Deputy Director/National Head - Health & Nutrition Focused Program - International NGO

Position Summary

The position titled as Deputy Director/National Head - Program is on the payrolls of an International NGO. The position will oversee the implementation of Anemia focused Nutrition program across select states in India. The position is responsible for managing all aspects of state level program implementation, including strategic planning, development of operations plans, capacity building, IEC and community mobilization efforts, including policy advocacy and reporting with guidance from the Programs Head of the International NGO. The position is based at Delhi but will involve occasional travel to the tune of 25~30% time.

The Deputy Director will be responsible for engagement with government and non-government stakeholders, coordination with team members, identifying risks and planning for mitigation, status reporting, communication and documentation, including proposal/concept note writing. The Deputy Director will report to the India program head, but will engage in significant collaboration with and receive direction on specific issues, such as empirical evidence research and cost-effectiveness reviews, from the NGO's head office in the US as well.

The position will require travel to state-based programs for about 25~30% of time.

Scope of Work:

Partnership Development and Management

- Engage with key stakeholders including governments, development partners and experts to draw on their expertise and insights;

- Work with India leadership team to secure political and technical commitment for Nutrition, Anemia components of program by leveraging its existing and new relationships with national and state governments, policymakers and partners;

- Attend meetings with governments, other technical agencies and partners related to promoting Anemia & Nutrition program integration and expansion, as well as disseminating results;

- Support the Head- Programs in developing concept notes and proposals, budgets and progress reports for submission to stakeholders for expansion of technical assistance on the program to other states as appropriate.

Strategic Planning

- Work with Delhi based teams and state-based teams to critically design program components to align with Government efforts in order to improve and integrate program with a high commitment to quality and effectiveness;

- Identify and assess various program benefits and risks associated with providing technical assistance to state governments on the specifics of the program, and develop mitigation strategies to overcome any such risks;

- Work with state teams to plan and organize a broad range of advocacy efforts, such as stakeholders meeting and dissemination opportunities;

- Support the leadership and senior management in development and implementation of sustainability plans of the program through institutionalisation of the program at national and state level.

Technical Assistance and Program Management

- Lead in developing and managing program work-plans and timelines with team/individual responsibilities assigned to ensure timely and high-quality deliverable for internal and external purposes;

- Coordinate with M&E team for developing data collection tools and their implementation and manage the analysis of collected data to feed into scoping exercise, concept notes, proposals and periodic progress reports;

- Coordinate with M&E team in cost effectiveness modelling, design of specific pilots, and assessment of pilot data;

- Track the expenditures, commitments and balance of funds under the program budget lines, and draft project budget revisions; assume overall responsibility for meeting financial delivery targets, reporting on program funds and related record keeping;

- Coordinate with India state teams on implementation and field-testing efforts to feedback into program design, scoping and analysis;

- Lead knowledge management for the projects; including maintaining a record of project management information including project documentation, minutes of meetings/calls and decisions taken;

- Carry out field visits to state offices to provide program and technical support as needed;

- Support state team in providing advisory and assistance to state governments in planning and implementing of the program;

- Assess, evaluate and document process and impact of technical assistance to the state programs;

- Provide inputs/support other teams in the design and development of program communication and training materials for uses at different levels as per the guidelines;

- Identify human resource needs at national and state level and work with HR team for recruitment of staff and consultants as necessary.

Qualifications and Experience required:

- Minimum post-graduate training in Public Health, Social Sciences or related fields with at least 14+ years of relevant professional experience of progressively increasing responsibility

- Demonstrated experience in day-to-day management of project activities, preferably in the context of scaling a development intervention in India

- Experience working with government in India is preferred

- Excellent spoken and written English. Proven excellent report and brief writing skills

- Ability to establish linkages between relevant evidence and recommendations related to program design and implementation

- Knowledge of networks, experts and sources in development sector in India

- Ability to synthesize information clearly and produce good quality documents keeping to tight deadlines

- Strong interpersonal skills and ability to engage with internal and external stakeholders within India and globally

- Exceptional ability to work with minimal supervision, while also proactively and regularly communicating upward relevant progress updates and bottlenecks requiring attention or support from leadership.

- Action-oriented, flexible approach and entrepreneurial problem-solver, with an ability to manage multiple competing deadlines,

- Availability and willingness to travel within India upto 30% time

Only shortlisted candidates shall be contacted.