Head - Municipal Finance - NGO

Organization: JANAAGRAHA

Job Title: HEAD - MUNICIPAL FINANCE

Reports to: CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Location: DELHI / BANGALORE

Introduction:

Janaagraha is a non-profit trust, established in 2001, working towards the mission of transforming quality of life in India's cities and towns. It works with citizens to catalyse active citizenship in city neighbourhoods and with governments to institute reforms to city governance (what we call "City- Systems"). Janaagraha is part of the JANA Group - one of India's best-known groups of not-for- profit institutions working towards the mission of fixing India's cities. Swati Ramanathan and Ramesh Ramanathan co-founded Jana Group in 2001 and it presently works across citizen participation and city governance reforms (through Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy), city planning and design

(through Jana Urban Space Foundation), municipal consulting services (through Jana Urban Services for Transformation Pvt. Ltd.), banking and financial services for the urban poor (through Jana Small Finance Bank) and affordable housing for the urban poor (through Janaadhar).

Read more about Janaagraha's work at: https://www.janaagraha.org/

Reason for the hire:

Janaagraha is looking for a highly passionate and competent professional to be based out of

Bangalore/Delhi to head Janaagraha's Municipal Finance program. Since inception, municipal finance has been a core focus area for Janaagraha. Janaagraha's current engagements in municipal finance include MoUs with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), 15th Finance Commission and state government of Odisha on a wide range of reforms - from accounting and audit to budget and treasury management and urban infrastructure financing.

What will the Head - Municipal Finance really do?

A) Deliver strongly on government and donor engagements

1) Deliver on all commitments made under existing (and future) government and donor

Engagements

2) Engage closely with senior leaders in government and the market ecosystem to both advocate for systemic reforms in municipal finance and to inform Janaagraha's strategy for the same

3) Continuously strive to transform municipal finance in India at scale and with speed and agility, through a whole of systems approach

4) Create an enabling ecosystem to ideate boldly and creatively, to rapidly convert ideas to action plans and to execute the same at scale and with agility

B) Lead planning and development of Janaagraha's Municipal Finance program

1) Work closely with reporting manager to develop and implement strategic direction of the program

2) Identify planning and programme needs, opportunities and approaches to strengthen Janaagraha's presence and relevance in the municipal and urban infrastructure finance space

3) Manage and ensure high quality delivery of all projects undertaken

4) Prepare medium-term programme plans and the programme funding plans

5) Build and nurture relationships with the donor ecosystem

- Manage the development and implementation of the programme's communication strategy and plan

6) Manage adoption of technology for municipal finance advocacy, proof of concept and scale

C) Lead the Municipal Finance team

- 1) Lead the team in the delivery of operational goals; finalize the annual work plan and budgets; oversee the implementation, including providing direction, guidance and technical support

- 2) Oversee and approve programme work plans and the optimum and appropriate allocation and use of resources; monitor compliance of grant/MoU conditions

- 3) Manage performance of team members, provide managerial direction, guidance and leadership and performance feedback and coaching

- 4) Promote learning and development and put in place systematic leadership development/talent development plans and programs

- 5) Lead innovation and adoption of best practices in the team

D) Engage with the urban governance and municipal finance ecosystem

- 1) Represent Janaagraha in external forums, events and meetings, participate in policy dialogue; discuss policy initiatives, and/or present policy papers/ideas

- 2) Establish and maintain relationships with government, partners, stakeholders and donors to achieve active collaboration, cooperation and alliances on programme development and implementation

- 3) Ensure Janaagraha's active participation in relevant forums and working groups to establish effective networks and keep abreast of ongoing debates and thinking on municipal finance and urban infrastructure finance.

- 4) Build relations and partnerships with senior government officials as well as multi-lateral, bi-lateral agencies and NGOs and participate in critical meetings and events

- 5) Create and maintain strategic partnerships

Qualifications and Experience :

- 1) Master's degree or equivalent in business administration, finance, public finance, public administration, public policy or other directly relevant fields OR a Membership of a Professional Institute such as the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

- 2) 15+ years of experience in government advisory or public finance or business

- management/consulting or senior leadership roles in finance; should have held leadership roles in their career, engaging with senior stakeholders in government/industry

- 3) Adequate experience in leading high-performance, client service teams

- 4) Strong project management skills and sharp focus on high-quality, timely execution

- 5) Candidates with direct government experience in any civil services are particularly welcome

Preferable :

- 1) Should have held positions engaging directly with senior or c-suite clients and stakeholders in relevant sectors/industries

- 2) Should have led projects with governments on urban infrastructure financing, municipal revenue optimisation/augmentation, transaction advisory

What competencies does it take to be Head - Municipal Finance

1) Systems thinking and practice with respect to large scale public systems; ability to connect the dots between programs and critical reform agendas and achieve synergies in efforts

2) Program management of large projects in partnership with governments

3) Rich experience in program management, project management, team management (including learning and development), managing senior government and donor relationships

4) Effective budget management skills to work with available funding to deliver maximum impact.

5) Excellent written and oral communication skills

6) Digital and Media skills

What Janaagraha offers

At Janaagraha, you will be part of a multi-disciplinary team of professionals and passionate citizens who apply cutting-edge systems practices aimed at transforming quality of life in India's cities. They offer a dynamic, driven and vibrant work environment for development professionals who are passionate about investing their time, skill sets and energy to transform quality of life in India's cities. At work, you will be exposed to a unique combination of policy, practice and platforms and will have abundant opportunities to learn and apply skills and competencies to social challenges.