Program Lead - NGO

The Antara Foundation

Districts of Madhya Pradesh

1. POSITION(S) VACANT: Program Leads, The Antara Foundation (2 Vacancies)

2. ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND:

The Antara Foundation (TAF) is a non-profit, start-up, founded in 2014 by Mr. Ashok Alexander, formerly Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company, and first Country Director- India, of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Mr. Alexander is one of India's most respected public health experts, specialised in incorporating business thinking into public health delivery.

TAF works to transform India's public health system, and is currently focused on maternal and child health, including nutrition. TAF's mission is to deliver preventive public health and nutrition solutions at scales adequate for state and national impact.

TAF is a field-based, implementing organization, working in some of its most far-flung villages and marginalized communities in the country. The essence of TAF's work is integration, at scale of innovations in supply and demand sides, of health service delivery.

TAF started its first program in Rajasthan, in 2015. Within three years, the Rajasthan government introduced TAF's flagship innovation (AAA platform) across the state, spanning 46,000 villages, and a rural population of over 50 million. TAF is currently adapting their public health delivery models to work in Madhya Pradesh, a state with vastly different demographic and sociocultural characteristics.

TAF is backed by some of the world's best-known foundations and philanthropists including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Mackenzie Scott, LGT VP, and Vijay and Marie Goradia Foundation.

For more information about TAF, please visit: https://antarafoundation.org

3. JOB DESCRIPTION/ RESPONSIBILITIES:

Reporting to the Senior Program Lead, the Program Leads (PLs) shall be responsible for successfully developing, testing and extending TAF public health service delivery models across the district, managing large teams of co-workers, and collaborating with multiple stakeholders in the public health service delivery ecosystem, including the government, health workers and the community. The PLs shall work intensively at the grassroots, at the block and village levels, to develop new initiatives, implement ongoing interventions, and effect programmatic course-corrections, based on smart data analytics.

The positions require grounded managers with an interest in improving last mile maternal and child health care in the community and saving lives in underserved districts of the country. The PLs shall need to be strategic thinkers with the ability to spot new opportunities for high-impact collaborative solutions, as well as creative problem solvers, with demonstrated skills in navigating and implementing solutions in coordination with multiple stakeholders.

TAF take pride in their culture, which resonates with non-hierarchy, ownership, humility, high performance and having fun. TAF is looking for someone who will fit in culture, is passionate to play important role in shaping TAF's future, and above all excited at the prospect of working for a larger cause and saving tens of thousands of lives.

The PLs shall be responsible for end-to-end delivery of the program, managing a large team of 10-15 team co-workers in the district, covering five blocks, and 1,000 villages.

The incumbents shall be the face of TAF in the district and the primary point of contact for key government counterparts including senior administrators. S/he will be the leader of their area and expected to work under the principle of "Freedom with Responsibility".

The post-holders will also be involved in supporting key organizational priorities such as donor development, as and when required.

Key Roles and Responsibilities:

(1) Plan and implement end-to-end organizational interventions in an integrated manner;

(2) Support the team in achieving deliverables, by acting as an enabler; Provide critical troubleshooting support as needed;

(3) Guide and support the team in generating new ideas to improve program delivery and continuously introduce new initiatives in the district;

(4) Manage the end-to-end budget for the district, under the guidance of the Senior Program Lead;

(5) Provide strategic and analytical guidance to the team on an on-going basis; Provide adequate apprenticeship on the field;

(6) Routinely analyze monitoring data and take steps to fill critical gaps in implementation;

(7) Ensure a positive and nurturing team environment; Keep the team together and be a gatekeeper of organizational culture;

(8) Understand the needs of individual team members and act as a coach; Build capabilities;

(9) Maintain strong relationships and work closely with village/ block/ district government officials to ensure quality delivery and sustainability of the program;

(10) Contribute to overall organizational needs and vision outside the field (e.g. Donor Development, Monitoring and Evaluation, etc.) and collaborate with team members from different locations/ departments.

4. QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND COMPETENCIES:

Qualification:

Applicants must have strong academic credentials and possess a post-graduate degree in a relevant field, from a reputed college/ institution.

Experience:

(1) Applicants must have five to seven years of experience with reputed development sector organizations, or government advisory practices of management consulting firms, or the CSR verticals of corporates;

(2) Prior experience of leading large, complex, social sector initiatives, at the district or state level is desirable;

(3) Commitment to social cause and making sustainable impact on the delivery of live-saving, public health solutions to the community, is essential.

TAF is looking for exceptional, bright, and innovative candidates with crossover skills. Prior, domain-specific, expertise in Public Health/ Maternal and Child Health, is not a prerequisite.

Skills and Attributes:

(1) Strategic and analytical thinking

(2) Creativity

(3) Clear written and oral communication, both in English and Hindi;

(4) Exceptional inter-personal skills

(5) Ability to work well in a multi-disciplinary team environment, good team player

(6) Excellent project management

(7) Operations expertise

(8) People management skills.

Attributes

(1) Humility

(2) Passion

(3) Learning attitude

(4) Ownership and responsibility

(5) Entrepreneurship

(6) Sense of humour

(7) Quick grasp of complex issues

(8) Curiosity

(9) Team spirit.

5. COMPENSATION OFFERED:

Gross compensation budgeted for the position is attractive. Please note that the offer made to the selected candidate shall be commensurate with qualifications, experience and salary history.

6. LOCATION:

Any of the districts in Madhya Pradesh. Candidates will need to be physically based in these Tier2/ Tier 3 cities. The job entails frequent intra and interstate travel, including need-based travel to Head Office, New Delhi.

7. REFERENCE: PL-TAF

8. CONTACT INFORMATION:

Team SAMS

Strategic Alliance Management Services P Ltd.
Phone Nos.: 011- 4081 9900; 4165 3612