Director, Programme Excellence, India

1. POSITION VACANT: Director, Programme Excellence, India | Reports to: Executive Director, India | Location: New Delhi

2. ORGANISATION OVERVIEW:

The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) is an independent philanthropic organisation with offices in Addis Ababa, Beijing, London, Nairobi, and New Delhi. CIFF works with a wide range of partners to tackle some of the most complex challenges facing children, so that every child has the chance to survive and thrive.

CIFF has been working in India since 2008, supporting government priorities to improve outcomes for children. Through its Born Healthy Mission, CIFF supports maternal, newborn and child health, improved nutrition, the prevention of low birthweight, and efforts to reduce mortality from severe acute malnutrition. Through the End Violence Against Children (EVAC) Mission, CIFF works to reduce children's vulnerability to violence, exploitation and harmful practices, while enabling children to access better education, health and future opportunities. Complementing this, the Women's Economic Empowerment (WEE) Mission advances girls' and women's economic agency by strengthening pathways to skills development, workforce participation and sustainable livelihoods. CIFF's climate work sits within the Clean Growth Mission, supporting India's transition to clean energy and a climate-safe future that delivers healthier air, greater energy security and sustainable livelihoods for current and future generations. Across these missions, CIFF combines catalytic capital, alongside rigorous use of data and evidence, to maximise impact and strengthen the effectiveness of philanthropy and public systems.

Building and harnessing diversity of perspective and experience within CIFF is critical to achieving its bold goals. CIFF strives to deliver a work environment which is diverse, equitable and inclusive, respecting and embracing individual differences and needs, and enabling all members of the CIFF family to be at their best. For more information, please visit www.ciff.org.

3. JOB DESCRIPTION/ RESPONSIBILITIES:

The role is accountable for portfolio performance and programme excellence across CIFF's India portfolio. It will strengthen impact through rigorous performance management, cost optimisation, strategic partnerships and effective risk management. Where delivery or execution is at risk, the post-holder will provide hands-on leadership to help teams and partners restore momentum and sustain results.

Main Purpose of the Role:

(1) This senior leadership role will strengthen the performance and sustainability of CIFF’s India portfolio. It will apply commercial problem-solving, cost and effectiveness analysis, and sustainability modelling to improve delivery and support government adoption at scale.

(2) Alongside its focus on equitable access, the role will use detailed cost-efficiency analysis to help CIFF understand programme costs, explain the rationale for its strategies and innovations, and identify practical opportunities to improve efficiency.

(3) The post-holder will build effective relationships with strategic grantees, government stakeholders, co-funders, partners and CIFF's Board and Executive leadership. The role will contribute to India leadership decisions and directly manage designated Directors and Managers within the India team.

(4) A core purpose of the role is to build confidence with CIFF's leadership that the India portfolio is being actively managed, that performance and delivery risks are visible early, and that programmes are course-corrected decisively where needed to protect impact, value for money and execution quality.

(5) CIFF seeks an entrepreneurial leader with strong knowledge of impact-driven, evidence-based programming at scale across government and the private sector, a nimble problem-solving mindset, and a track record of using performance management to maximise results.

Reports to: Executive Director, India. Management dimensions: direct management of the Programme Excellence team (Directors and Managers).

CIFF's India strategy seeks to position it as an evidence-generating and catalytic funder who is a trusted partner to India's institutions that address challenges facing children. It is based around a comprehensive localisation approach to scaling impact along with more purposeful ecosystem engagement, with stronger partnerships with governments and domestic philanthropy.

Key Responsibilities:

(A) Portfolio Performance Management:

(1) Lead the India portfolio review process with CIFF's leadership, ensuring clear, evidence-based assessment of performance, risk, value for money and course-correction actions, and building confidence that the portfolio is being managed with discipline, judgement and pace;

(2) Ensure that each programme has a clear theory of change, a small set of relevant quantitative KPIs and delivery tactics, and that progress is rigorously measured against them;

(3) Implement a robust system for conducting regular and comprehensive reviews of programme performance. Foster a culture of continuous improvement by translating performance insights into actionable strategies that enhance programme effectiveness;

(4) Partner with Directors to ensure that all programmes and partnerships are led and delivered to a standard of excellence, leveraging these to support future pipeline;

(5) Support Directors to apply active portfolio management techniques, including oversight of dashboards, which enable routine performance monitoring, insight generation and timely corrective measures;

(6) Act as a trusted agile problem-solving partner, who can anticipate and mitigate issues and offer constructive challenge throughout the investment cycles, enabling timely decision-making;

(7) Oversee the creation of online dashboards and enable the COO team to partner with the Programme teams on a regular basis to review programmes, share insights and act on learnings arising from monitoring data, contextual information, barrier analysis etc.;

(8) Partner with the Chief Ecosystem Development Officer / Organisation & Ecosystem Development teams and programme EDs to ensure that key grantees have the capacity to manage costs and execute effectively;

(9) Using the lens of continuous improvement and simplification, review the processes and procedures in place across the team, to identify and implement improved ways of working which increase operational effectiveness and efficiency and ensure excellence;

(10) Oversee the strategic direction, performance monitoring and executable plans of the teams, working cross-functionally to maximise synergies and efficiencies with other teams and country offices and partners;

(11) Provide support, insight, judgement and constructive challenge across the portfolio, working collaboratively, anticipating and resolving issues throughout the investment cycle;

(12) Offer foresight and practical guidance on complex programme management, supply chain and logistics, risk management and identify business model innovations, working with grantees;

(13) Strengthen entrepreneurial acumen and skill across the portfolio and pipeline, inspiring and leading others to adopt best practices from the commercial/for-profit sector where appropriate (incentives, performance-based contracts, and innovative financing solutions);

(14) Embed a deep culture of learning within the portfolio and pipeline, with a bias towards evidence-generation, learning-by-doing, and high-quality dissemination.

(B) Course Correction and Active Portfolio Intervention:

(1) Actively step into programmes, partnerships or portfolio areas where performance, delivery or execution risks require senior intervention, and provide hands-on leadership to get them back on track;

(2) Diagnose the underlying causes of underperformance, working with programme teams, partners and relevant functions to distinguish between strategy, execution, partner capacity, operating model, cost, risk or contextual challenges;

(3) Lead the development and implementation of clear recovery or course-correction plans, with defined actions, owners, timelines and decision points;

(4) Provide constructive challenge and practical problem-solving support to Directors and programme teams, while building shared accountability for delivery improvements;

(5) Escalate material risks, trade-offs and decisions to India and global leadership in a timely way, ensuring senior leaders have clear visibility on what is working, what is not, and what actions are being taken;

(6) Where required, recommend and support more significant portfolio decisions, including redesign, scale-up, partner transition, consolidation or exit, to maximise impact and value for money.

(C) Financial Delivery & Value for Money:

(1) Lead a team of Portfolio Finance staff, to co-create new investments with a focus on ensuring budgets meet agreed benchmarks, deliver value for money and compelling financial narratives;

(2) Ensure that all programmes have clear cost metrics (standard cost, target cost per activity and per outcome etc.) and design and lead on the delivery of a plan for delivering cost optimisation where relevant;

(3) Ensure that programmes and the overall India portfolio deliver on financial and operational targets around disbursement, efficiency, and portfolio management.

(D) External Risk Management:

(1) Assess and mitigate potential partner risks through proactive analysis and continuous monitoring, ensuring adherence to established risk management frameworks and industry standards;

(2) Ensure relevant due diligence and risk management practices are applied across the portfolio and at every stage, to ensure the interests and reputation of CIFF are protected. Intervene to take corrective action where necessary;

(3) Lead incident response efforts related to external risks, collaborating with cross-functional teams to swiftly identify, contain, and resolve incidents, while maintaining clear communication with partners and stakeholders;

(4) Develop and implement robust risk mitigation strategies, policies, and controls to safeguard the organisation against external threats, with a focus on enhancing the resilience of partnerships and ensuring business continuity.

(E) Partnerships and Profile-Building:

(1) Ensure a constant focus on horizon scanning, ensuring that opportunities to leverage the India team's agenda are both identified and acted upon;

(2) Develop and deliver a plan to enable more purposeful ecosystem engagement that helps position CIFF as a credible partner;

(3) Proactively develop and maintain extensive external networks with experts and opinion-formers to gain the most up-to-date insights and research;

(4) Work extensively with local partners to broaden the grantee profile across the sector, developing new funding models that lead to more diversified partners and approaches.

(F) Leadership of the Team:

(1) Set and monitor achievement of performance and personal development objectives for all direct reports, so that a culture of continuous improvement and learning is embedded within the team;

(2) Enable a coaching culture that supports and grows individual and team performance and enable a supportive environment where everyone brings their true self;

(3) Provide inspiring and motivational leadership that role models CIFF's leadership framework;

(4) Partner with the HR Business Partner and CHRO as needed to recruit and reward staff, as well as design and embed the ongoing training to ensure that all programme managers have the necessary execution skills.

(G) As a Member of the India Senior Leadership Team:

(1) Provide up-to-date professional advice, programme performance and strategic updates to CIFF's Executive Team, Programme Investment Committee and Board on related issues to support the development of strategies, policies and initiatives, and to ensure high confidence from the Executive Team, Investment Committee and Board;

(2) Take shared leadership for the effective implementation of shared organisational objectives around effective localisation, continuous improvement, risk management, partnerships, co-funding and communications;

(3) Provide compelling, consistent and united leadership which creates clarity for all staff and builds a sense of shared accountability for its success and that of the organisation;

(4) Serve as a central liaison across the organisation, representing interests of India and the portfolio to the broader executive team. Foster collaboration and synergy between sectors, helping to improve and adapt systems in a rapidly changing environment;

(5) Drive cross-foundational initiatives and events to strengthen internal collaboration, strategy development, continuous process improvement and other issues as needed;

(6) Co-lead CIFF's global Mission Excellence forum, helping to share learning, best practice and practical approaches to strengthening programme delivery, performance management, value for money and operational excellence across the organisation;

(7) Act as a valued advisor/sounding board and mentor to colleagues whose advice is valued and proactively sought out by senior leaders, whilst ensuring regular reporting to the ED, CEO and Investment Committee on the above, and being accessible to the CEO, Investment Committee and trustees and able to deputise for the ED as needed.

4. EXPERIENCE AND COMPETENCIES:

Skills & Experience:

(1) Experienced senior leader with the agility to operate at both strategic and tactical levels, combining hands-on execution with big-picture thinking to address complex business challenges and deliver results;

(2) Has strong programme management skills with a background of leading, inspiring, and empowering others, as well as outstanding communication skills;

(3) A proven track record of identifying and delivering execution improvements through stakeholder engagement, data analysis, understanding of context changes, etc.;

(4) Proven track record in developing effective relationships with public and private sector stakeholders, building partnerships, and leveraging resources;

(5) Ability to represent the organisation in high-level negotiations, fostering mutually beneficial collaborations that drive social impact;

(6) Detailed understanding of metrics to inform strategy and ability to think critically and analytically to draw sound conclusions on the basis of complex data;

(7) Comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the Indian and international development sector with sound political judgement;

(8) A combination of advanced technical knowledge and experience of influencing complex systems, with a nimble problem-solving mindset, and highly motivated using performance management techniques to maximise results;

(9) Detailed understanding of using cost-benefit and ROI methodologies and metrics to inform strategy and business planning;

(10) Excellent people leadership skills and proven ability to motivate, develop and hold to account small- to medium-sized teams of professionals;

(11) Effectively champions and promotes causes – credible and professional, always presenting CIFF's programmes in a compelling way to engage the audience;

(12) Capacity to work in a range of cultural and socio-economic contexts, adapting style and approach appropriately and in a culturally sensitive manner to maximise effectiveness;

(13) Outstanding communication skills using a variety of presentation techniques;

(14) Innovative and creative thinker with a pragmatic and solution-oriented mindset and experience of identifying and delivering business process improvements;

(15) High level of financial literacy and in-depth understanding of financial management principles and practices;

(16) Passionate about how philanthropy can be used to catalyse in-country SDG ambitions that support women and girls' access to education, skills, livelihood, comprehensive sexual health and keeping children safe;

(17) A creative mindset, adept at problem solving and leading innovations;

(18) Ability to pull together teams and seek ways to maximise the contribution of others.

Personal Attributes:

(1) Transparent communicator, results focused;

(2) Diplomatic and poised with strong influence skills;

(3) Collaborative and emotionally intelligent;

(4) Resilient – anticipating potential setbacks with the ability and pace to change course;

(5) Aware of the challenges that stigmatised groups and young people might face when trying to access services, notably the barriers associated with sexual health;

(6) Strongly supportive of diversity in the workplace.

Key Working Relationships:

(1) CIFF's Board members and Executive Team;

(2) Other Programme COOs;

(3) Other teams including Finance, Legal, Digital & Technology Solutions and People & Culture;

(4) India Programme Directors;

(5) National and state governments and affiliated bodies.

5. COMPENSATION OFFERED:

CIFF offers a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package. Compensation details will be discussed with candidates as they progress through the selection process.

Benefits include, but are not limited to:

(1) Annual leave: 25 days per annum, increasing by one day for each completed year of service, up to a maximum of 30 days;

(2) Discretionary bonus scheme;

(3) Training allowance;

(4) Wellbeing allowance;

(5) Life insurance;

(6) Medical insurance.

6. LOCATION: New Delhi

CIFF operates a hybrid work policy across all locations, with employees splitting their time between the office and home. Further details will be shared during the recruitment process.

7. REFERENCE: SAMS/CIFF/DPE-INDIA/2026

8. CONTACT INFORMATION:

Team SAMS
Strategic Alliance Management Services Pvt. Ltd.
1/1B, Choudhary Hetram House, Bharat Nagar
New Friends Colony, New Delhi 110 025
Phone Nos.: 011-4081 9900; 4165 3612

9. APPLICATION PROCESS:

SAMS (Strategic Alliance Management Services Pvt. Ltd.) is supporting CIFF on this search. Interested candidates are requested to apply through the SAMS recruitment platform by the closing date. All applications and enquiries will be handled in confidence. Shortlisted candidates will progress through CIFF’s multi-stage selection process, which may include conversations with the hiring team, a psychometric assessment, a case study and a panel interview and any other conversation as needed, details of which will be shared with shortlisted candidates.

Closing Date: November 15, 2026