Deputy Country Director Program Support

1. POSITION VACANT: Deputy Country Director – Program Support, American India Foundation Trust, New Delhi

2. ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND:

The American India Foundation Trust (AIF) is a private, non-profit, nongovernmental organization, dedicated to catalyzing social and economic change in India, and building a lasting bridge between the USA and India. Registered as a Trust in India, with an independent Board of Trustees, AIF adheres to strict financial and governance standards, ensuring transparency, accountability, and responsible management of resources. As per statutory mandates, AIF is also registered under FCRA, CSR, 80G, and 12A.

Founded over two decades ago, in the aftermath of the devastating Gujarat earthquake, as a humanitarian initiative by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji and President Bill Clinton, AIF has impacted the lives of 18.88 million of India’s poor across 35 States and Union Territories of India.

AIF works on Education, Livelihoods, Public Health, and Leadership programs in India. For more information about AIF, please visit:

3. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

AIF is looking to onboard a passionate, talented, and energetic Deputy Country Director – Program Support (DCD-PS) to lead the operations that support its programs in India. The post-holder will drive the development and implementation of the strategies for compliance, ensure harmonization of operational standards across AIF for high quality operational implementation and provide support to programs enabling adherence to statutory norms and practices of the government, donors, and partners across India. The DCD-PS will be responsible for all aspects of the functions of Finance, Administration, HR, procurement, Technology, Audit, Legal, and Risk Management across all AIF’s long-term programmes and humanitarian and disaster relief work in India.

Reporting to the Country Director, the DCD-PS will directly lead four to five functional Directors (HR, Finance & Admin, Procurements, IT and Audit) and their teams. S/he will help AIF’s Country Director represent, support, and build impeccable country operations and serve as the single point of contact for providing support to AIF’s programs in India.

The post-holder will be expected to have experience and active working knowledge of India’s development sector, prevailing governmental norms and regulations encompassing FCRA, CGA, CSR, and institutional donor compliance protocols.

Key Job Responsibilities:

(A) Leadership, Strategy and Culture

(1) Work closely with AIF’s Country Leadership to establish strategic priorities and translate them into actionable plans for India’s Program support and enablement;

(2) Lead and support in the execution of the five-year Country strategy at AIF (with emphasis on strategies of Finance, HR, Procurement, Technology, Legal, Risk and Compliances);

(3) Create and articulate an inspiring vision for AIF’s Compliance Practices, Program support Infrastructure and Program enablement practices;

(4) Support the Country Director in adopting successful governance practices with respect to the Board, Trustees, and Advisors at AIF, as needed;

(5) Execute the duties of AIF’s Secretary to the India Board of Trustees;

(6) Monitor and submit compliance reports to the Board of Trustees for India’s Program support;

(7) Partner with Deputy Country Director – Programs to foster a collaborative, supportive and open work environment between the National & Regions teams, Functions and Programs for effective program implementation and organizational growth.

(B) Operational Support and Compliance Management

(1) Liaise with AIF’s US Team;

(2) Be the face of the organization in all matters relating to providing support to program’s operations and management, contracts, and statutory compliances;

(3) Lead the annual planning exercise for AIF in India;

(4) Collaborate with the Deputy Country Director – Programs, National Leaders of Fundraising & Communications, and the National Technical Leaders to ensure effective and timely submission of annual plans and budgets to the Board;

(5) Ensure organizational readiness and quick updates to internal protocols to meet new donor mandates such as USAID and other institutional donor compliances at the regional and national level;

(6) Lead the registration of AIF on the Social Stock Exchange and manage its successful execution;

(7) Support the forging of alliances and intellectual exchange between functions and programs for effective program support and enablement;

(8) Manage, mentor, and guide the Directors of Finance, Administration, Human Resource, Procurements, Technology, Legal, Internal Audit and Risk Management;

(9) Ensure that AIF’s organizational structure, functional SOPs, policies, and other processes are in place and deliver effectively on the strategic objectives defined by the organization;

(10) Support changes in SOPs of the Finance, HR, Procurements & Admin function to ensure compliance across offices, teams, and projects;

(12) Oversight and overarching accountability for the Finance, Administration, HR, Procurements, Technology and Legal functions at AIF;

(13) Work closely with the Functional Directors to ensure overall transparency and effectiveness of financial and administrative processes, HR policies, procedures and statutes, culture, procurement protocols, and legal compliances of the organization and its assets;

(14) Work closely with the finance team to ensure the timely conclusion of internal and external audits and comprehensive adherence with applicable compliances;

(15) Provide support in ensuring financial management and governance compliance at the regional and national levels in respect of all governmental, donor and auditory protocols, norms, statutes and standards;

(16) Ensure all donor reports and compliances are 100% error free, of high-quality standards and on time across functions and program support activities;

(18) Oversee year end audit process and monthly closures. Lead the audits across functions, especially Finance. Ensure due diligence and institution of effective checks;

(19) Facilitate compliance with labour laws across all offices in India. Facilitate/ oversee compliance with state filings/ state-mandated HR rules/ regulations/ minimum wages, apart from state-specific financial, taxation and CSR rules/ regulations;

(20) Facilitate adherence to rigorous compliances at the national and regional levels via SOPs, and monitoring and control practices in India towards all financial, HR and Procurements norms, statutory norms, legal requirements;

(21) Liaise with central and state government authorities, on a need basis for compliance with existing and upcoming regulations and statutes;

(22) Maintain programs’ support systems and structures across regions for excellence in their execution;

(23) Support the Country HR in the design and improvements to systems and processes to ensure ease of sustainability and growth in regions as programs scale-up;

(24) Facilitate the talent succession planning for building a strong second line of functional leadership and execution teams across the country;

(25) Support AIF’s responses to humanitarian emergencies including support to initiatives towards the management and utilization of AIF’s Emergency Response Fund, and collaborating with programs towards such interventions, as per need;

(26) Build AIF as a Technology first Organization;

4. QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND COMPETENCIES:

Qualification

Master’s degree preferably in General Management/ Development/ Economics/ Financial or equivalent disciplines. Post-graduate qualifications may be relaxed in the case of candidates possessing an exceptional track record.

Experience

(1) Minimum of 16-20 years of proven experience in delivering operational excellence across the finance, administration, HR, compliance, and procurement functions, with a minimum of six years in a senior management role.

(2) Prior experience in leading processes across technology, legal, internal audit, and risk management, is also required.

(3) Strong knowledge and understanding of FCRA, CSR, CGA and related laws and norms in India;

(4) Prior experience with and ability to lead large-scale change initiatives is highly desirable;

(5) Proven track record of successfully managing compliances and delivering effective operational support to organizations worth at least USD 8–10 million;

(6) Prior experience in disaster relief work and humanitarian response at scale, will be preferred.

Skills and Competencies

(1) Demonstrated skills and abilities in time management, analytical skills, effective delegation, attention to detail and conflict resolution;

(2) Demonstrated ability to build and maintain effective partnerships with diverse stakeholders, including functional experts, government agencies, donors, and community leaders;

(3) Strong experience in cashflow management, banking, and investment and asset management;

(4) Knowledge of procurement processes and vendor relations will be preferred;

(5) Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to represent the organization effectively to various audiences.

(6) Proven ability to successfully supervise a geographically dispersed team and work closely in coordination with other cross functional teams to deliver projects on-time;

(7) High integrity and ethical conduct;

(8) Preferred language proficiency in Hindi and English.

5. COMPENSATION OFFERED:

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

6. LOCATION: New Delhi

7. CONTACT INFORMATION:

Team SAMS

Phone: ; 4165 3612

8. APPLICATION PROCESS:

Candidates interested in the position can apply using the link at the earliest.