Job Description:
Position: Senior Program Manager - Learning and Development
Location: Delhi/Bangalore/Chennai/Hyderabad
About CEGIS
Centre for Effective Governance of Indian States (CEGIS pronounced See-Jis) aims to improve lives by helping Indian state governments deliver better development outcomes.
The four key characteristics of any high-performing organisation are (a) measuring outcomes through reliable, high quality data that enables goal setting and monitoring progress towards these goals; (b) strategic use of personnel competency based hiring and training, skilling, and performance appraisals to determine job assignments, pay, and promotions to achieve the goals above; (c) strategic budgeting where resource allocation is based on evidence and cost-effectiveness; (d) and creating efficient systems to leverage external actors (including for-profit and nonprofit organisations). The Indian State needs to perform better on all four fronts above, by enhancing its capacity. CEGIS partners with states to improve this capacity by focusing on these four pillars of the State.
Informed by cutting-edge research and evidence as well as a practical orientation toward implementable ideas, CEGIS works with State Governments in India to enable a transformative improvement in their functioning. This vision and Theory of Change (ToC) is an outcome of extensive research done by Prof. Karthik Muralidharan (CEGIS Co-Founder and Scientific Director) and strategic philanthropic support provided by Mr. Ashish Dhawan (CEGIS Co-Founder).
Prof. Karthik Muralidharan is the Tata Chancellors Professor of Economics at the University of California, San Diego. Over the past two decades, he has led extensive research projects in India across education, health, and social welfare. His book, Accelerating Indias Development: A State-Led Roadmap for Effective Governance, systematically analyses Indias governance challenges and provides actionable, evidence-based strategies, emphasising state-level reforms as critical for Indias advancement.
Ashish Dhawan is a leading Indian philanthropist and the Founder-CEO of The Convergence Foundation (TCF). He is also the Founding Chairperson of Ashoka University and the Central Square Foundation, and is a governing board member of the Gates Foundation. Before his second career as a philanthropist, Ashish was among Indias most successful private equity investors.
CEGIS Approach and Model of Functioning
Our solutions to enhance governance are co-created with state governments in a state-led way, where we focus on deep partnerships with states with an iterative cycle of think-demonstrate-document-transfer. We work closely with the top bureaucratic leadership, front-line workers and public officials in Finance, Planning, Human Resources and a few other priority line departments.
In alignment with our four principles or pillars of change - outcome measurement, personnel management, strategic public finance, states and markets, CEGIS is currently working with the governments of Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, NCT of Delhi, Assam, and a few Government of India entities like the NITI Aayog and Capacity Building Commission (CBC) across a range of projects and sectors. Through CEGIS flagship offering, the KPI (Key Performance Indicators) Survey, we are helping enable state governments we are working with to collect better quality citizen level data, make informed, evidence-based decisions, and institutionalise this process of securing periodic citizen-level feedback. We are setting up a Financial Analytics Unit (FAU) to enhance analytical capacity and increase the effectiveness of budgetary allocations of the Finance Department in another state. In alignment with our personnel management workstream, we are also working with the HR/Administrative Reforms & Training Department to set up and institutionalise an in-house Capacity Building Unit (CBU) that aids the adoption of competency-based Learning Management Systems (LMS) and Performance Management Systems (PMS) with a few of these entities. Similarly, to improve the value of public money, we are working at the interface of states and markets which encompasses procurement, regulation, and policy formulation. Our solutions are constantly being refined based on real-time feedback and are designed to be customised and replicated across contexts.
CEGIS@5: A Journey of Learning & Building Capacity
Since its incorporation in 2019, despite the enormous challenges posed by COVID, CEGIS has gained significant momentum in building strong collaborations with the government(s) as a trusted partner who can provide both thought leadership and implementation support on key governance reforms. CEGIS position as a non-profit that does not take any funding from the government (other than in-kind contributions of office space/staff) has been a key enabler in earning this trust.
Beginning with 2 state government engagements in the first 2 years of its inception, today CEGIS is working across several Indian states with 15+ projects across several sectors, including education, nutrition and local governance. From a small group of founding members, we have grown by leaps and bounds to become a team of 150+ members located across the country. Helmed by a former bureaucrat with invaluable governance experience, state and solution team leads with decades of domain expertise, and enabling functions led by professionals with considerable corporate careers, the team at CEGIS brings together knowledge and experience that spans various sectors - from developmental economics, research, and governance to management consulting and social entrepreneurship.
Over the last 5 years, we have also been able to garner support for our vision and theory of change from a diverse range of foundations and philanthropists whose partnership has enabled us to build our own organisational capacity as well as continue to experiment and improve our solution design to augment state capacity and governance. We believe that this approach will gradually enable all government officials to achieve their goals more effectively, thereby improving the ability of the State to deliver services to all Indian citizens in the decades to come.
To explore what the mission of CEGIS is and the impact we hope to have, please take a look at this video of our CEO, Dr Vijay Pingale.
Position Summary
The Senior Manager Learning & Development will be responsible for designing, implementing, and evaluating a comprehensive learning strategy that aligns with the organizations goals and workforce development needs. This role will drive a culture of continuous learning, develop innovative training interventions, and ensure leadership and employee capability-building through tailored competency based programs.
This is a strategic role focused on fostering an environment of continuous learning and development within CEGIS. This role reports to the Principal consultant - Head of People & Culture.
Roles and Responsibilities
1. Learning Strategy & Program Development
- Develop an L&D roadmap aligned with organizational goals and future skill requirements.
- Design and implement learning interventions for employees at different levels.
- Promote a culture of continuous learning by integrating various methodologies such as training, e-learning, workshops, knowledge sessions, coaching, and job rotations.
- Leverage modern learning technologies (LMS, microlearning, gamification, AI-based adaptive learning, AR/VR simulations, etc.).
- Stay updated with industry trends and best practices to enhance training programs.
2. Needs Assessment & Stakeholder Collaboration
- Conduct Training Needs Analysis (TNA) using surveys, performance reviews, and feedback loops.
- Partner with HR, team leads, and managers to identify skill gaps and development opportunities.
- Utilize data insights from employee engagement and performance reviews to refine training strategies.
- Facilitate succession planning and leadership development through structured programs.
3. Training Delivery & Facilitation
- Deliver high-impact training sessions, ensuring engaging and effective content.
- Manage end-to-end training logistics, including scheduling, venue coordination, and post-training assessments.
- Develop Train-the-Trainer (TTT) programs to enable internal facilitators and subject-matter experts.
- Use storytelling, case studies, and interactive activities to enhance engagement and retention.
4. Evaluation & Continuous Improvement
- Define and track KPIs and success metrics for training impact.
- Conduct regular feedback sessions and surveys to assess effectiveness.
- Use learning analytics to optimize future programs and address gaps.
- Drive the adoption of a Learning Management System (LMS) to enable digital learning, track progress, and generate insights.
- Prepare L&D reports and dashboards for senior leadership.
5. Budget & Resource Management
- Develop and manage the L&D budget, ensuring cost-effective training solutions.
- Implement structured training approval workflows aligned with business priorities.
- Track vendor contracts and training expenses to ensure ROI-driven investments.
6. Career Development & Talent Growth
- Assist managers with competency mapping and career planning discussions.
- Establish mentorship programs to connect senior employees with junior talent.
- Encourage employees to pursue external certifications and professional development opportunities.
7. Learning Culture & Employee Engagement
- Foster an organization-wide learning culture through knowledge-sharing platforms and peer learning.
- Recognize and reward employees who actively participate in learning programs.
- Organize learning festivals, hackathons, and innovation challenges to drive engagement.
Required Qualifications, Skills and Abilities
- Masters degree in Management with specialisation in Human Resources Management / Organisational Development
- 12+ years of experience in Learning & Development, Talent Development, or Organizational Development.
- Strong expertise in TNA, instructional design, digital learning, and leadership development.
- Experience in managing budgets, vendor relationships, and external training partnerships.
- Proven ability to implement innovative learning technologies.
- Excellent facilitation, stakeholder management, and strategic thinking skills.
- Exceptional multitasking, independent working, and cross-functional collaboration skills
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to simplify complex topics
- Strong analytical and critical thinking skills.
- Operating style suited to working independently and in a small organisation setting, where teamwork and resourcefulness are highly valued
- Intellectual curiosity and ability/willingness to constantly learn
Location and Compensation
The ideal candidate will be based in one of the locations where CEGIS has offices; Delhi/Telangana/ Bangalore/Chennai and should be willing to travel, when needed. Remuneration will be competitive with Indian philanthropy and social sector pay scales and will depend on the candidates experience levels.
Why Join Us?
- Be a key driver in shaping a future-ready workforce.
- Work in a dynamic and innovative environment that values learning.
- Lead and implement cutting-edge learning solutions.
- Collaborate with senior leadership to influence organizational transformation through capability-building initiatives.
Interested candidates are requested to submit their application here.
Note: CEGIS has zero tolerance to sexual harassment. We therefore expect each applicant to self-declare related to the same. CEGIS could, if required, initiate a prevention of sexual harassment-based background verification. If an applicant is reported of misconduct, appropriate action that may include employment termination would be taken. Please Click the link
for self declaration.
Pre-reads for the application process:
Please go through the following materials before sending in your application:
- A glimpse into life at CEGIS - CEGIS Retreat 2024
- Podcast episodes with Prof. Karthik Muralidharan one each on education and healthcare in India.
- You are also encouraged to read more of Prof. Karthik Muralidharans work here and through his book Accelerating Indias Development: A State-Led Roadmap for Indias Development.