- The incumbent would be responsible to strengthen the programme vision and scope and translate the latest technological, rural development and governance paradigms into devising and operationalizing strategy. Centering the core principles, the Programme Director will spearhead socio-technical planning and process changes required to scale visibility, everyday usability and adoption among village communities, other NGO cadres and block-level government functionaries. 

- The Director will work with other teams to drive strategic partnerships, build networks of communities, other NGOs, government institutions and officials, researchers, experts and donors to leverage their engagement.

PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES (Essential Functions):

- Visualize and frame the strategic plan for the IO programme centred around its core objectives in consultation with the Anchor and Curator, Commons Collaborative (and IO) Programme; conduct and review analyses to learn about opportunities and constraints, and translate this information into a comprehensive strategy that places village communities and other end-users at the center of any technological intervention.

- Understand the user market for the IO programme and develop a plan for reaching different groups of potential users. Create a space for the IO programme at the pan-India level with wider acceptance among various stakeholders. Understand the potential of the IO programme and the wide range of existing and prospective user groups, to devise plans to increase reach and relevance among these different groups. 

- Carve out a niche for the IO programme at the pan-India level, embedding it firmly for use in development practice, with wider acceptance among various stakeholders.

- In consultation with the Anchor and Curator, play a lead role in laying out the road map and establishing IO as a separate entity; amplifying and scaling the organisation its partners- core work.

- Keep abreast of the contemporary advancement in research and development scenarios in dif- ferent sectors like environment conservation, social development, dry land agriculture, pro- tected area and reserved forest, biodiversity, poverty alleviation, rural livelihoods, planning with Panchayati Raj Institutions and disciplines such as digital technology, Remote Sensing and Geo- graphical Information System etc., so as to seize opportunities and position the IO programme suitably.

- Develop a big picture understanding of the practical action steps and workflow process changes necessary to translate the objective of IO into reality. Create a series of quantifiable, actionable goals and communicate these goals to the team. Analyze the IO programme portfolio and leverage team strengths to ensure that work aligns to strategic decisions. Devise hiring and/or other strategies to bring suitable talent into the team, as required.

- Evaluate and adapt the articulated direction, as the IO programme and its environment evolve. Enable the organization to prioritize its work by evaluating project flow and conducting review meetings and keeping the IO programme on track.

- Any other work that may be assigned by the Anchor and Curator, Commons Collaborative (and IO) Programme from time to time.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

- Bachelor/Master's degree in Science/Development/Technology/Management/Technology or relevant fields with a good understanding of rural systems and business functions. A sound understanding of ecological dimensions would be an added advantage.

- Demonstrated experience in strategic planning, outreach to different actors (village communities, NGOs, government functionaries in rural areas) business analytics and programme/project management in a multi-location, multi-project scenario.

- 10 to 20 years experience in progressively more responsible positions (flexible).

- Experience with nature-based technological solutions targeted at diverse user base including stakeholders at village level on open-source technologies.

- Good understanding of GIS and Remote Sensing technologies, open-source technologies, big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning and their applications in the social sector.

- Experience in planning programs/projects from start to completion involving deadlines, mile- stones and processes.

- Experience in designing, developing and managing Enterprise IT solutions (Web-GIS and mobile) and software products in captive and outsourced environments; ability to manage SDLC and implementation of industry best practices like CMMI, Agile Methodologies, DevOps etc.; and familiarity with vendor management and management of software development in distributed environments are desirable and will be added advantages.

- Team player, with experience in managing multi-skill teams, diverse subject matter experts, di- verse user groups and internal stakeholders; performance management, evaluation and moni- toring and determination of need for improvements.

CRITICAL SKILLS AND EXPERTISE:

- Proven leadership skills with demonstrated ability to articulate the vision and translate that into effective strategic initiatives and operational plans.

- Strong strategic acumen supported by sound judgment with well-developed conceptual, analytical and problem-solving skills.

- Entrepreneurial skills to identify and seize opportunities for new products, services, and markets.

- Technical skills with an understanding of relevant technologies, and associated development, deployment and upgrade processes.

- Mobilizing skills to proactively build and align stakeholders, capabilities, and resources for getting things done quickly and achieving complex objectives. An innate interest to build collaborations with different organizations and individuals with an aim of promoting sharing of data, analytics and tools for improving the rigour, visibility and use of IO.

- Ability to create an environment that embraces change; ability to focus on continuous improvement and always challenge the status quo, to identify ideas for change and become the force that drives the change home.

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