Deputy Country Director - Program Support - NGO

Position: Deputy Country Director - Program Support

Location: Okhla, New Delhi

Reporting to: Country Director

Nature of Employment: Full time staff

Duration: Open-ended

Reportees: Directors of Functions (5-6)

The Role:

- Today, AIF is at an inflection point, seeking to expand its presence across India through a Decentralization and Reorganization of its India Operations. Currently, AIF employs 1700+ people in 36 states & union territories across management, administration, and field operations. The Trust raises about USD 20 million, which is to be scaled up to double in the next five years.

- Given its ambitions, AIF is now looking to onboard a passionate, talented, and energetic Deputy Country Director - Program Support to lead their highly experienced and qualified operations that support it's programs in India. The incumbent will drive the development and implementation of the Strategies for Compliances, harmonization of operational standards across AIF for high quality operational implementation and support to Programs, adherence to statutory norms and practices of the Government, Donors, and Partners across India. The incumbent will be responsible for all aspects of the functions of Finance, Administration, HR, Procurements, Technology, Audit, Legal, risk management across all our long-term programmes and humanitarian & disaster relief work in India.

- The incumbent will be based in AIF's National office (Delhi) and will be responsible for overall Finance, Admin, HR, Procurement, Technology, Internal Audit, and general administration required to enable rigorous and excellent program implementation across regions, strong internal compliance & governance in as per legal & statutory norms and ensure competitiveness of policies and practices to build AIF as the most reputed NGO in India.

- The Deputy Country Director - Program Support will do all that is needed to help AIF's Country Director represent, support, and build impeccable Country Operations. S/he will serve as the single point of contact for support to AIF's programs in India.

- The Deputy Country Director - Program Support will report to AIF's Country Director and s/he will have a team of up to Five (4-5) Functional Directors (HR, Finance & Admin, Procurements, IT, Audit, any other) reporting to them.

- The incumbent will also work closely with AIF's Deputy Country Director -Programs, National Leaders of Fundraising and Communications and the National Technical Directors for organizational growth and management.

- While the role will be based in Okhla, New Delhi, significant travel across India will be required.

- The right incumbent for the role will be a committed and self-driven management / development professional with organisational and team skills of the highest order. Apart from a proven track record of successful implementation support, a strong alignment to AIF's mission and values is necessary.

- S/he would be capable of engaging effectively with a diverse and complex set of stakeholders whose breadth spans senior internal leaders and diverse field teams. S/he will play a major role in creating a team, culture and capacity that enables and supports high quality program implementation, statutory, donor and auditory compliances, governance, and administration in India. S/he will have the detail orientation and ability to "roll up their sleeves" to drive flawless program support and management infrastructure at AIF in India.

- Strong compliance background, general management experience, excellent financial management skills, a network amongst Indian development sector, proven financial acumen, international exposure (not necessarily experience), knowledge and understanding of Technology and it's usage for operational effectiveness at scale and experience of working in professional environments would be strong additional qualifications that is considered desirous.

- The incumbent will be expected to have experience and active working knowledge of India's development sector,prevailing governmental norms & regulations such as FCRA, CGA, CSR, institutional donor compliance protocols,with an interest in developing high impact teams and culture in a growth focussed environment.

Key Roles & Responsibilities:

A. Leadership, Strategy and Culture:

- Work closely with AIF's Country Leadership to establish strategic priorities and translate them into actionable plans for India's Program support and enablement.

- Lead and support in the execution of the 5-year Country strategy at AIF (focus on strategies of Finance, HR, Procurement, Technology, Legal, Risk and Compliances).

- Create and articulate an inspiring vision for AIF's Compliance Practices, Program support Infrastructure and Program enablement practices.

- Support the Country Director towards successful governance practices towards the Board, the Trustees, and the Advisors at AIF, as needed.

- Execute the duties of AIF's Secretary to the India Board of Trustees.

- Monitor & submit compliance reports to the Board of Trustees for India's Program support.

Partner with Deputy Country Director - Programs to foster a collaborative, supportive and open work environment between the National & Regions teams, Functions and Programs for effective program implementation and organizational growth.

B. Operational Support and Compliance management:

- Liaison with AIF's US Team.

- Be the face of the organization in all matters relating to support towards program's operations & management, contracts, and statutory compliances.

- Lead the Annual planning exercise for AIF in India.

- Collaborate with Deputy Country Director - Programs, National Leaders of Fundraising & Communications, and the National Technical Leaders to ensure effective and timely submission of annual plans and budgets to the Board.

- Ensure organizational readiness and quick updates to internal protocols to meet new donor mandates such as USAID and other institutional donor compliances at regional & national level.

- Lead the registration of AIF on Social Stock Exchange and manage its successful execution.

- Support in the forging of alliances and intellectual exchange between functions and programs for effective program support and enablement.

- Manage, mentor, and guide the Directors of Finance, Administration, Human Resource, Procurements, Technology, Legal, Internal Audit & risk.

- Ensure that AIF's organizational structure, functions' SOPs, Policies, and other processes are in place and that they can deliver effectively on the strategic objectives defined by the organization.

- Support changes in SOPs of the Finance, HR, Procurements & Admin function to ensure compliance across offices, teams, and projects including but not limited to those w.r.t FCRA, CGA, CSR, Financial and any other governmental regulations for Indian NGOs.

- Overall review, monitor, evaluate and improvise program support matters including financial matters across regions.

- Oversight and overarching accountability of Finance, Administration, HR, Procurements, Technology and Legal at AIF

- Work closely with the Functional Directors to ensure the overall transparency and effectiveness of financial and administrative functionality, HR policies, procedures & statutes, Culture, Procurements protocols, legal compliances of the organization and its assets.

- Work closely with finance to ensure that timely internal and external audits and all financial compliances are complete and on time.

- Support in ensuring financial management & governance compliance at regional and national levels across all governmental, donor and auditory protocols, norms, statutes & standards.

- Ensure all donor reports & compliances are 100% error free, of high-quality standards and on time across functions and program support activities.

- Oversee and ensure high quality of reports prepared for board meetings.

- Oversee year end Audit process and monthly closures. Lead the audits across functions, especially Finance. Ensure due diligence and adept checks.

- Facilitate compliance to labour laws across offices, in India. Facilitate / oversee state filings/ State mandated HR rules/regulations/Minimum wages per state, Financial, Taxation and CSR rules/regulations per state.

- Oversee effectiveness and success of Financial, HR, Procurements and Technology practices at AIF.

- Facilitate adherence to rigorous compliances across regions & national level, via SOPs, monitoring & control practices in India towards all financial, HR and Procurements norms, statutory norms, legal requirements for the country operations as per respective state and national governmental regulations.

- Liaison with governments on need basis for compliance to existing and upcoming regulations and statutes.

- Support in ensuring adequacy and high quality of administrative support infrastructure across regions and offices of AIF.

- Maintain Programs' support systems & structures across regions for execution excellence.

- Support the Country HR on the design and improvements to ensure ease of sustainability & growth in regions as the programs scale up to Facilitate the talent succession planning for building a strong second line of functional leadership and execution teams across the country.

- Liaison with governments on need basis for compliance to existing and upcoming regulations and statutes.

- Oversee effectiveness and success of Finance, Administrative, HR, Procurements practices and Technology services at AIF.

- Support the compliance to and strengthening of systems & sub systems as well as processes across the country to ensure training, motivation & retention of key talent.

- Support AIF's responses to humanitarian emergencies including support to initiatives towards the management and utilization of AIF's Emergency Response Fund, and collaborating with Programs towards such interventions, as per need.

- Build AIF as a Technology first Organization.

- Build the roadmap for organization's Transformation through Technology.

- Collaborate with stakeholders for successful roadmap deployment.

- Identify gaps and recommend tech-based solutions for world-class functional service & support to programs.

- Lead and Champion the adoption of innovative & cost-effective Technology solutions to upgrade all Functions.

- Align Technology solutions to AIF's Board's vision and periodically report on developments.

- Lead the decision making, negotiations, planning, and end to end execution of all Technology adoption initiatives, at scale.

- Over & above, lead any other projects as needed by the Country Director.

Key Qualifications, Skills, and Experience:

- A Master's degree preferably in General Management / Development / Economics / Financial disciplines / equivalent. The higher degree is preferred but can be relaxed for candidates with exceptional track record.

- 16-20 years' experience in the management / development sector with at least six (6) years in senior management roles.

- Strong knowledge and understanding of FCRA, CSR, CGA and related laws and norms in India.

- Strong knowledge and understanding of the social and development issues in India.

- Ability to lead large scale change initiatives. Prior experience with such large-scale change initiatives is highly desirable.

- Proven track record of successfully managing compliances and delivering effective operational support to organizations worth at least $ 8.0 million - $10.0 million.

- Demonstrated skills and abilities in time management, analytical skills, effective delegation, attention to detail and conflict resolution

- Prior experience in disaster relief work and humanitarian response at scale will be strongly preferred.

- Prior experience of working within India's development/ social-sector with proven experience in managing high growth with utmost compliance & integrity.

- Demonstrated ability to build and maintain effective partnerships with diverse stakeholders, including functional experts, government agencies, donors, and community leaders.

- Strong experience in Cashflow management, banking, and investment & asset management.

- Knowledge of Procurement processes and Vendor relations will be preferred.

- Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to represent the organization effectively to various audiences with demonstrated ability in negotiations and networking.

- Proven ability to successfully supervise a geographically widespread team and work closely in coordination with other cross functional teams to deliver projects on-time.

- Ability to manage complex management systems & structures.

- Ability to remain calm in a pressurized environment and lead the team in a fast - evolving & ambiguous work environment.

- Demonstrated ability to build and maintain effective partnerships with diverse stakeholders, including government agencies, donors, and community leaders.

Key Personal attributes:

- High integrity & ethical conduct

- Growth-mindset and ability to deliver in a growth-oriented environment

- Proven initiative, flexibility, and enthusiasm in managing complex activities in a changing environment.

- Preferred language proficiency in Hindi and English. Knowledge of other regional languages would be an advantage.

Benefits and Perks:

- Opportunity to work in a high growth and inclusive work culture.

- Opportunity to lead a highly passionate, driven, and talented team of professionals from diverse backgrounds.

- Opportunity to support ground-breaking programs across Education, Public Health, Livelihoods and Humanitarian Emergencies and help impact lives of millions of India's underprivileged, at scale.

- Competitive compensation (per the Indian development sector norms).

- Competitive Medical Insurance for self & family.

- Group Term life insurance.

- Personal Accidental Insurance.

- Competitive leave benefits.