Associate Director -MEL (Financial Inclusion and Livelihoods)
Organization Overview (Samhita.org)
Samhita-CGF is an impact catalyst that has been a leader in India’s CSR landscape for 15 years. Over this time, we have partnered with more than 250 funders and 500 impact organizations, co-creating solutions that are measurable, scalable, and sustainable. Together, these efforts have improved the lives of over 17 million Indians across 31 states and union territories. Through our initiatives, which are CSR and FCRA compliant, we address key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
We began as a CSR consultancy to ensure that companies create catalytic change by leveraging their business capabilities to solve social issues that they and their stakeholders care about. We then transitioned into a strategic alliance builder, bringing together public, private, and philanthropic stakeholders to solve pressing societal challenges, at scale. We established and managed 5 alliances which are collectively impacting 7 million individuals from underserved communities, across financial inclusion, healthcare, livelihood, water and sanitation.
Role Summary :
The Head – Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) will lead the organization's evidence, research, and impact measurement agenda. The role will be responsible for designing and implementing robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks, generating actionable insights, building knowledge products, and strengthening evidence-based decision-making across programs. The incumbent will work closely with internal teams, donors, clients, implementation partners, and external stakeholders to demonstrate impact, support strategy development, and drive growth opportunities.
Key Responsibilities :
Strategic Leadership :
• Lead and strengthen the organization's Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) function, ensuring high standards of evidence generation and data-driven decision making.
• Develop and implement MEL strategies, frameworks, and systems aligned with organizational priorities and donor requirements.
• Build a culture of learning and continuous improvement across programs and teams.
Impact Measurement and Research :
• Provide strategic oversight for impact evaluations and research studies across programs, including research design, sampling frameworks, survey administration, data analysis, and dissemination of findings.
• Lead the development of robust evidence bases through experimental and quasi-experimental methodologies, regression analysis, and advanced statistical techniques.
• Ensure the quality, reliability, and integrity of data across its lifecycle, from data collection design to analysis and reporting.
Data Analytics and Knowledge Management :
• Oversee the development of analysis plans and conduct quantitative and qualitative analysis using appropriate statistical tools and software.
• Drive the creation of dashboards, insights, reports, case studies, knowledge products, blogs, and thought leadership pieces for internal and external audiences.
• Lead the conceptualization, development, and publication of high-quality knowledge products, including case studies, impact stories, research briefs, white papers, learning notes, blogs, newsletters, and thought leadership articles.
• Develop in-depth case studies that capture program design, implementation challenges, beneficiary journeys, and measurable outcomes, converting field-level evidence into compelling, credible narratives.
• Build a structured repository of knowledge assets and ensure content is tailored to different audiences (donors, corporates, implementation partners, internal teams, and the wider ecosystem).
• Establish editorial standards, review processes, and production timelines to ensure consistency, accuracy, and quality across all knowledge content.
• Lead end-to-end knowledge production, transforming raw data into actionable recommendations and persuasive impact stories.
• Institutionalize learning processes and facilitate knowledge-sharing across teams and stakeholders.
Fundraising and Business Development :
• Build strong evidence and impact narratives to support fundraising efforts, organizational positioning, and advocacy initiatives.
• Contribute to strategy development by providing analytical inputs, research notes, and evidence for proposals, concept notes, and donor engagements.
• Identify and pursue new business opportunities related to monitoring, evaluation, research, and impact assessment services with corporates, foundations, and development sector stakeholders.
• Support the development of pitch decks, proposals, and communication collateral to showcase program impact and organizational capabilities.
Stakeholder Management :
• Collaborate closely with internal teams including Program Implementation, Technology, Growth & Innovation, Communications, and Leadership to ensure effective utilization of data and insights.
• Prepare and share periodic monitoring, evaluation, and impact reports with key partners and funders, including Samhita, ensuring alignment with their reporting formats, timelines, and quality stand.
• Translate program data and evaluation findings into partner-ready reports, presentations, and knowledge briefs that clearly demonstrate impact and progress against agreed milestones.
• Build structured mechanisms for regular knowledge exchange with Samhita and other ecosystem partners, ensuring evidence and learnings flow consistently and are used to inform program and strategy decisions.
• Manage relationships with funders, corporates, implementation partners, research agencies, consultants, and ecosystem stakeholders.
• Resolve operational challenges and ensure timely delivery of high-quality outputs and commitments.
Innovation and Process Excellence :
• Drive continuous improvement in MEL methodologies, systems, and processes.
• Challenge existing approaches and introduce innovative techniques for data collection, analysis, visualization, and reporting.
• Leverage technology and digital tools to enhance efficiency, data quality, and learning outcomes.
Team Leadership :
• Build, mentor, and manage a high-performing MEL team.
• Provide technical guidance and foster capability development across the organization on monitoring, evaluation, learning, and data analytics.
Skills Required :
Technical skills :
• Post-graduation is mandatory, preferably in disciplines like economics, econometrics, statistics, data science, etc.
• 15 years of experience in social impact / development sector after post-graduation
• Functional experience in impact evaluation, M&E, experimental and quasi-experimental research designs, market research, needs assessment, etc.
• Advanced proficiency in statistical software packages like STATA and/or R, and SurveyCTO
• Advanced proficiency in MS Office Word, PowerPoint and Excel
• Domain experience in India’s financial inclusion, MSMEs, skilling, livelihoods, etc. landscape is an advantage but not essential
• Knowledge of Microsoft BI and/or Tableau is an advantage but not essential
• Proven experience in writing data-backed knowledge products for external audiences is an advantage but not essential.
Managing skills :
• Problem solving mindset, displaying ownership and being open to working in an agile, fast-paced environment
• Stellar planner with the ability to prioritize amidst various / sometimes conflicting priorities
• Ability to scope out length and difficulty of tasks and projects, and have the ability to break down process steps and decide order of priority
• Tolerance for ambiguity, translating into a get it done rather than wait to be done approach
• Track record of directly managing and mentoring a team (up to 3 members), and working with cross-functional teams
• Effective communicator and collaborator in a matrix/network organisational setting with appropriate upwards and downwards communication
• Strong communication skills and stakeholder-facing skills including good presentation and facilitation skills.
Work Location: Delhi/Mumbai/Bangalore
Why Samhita?
• Make a big difference: Take, Own and implement.
• Leadership: This is the perfect opportunity to go beyond traditional roles and lead cutting edge innovative strategies. The candidate shall work alongside the brightest minds, in an environment that fosters growth and creativity
• Impact: Working with Samhita will provide you with an opportunity to bring about a positive change in the lives of millions
• Work Culture: Samhita has a team of young, hard-working, and dynamic individuals who strive for excellence while maintaining a humble outlook. Our work has been strengthened and supported by international and domestic donor agencies and foundations such as the USAID, Gates Foundation, Microsoft, Google, Walmart Foundation, LinkedIn, S&P Global, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Accenture, Cummins, and many more.
• Learning: Increase your problem-solving capabilities by delving into complex challenges.
How to apply: Forward your LinkedIn page or CV to careers@samhita.org, you can also apply on our careers page.
Website link - https://samhita.org/careers/8de96bac-df5d-41d1-8c1a-429396cf69e2