Program Manager

About the Organization 

Arthan is partnering with an organization that is committed to raising mental health awareness, reducing stigma, and providing credible support for those facing stress, anxiety, and depression. Through strategic partnerships, it delivers impactful programs to foster a more supportive environment.

Role Overview

The Program Manager will be responsible for contributing to shaping and scaling innovative, evidence-based solutions while fostering partnerships with Foundations on-ground partners, strengthening field level processes and systems, and driving outcomes for the CMHP.

Role and responsibilities

1. Facilitate efficient program delivery in the partner locations

• Ensure efficient implementation of the rural program, ensuring alignment with the strategic vision and timely achievement of targets
• Oversee work plans and activities of the field teams in coordination with the on-ground partners
• Collaborate with the MIS Lead to support the field teams in data collection and analysis - analyze data for trends, inconsistencies, and gaps
• Using program data derive actionable insights to enhance decision-making for the field teams
• Implement new methods or procedures that are required to address the programmatic gaps. Identify and address areas for improvement within the program to maximize efficiency and impact
• Standardize processes and systems on ground to ensure consistent and high-quality implementation across all program locations

2. Capacity Building for on-ground partners

• Strengthen the capacity of program implementation partners through a systematic and regular needs assessment exercise
• Ensure timely and effective delivery of capacity building activities
• Ensure field-level adoption of new knowledge and skills through hands-on support and collaboration with other program team members

3. Field Engagement

• Conduct regular field visits to monitor program implementation, provide constructive feedback, and ensure alignment with targets
• Facilitate career group formation
• Facilitate vocational training and livelihoods support
• Ensure that the on-ground partners have an advocacy plan and support them wherever possible with ideas and actions

4. Coordination and facilitation

• Partner closely with fellow colleagues from foundation with efficient program planning and execution in the field. Proactively address gaps and challenges in collaboration with the rural program team

6. Relationship management

• Act as the Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for the on-ground partners including the leaders from the NGOs and the field teams working on foundations CMHP
• Maintain a cordial relationship and facilitate strengthening the organizational and programmatic capacities of the partner organizations with a collaborative approach
• Build working relationships with district and block level health officials and government functionaries to resolve problems and bottlenecks in coordination with the field teams

7. Reporting

• Build the capacities of the on-ground partners to ensure timely and good quality reporting

8. Documentation

• Ensure overall project documentation to aid tracking changes in program delivery including key learning, best practices etc. and share with others in foundations CMHP team

Required Education, Experience, Skills and Traits

• 4-6 years experience in program management roles, preferably in health programs.
• Experience with working on programs in rural and low-resource settings will be an advantage.
• Masters degree in Development Studies, Social Work, Statistics, Economics (ideal but not mandatory) or a related field.
• Fluency in Hindi and at least one South Indian language (Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam) is important.
• Analytical contribution to improving the program design, implementation and monitoring.
• Training and facilitation skills for training field staff on program management.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint for reporting and analysis.
• Demonstrates curiosity to learn and has the willingness to take up additional responsibilities and collaborate with team members based on project priorities.
• Strong interpersonal skills to interact effectively with a cross-section of stakeholders that includes our on-ground partners leadership team and field staff, government functionaries at a district and sub-district level, community members i.e. the Persons With Mental Illness (PWMI), their caregivers etc.
• The ideal candidate should be comfortable working independently (with direction and guidance from the Head of Programs) and in a small team setting. Problem solving ability, adaptability, ability to translate ideas into action, teamwork and resourcefulness are highly valued
• An intrinsically motivated person with a passion to work in a complex domain like mental health and a commitment to Foundations rural program mission would be a key differentiator while shortlisting candidates
• A sense of humour always peps up team spirit!

Travel Requirements

Must be able to travel domestically at least 40 to 50% of the time to remote areas, at short notice.