Job Openings Senior Program Associate

About the job Senior Program Associate

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 Personnel Management Vertical

To enhance the effectiveness of government work in India, CEGIS' Personnel Management team is pioneering a competency-driven approach to Capacity Building. This shift addresses a significant challenge wherein the existing system prioritises strict adherence to rules linked to specific offices rather than attaining the desired outcomes. While this can limit the autonomy of frontline staff and managers, potentially hindering accountability for results, the innovative approach actively seeks to empower individuals and cultivate a results-oriented culture. This approach ensures the establishment of a more impactful and accountable government framework.

Purpose statement of PM Vertical:
We believe that empowered, equipped and future-ready government officials are crucial to achieving citizen-centric service delivery.

We work with central, state, and local governments to actualise their human capital by improving human resource management practices and organisational effectiveness. Supporting governments in undertaking these reforms will result in improved execution capacity and a fulfilling career journey for government officials.

The competency-driven approach focuses on the skills, knowledge, and attitudes required for specific government roles. By prioritising these 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.

The Personnel Management team achieves this through three key workstreams.

  1. Competency-Based Recruitment: Ensures that the right people are selected for the job, bringing the necessary skills on board from the outset.
  2. Competency-Based Capacity Building (Learning & Development): Equipping government officials with the ongoing training and development they need to excel in their roles.
  3. Revamped Performance Management System: Evaluating and improving individual and team performance based on achieving defined goals, rather than just adherence to procedures.

Engagement in Odisha: The PM vertical is supporting the Gopabandhu Academy of Administration (GAA) and key state departments, including Health, Women & Child Development, Livelihoods, and Urban Development, to strengthen workforce capabilities and service delivery. A key initiative is the establishment of a Human Resource Unit (HRU), which will advise and guide Institutional Capacity Building Units (iCBUs) within line departments, standardising HR systems, driving competency-based learning, and integrating performance management reforms with platforms like iGOT Karmayogi. The initial focus will include end-to-end demonstration in the Department of Women & Child Development, targeting key positions such as Aanganwadi Workers, Aanganwadi Helpers, ICDS Supervisors, and CDPOs, to enhance service delivery in the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) program.

This engagement exemplifies CEGISs approach to building a future-ready, accountable, and high-performing state workforce that contributes to the strategic goals of Viksit Odisha 2036 and Viksit Bharat 2047.

Position Summary
We are seeking a dynamic Senior Program Associate (SPA) - Project Delivery (Personnel Management), Odisha, to provide the analytical and operational horsepower to drive this ambitious reform. You will conduct diagnostics, analyse data, facilitate workshops, co-create solutions such as competency frameworks, and maintain strong engagement with state government stakeholders. Reporting to the Program Manager, you will play a crucial role in translating ideas into implementable reforms that strengthen Odishas public service delivery and contribute to the vision of Viksit Odisha 2036 and Viksit Bharat 2047.

Roles and Responsibilities

Data Management and Analytics

    • Track and validate datasets from multiple sources for accuracy and reliability.
    • Analyse complex qualitative and quantitative data to generate actionable insights.
    • Prepare reports, dashboards, policy briefs, and presentations to support decision-making.

Research & Solutioning

    • Conduct independent research, literature reviews, and root-cause analyses.
    • Collaborate in the co-creation of project-specific solutions (e.g., Competency Profiles, Competency Assessment Frameworks).
    • Support the Program Manager in diagnosing gaps in existing HRM systems and recommending reforms.

Project Management

    • Develop and prioritise work plans, ensuring accountability for timelines with minimal supervision.
    • Conduct baseline assessments, facilitate workshops, and track implementation progress.
    • Identify risks, flag challenges, and adapt delivery plans to stakeholder feedback.

Stakeholder Engagement

    • Map and engage relevant stakeholders across departments (e.g., WCD, Health).
    • Organise meetings, consultations, and workshops to align on project milestones.
    • Build and maintain strong working relationships with mid-level officials and partner organisations.

Education & Experience

  1. Bachelors degree in economics, public policy, social sciences, or a related discipline from a reputable institution.
  2. 3–6 years of relevant professional experience, particularly in government projects, HRM, capacity building, or project delivery.

Prior exposure to government ecosystems or multi-stakeholder initiatives is strongly preferred.

Functional Competencies

Learning and Development Design: Applies user-centric insights to design, test, and improve competency-based learning pathways and builds end-to-end L&D ecosystems

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.

Cultural Fitment

  • Embrace an open, diverse, and positive work environment.
  • Proactive, self-motivated, and able to manage multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment.
  • Work collaboratively with multiple teams at horizontal and vertical levels in a result-oriented manner.
  • Proactively seek and give feedback on the tasks handled by the team, and proactively initiate action when they see a problem.
  • Practices proactive reflection and continuous improvement of behaviours and actions.

Notes

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

Pre-reads for the application process

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