Job Openings Program Manager

About the job Program Manager

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 India's 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 the Team

The team will support the Maharashtra School Education Department in improving learning outcomes through data-driven governance, evidence-based program design, and institutional strengthening. The core challenge is the gap between education investments and learning outcomes, driven by fragmented use of data, uneven implementation capacity, and difficulties in scaling effective interventions across a large and diverse system.

The approach focuses on strengthening the state's ability to use high-quality data and analysis for decision-making, monitoring, and course correction across administrative levels. This is supported by structured program design and engagement with key stakeholders.

The theory of change is that improved access to reliable evidence, stronger feedback loops, and greater accountability for outcomes will enable more effective design and implementation of interventions that improve learning outcomes at scale.

Anchored in Data-Driven Governance, the team aims to strengthen decision-making, improve effectiveness of public spending, and support institutionalisation of sustainable, state-led reforms in education.

Position Summary

As a Program Manager at The Centre for Effective Governance of Indian States (CEGIS), you will lead the design and implementation of government-facing projects focused on improving governance and service delivery outcomes. You will manage end-to-end delivery across defined workstreams, translating problem diagnoses into implementable solutions in close partnership with state government counterparts.

The role involves overseeing project execution, ensuring timely and high-quality delivery of outputs, and coordinating across internal teams and government stakeholders. You will also guide Program Associates and Senior Program Associates, ensuring analytical rigor, structured execution, and effective delivery across the project lifecycle. You will be accountable for delivery outcomes across assigned workstreams, including stakeholder alignment, team management, and quality assurance of outputs produced by Program Associates and Senior Program Associates.

Roles & Responsibilities (Grouped by Function)

Data Analysis & Management

Lead collation and validation of qualitative and quantitative data from field and administrative sources to ensure accuracy and reliability for project use.
Oversee structured field and desk research using appropriate analytical tools and methods.
Ensure adherence to data management and data protection protocols across assigned workstreams.

Analysis & Insights

Review and interpret data and research outputs to generate actionable insights for program implementation.
Support refinement of problem statements and solution approaches based on field evidence and implementation realities.
Contribute to evaluation of proposed solutions in the context of project constraints and on-ground feasibility.

Project Delivery / Management

Own execution of assigned workstreams, ensuring structured planning, tracking, and timely delivery of outputs.
Apply analytical frameworks to structure problems and support development of implementation approaches.
Coordinate closely with government stakeholders, technical teams, and internal experts to adapt solutions to local context.
Prepare high-quality reports, presentations, and other decision-support documents.
Proactively identify risks, delays, and bottlenecks, and support resolution through structured follow-up.
Supervise and review work produced by Senior Program Associates and Program Associates, ensuring analytical quality, consistency, and timely delivery.

Stakeholder Management

Manage and own relationships with designated government counterparts and ecosystem partners, serving as the primary point of accountability for workstream delivery.
Support alignment across stakeholders by communicating project progress, constraints, and updates clearly.
Facilitate coordination between internal teams and external stakeholders for smooth execution.

Knowledge Management & Documentation

Ensure systematic documentation of project activities, decisions, and implementation learnings.
Support development of knowledge products such as concept notes, briefs, and case notes.
Contribute to dissemination of insights and best practices across teams and states.


Education & Experience
Educational Qualifications:

Degree or equivalent in public policy, economics, management, engineering, social sciences, or a related field from a reputed institution.

  • Experience:
    6 to 8 years of relevant professional experience in one or more of the following areas:
    • Management or strategy consulting, public policy, governance, or development sector programmes, with exposure to implementation support or government-facing work
    • Government advisory, research, or implementation support roles with state or district-level exposure
    • Data-driven programme delivery, analytics, or problem-solving roles in structured organisational or field environments
  • Exposure to working with government stakeholders, implementation teams, or large-scale public programmes is required.
  • Experience in the education sector is preferred; strong candidates from other social sector domains with relevant analytical and execution experience are also encouraged to apply.
  • Ability to manage components of workstreams, deliver high-quality outputs, and operate effectively in fast-paced and ambiguous environments is expected.
  • Fluency in English and basic to intermediate proficiency in Marathi

Required Competencies (Core Differentiator Section)

Domain & Contextual Competencies

Strong understanding of governance systems and public service delivery in Indian states, with ability to operate across policy and implementation contexts.

Alignment with CEGIS's theory of change and motivation to improve state capacity and system-level outcomes.

Ability to quickly understand new sectors, institutional contexts, and problem areas.

Functional Competencies

Strong analytical and problem-solving ability, with experience in working with quantitative and qualitative data to generate insights.

Ability to structure problems and translate analysis into actionable, implementation-ready recommendations.

Strong written and verbal communication skills, with ability to present complex ideas clearly to internal teams and government stakeholders.

Strong planning and execution ability, including prioritisation, timeline management, and delivery under constraints.

Stakeholder & Collaboration Competencies

Ability to build and manage effective working relationships with government counterparts and partner organisations.

Strong collaboration skills with ability to integrate inputs from diverse stakeholders and work effectively in team-based environments.

Experience in or strong orientation towards government-facing project environments.

Behavioural & Operating Style Competencies

High ownership of assigned workstreams with accountability for delivery and quality.

Ability to work independently in ambiguous and fast-paced environments while managing competing priorities.

Strong attention to detail and discipline in ensuring timely, high-quality outputs.

Willingness to experiment, learn quickly, and convert ideas into action in evolving contexts.

Role Logistics

  • Location: The role will be based out of Pune. Travel to other states may be required.
  • Remuneration will be competitive with Indian philanthropy and social sector pay scales and will depend on the candidate's experience levels.

Pre-reads for the application process

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

Recommended listening:

  • Karthik Muralidharan: India's Roadmap for Effective Governance — FED Dialogues: Podcast Episode.
  • Karthik Muralidharan on Making Governance More Effective — Sushasan | Podcast.

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