Job Description:
The Livelihood Collective (TLC) – ITI Transformation Roadmap
- Position: Finance Director / Grant Manager, TLC
- Location: New Delhi
- Reports to: Program Director, TLC PMU (with a functional line to the Steering Committee on financial matters)
Job Description:
We are seeking an experienced Finance Director / Grant Manager to own the financial and grant-management engine of The Livelihood Collective (TLC) – a multi-funder collaborative transforming India's Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) into employment engines across Maharashtra, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh. The program is consolidated under a not-for-profit parent entity (with CSR-1, 80G and 12A registrations) that houses the PMU and manages sub-granting, payments and utilization certificates on behalf of the funder consortium.
This role is the financial custodian of a large, multi-year, multi-funder grant pool. You will manage the full flow of funds – from contributions committed by corporate and philanthropic funders, into the consolidating entity, and out to implementation partners, state teams, assessment agencies, the technology partner and PMU support partners. You will ensure that money reaches the right partners on time, that every rupee is disbursed against agreed milestones, deliverables and KPIs, and that the entire collaborative remains fully compliant with the regulatory framework governing non-profits and CSR spending in India.
Think of the role as a grant manager for a CSR collective: equal parts rigorous financial controller, disciplined sub-grant administrator, and trusted partner to funders and delivery teams. It demands deep compliance expertise in the non-profit space, strong controls instincts, and the maturity to hold multiple institutional partners accountable while keeping delivery moving.
Key Responsibilities:
- Own end-to-end fund flow: manage the receipt of funder contributions into the consolidating entity and the onward disbursement to implementation partners (Tata STRIVE, LAHI, Medha), state teams, assessment agencies, the technology partner and PMU support partners – ensuring funds are available and released on time
- Design and run the sub-granting mechanism: structure grant agreements, tranche schedules and disbursement conditions; release funds against agreed budgets, milestones and verified progress rather than on a fixed calendar alone
- Link disbursement to deliverables and KPIs: work with the PMU and M&E function to tie tranche releases to programmatic deliverables and outcome KPIs; withhold, adjust or escalate where milestones are not met
- Manage treasury and cash flow: forecast and manage cash across financial years and states so that no cluster or partner is starved of funds, and idle balances are minimised
- Utilization certificates and grant reporting: collect, review and reconcile Utilization Certificates and expenditure reports from all sub-grantees; ensure documentation is audit-ready and consistent with sanctioned budgets
- Ensure non-profit and CSR compliance: maintain full compliance across CSR regulations (Companies Act Section 135 and CSR-1), 80G and 12A, FCRA where applicable, Income-Tax and statutory filing requirements – for the consolidating entity and, through due diligence, for sub-grantees
- Financial governance and reporting: prepare consolidated budgets-vs-actuals, funder-wise and workstream-wise financial reports and dashboards for the Steering Committee, Advisory Board and individual funders, respecting each funder's audit and attribution policies
- Controls, risk and due diligence: establish internal financial controls, approval matrices and fraud-prevention safeguards; conduct financial and compliance due diligence and periodic reviews of partner organisations
- Audit management: coordinate statutory, internal, funder and third-party audits across the collaborative and drive timely closure of findings
- Funder onboarding and stewardship: support onboarding of new funders – structuring contribution agreements, aligning on reporting formats, and serving as the finance point of contact for the consortium
- Build the finance function: set up systems, tools and (over time) a small finance team to sustain the grant-management engine as the program scales nationally
Ideal Candidate Profile:
- Qualified Chartered Accountant (CA) and/or MBA (Finance) with roughly 12+ years of relevant experience, including senior finance / grant-management leadership
- Deep expertise in non-profit and CSR finance – with hands-on knowledge of CSR (Section 135 / CSR-1), 80G, 12A, FCRA, Income-Tax and statutory compliance for charitable entities
- Proven experience managing large, multi-year grant pools and multi-entity fund flows – ideally in a foundation, CSR collective, multi-funder collaborative or large development-sector program
- Strong track record in sub-granting: structuring grant agreements, milestone- and KPI-linked disbursement, and Utilization Certificate / expenditure oversight
- Robust financial-controls, treasury, budgeting and audit-management skills, with the rigour to hold multiple institutional partners accountable
- Excellent stakeholder-management and communication skills for funder-, board- and partner-facing engagement
- Willingness to travel to program states and partner offices as needed
- High integrity, strong ownership, and a genuine commitment to skilling and employment impact at scale