.
  • Translate roles and responsibilities into measurable indicators and goal-setting mechanisms for government officials at all levels.
  • Ensure seamless integration of PMS frameworks with platforms like eHRMS to enable real-time tracking of contributions and progress.
  • Pilot and iterate PMS models in select departments to inform scalable solutions and refine system design.
  • Develop tools such as goal-setting templates, self-assessment forms, manager evaluations, and data dashboards.

Research and Data Analytics

  • Develop performance dashboards and reporting tools within eHRMS to provide decision-makers with insights on workforce productivity, employee engagement, and resource allocation.
  • Use eHRMS data analytics to highlight areas where government departments excel or underperform and propose strategic interventions.
  • Conduct secondary research and comparative studies to benchmark and advance performance management practices in public administration.
  • Conceptualise and perform research and analysis on data gathered during the program; present the program's outputs in the form of reports, whitepapers, and other collaterals.

Project and Team Management

  • Maintain project trackers, documentation systems, and communication plans to ensure clarity, alignment, and accountability across workstreams.
  • Support the Senior Program Manager in tracking project milestones, identifying risks and dependencies, and reporting progress to CEGIS and state leadership.
  • Lead and mentor a team of associates, providing work planning, quality control, and developmental support to ensure timely, high-quality delivery.
  • Stay abreast of national guidelines (e.g., Mission Karmayogi), emerging HR tech trends, and data governance norms to enhance system design.
  • Actively participate in internal capacity-building workshops to enhance your practice in L&D implementation aligned with organisational standards.

Stakeholder Engagement and Coordination

  • Act as a liaison between government HR, IT, and performance management units to ensure smooth implementation and use of the eHRMS platform.
  • Engage with external vendors and technology providers to ensure the eHRMS system meets public sector needs.
  • Collaborate with ministries, state departments, and public sector units to identify performance gaps and inform the creation of action plans for improvement.
  • Facilitate regular workshops, review meetings, and system walkthroughs with CBUs and other key stakeholders
  • Share insights with the broader HRU team to align PMS work with learning and development reforms, creating integrated solutions.
  • Maintain relationships with all stakeholders by creating periodic updates through documents, presentations, etc

Education and Experience

  • Degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Management, Public Policy, Social Work or a related field.
  • 6 to 8 years of experience in a high-performing environment, focusing on project management/ technology consulting, etc., preferably within the Indian government ecosystem
  • Prior performance management and/ or HR strengthening experience in the development sector, preferably with governments.

Required Competencies

The competencies required to perform the above-mentioned roles and responsibilities are as follows:

Functional Competencies

Performance Management Solution Design: Applies user-centric insights to design, test, and improve context-specific performance management solutions.

Research and Analytical Acumen: Synthesises qualitative and quantitative insights to inform decisions

Project Management: Skilled in planning, resource allocation, risk management, documentation and delivering results aligned with organisational objectives

Writing and Documentation: Creates high-quality reports, frameworks, and learning materials with clarity and structure

Professional and Leadership Competencies

Ownership: Exhibits self-motivation and proactivity in managing multiple tasks, timelines, and responsibilities, ensuring accountability for high-quality results.

Learning Orientation: Seeks feedback, reflects on gaps, and continuously works to improve effectiveness.

Relationship Building: Builds trust with stakeholders and fosters collaboration and alignment through clear, consistent engagement.

Note

  • The role will be based out of Bhubaneswar
  • Remuneration will be competitive with Indian philanthropy and social sector pay scales, depending on the candidates experience levels.

CEGIS is an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against based on race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, ancestry, or national or ethnic origin.

Pre-reads for the application process

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

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