Job ID: 301046

Program Manager

Meri Awaz Trust (MAT)

Location: Dwarka Mor, Delhi

Apply by: 18 Aug 2026

Relevant Sectors

Fundraising, Business Development, Grants Writer

Health, Doctors, Nurses, HIV/AIDS, Nutrition

Monitoring, Evaluation, Policy, Research

Meri Awaz Trust is seeking an experienced, dynamic and highly field-oriented Program Manager to provide overall leadership for planning, implementation, monitoring, coordination and reporting of assigned programmes and projects. The Program Manager will be responsible for converting approved project proposals and agreements into structured implementation plans, measurable targets, field-level activities and documented outcomes. The position will serve as a key managerial link between MAT senior management, project teams, CSR/donor partners, government departments, district administration, implementing partners and beneficiary communities. The Program Manager will be accountable for the timely, efficient and quality implementation of assigned projects within approved scope, timeline, budget and results framework. This is not a primarily office-based position. Frequent travel to MAT project locations is a mandatory requirement.

KEY ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

A. PROGRAMME & PROJECT MANAGEMENT
The Program Manager will: • Lead the planning and implementation of assigned MAT projects. • Review approved proposals, agreements, budgets, Logical Frameworks and project deliverables before implementation. • Develop detailed project implementation plans. • Prepare annual, quarterly, monthly and weekly activity schedules. • Establish project milestones, targets and responsibilities. • Ensure activities are implemented according to approved proposals, agreements, budgets and timelines. • Monitor physical and financial progress of assigned projects. • Identify implementation bottlenecks and initiate corrective actions. • Ensure achievement of project outputs, outcomes and key performance indicators. • Maintain close coordination between programme, field, M&E, finance and administration teams. • Ensure project activities are completed within the approved project period.

B. PROJECT START-UP & IMPLEMENTATION PLANNING
For every newly assigned project, the Program Manager will facilitate: Project Approval ? Project Inception ? Team Deployment ? Stakeholder Consultation ? Baseline/Need Assessment ? Beneficiary Identification ? Detailed Implementation Plan ? Activity Execution ? Monitoring ? Reporting ? Outcome Measurement ? Project Closure The Program Manager will ensure that clear systems, responsibilities and timelines are established before full-scale implementation begins.

TEAM MANAGEMENT & SUPERVISION The Program Manager will supervise assigned programme and field personnel, including: • Program Officers; • Monitoring & Evaluation Officers; • Field Officers; • Community Mobilizers; • Project Coordinators; • Trainers/Resource Persons; and • Other project personnel. Responsibilities include: • Allocation of responsibilities and targets; • Preparation/review of staff work plans; • Regular team meetings and project reviews; • Monitoring individual and team performance; • Providing technical and operational guidance; • Reviewing field reports; • Identifying capacity-building requirements; • Ensuring staff discipline and accountability; • Supporting resolution of field-level challenges; and • Reporting significant performance concerns to senior management.

FIELD MONITORING & QUALITY ASSURANCE The Program Manager will undertake frequent field visits to: • Review implementation progress; • Verify project activities; • Interact directly with beneficiaries; • Assess quality of services and interventions; • Review performance of field teams; • Participate in community meetings; • Verify project-supported assets and infrastructure; • Review training and capacity-building activities; • Assess community participation and satisfaction; • Identify implementation challenges; and • Ensure corrective actions are implemented. Each significant monitoring visit should result in a structured Field Visit/Monitoring Report, including observations, achievements, challenges, action points and follow-up responsibilities.

GOVERNMENT & DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION COORDINATION The Program Manager will maintain professional coordination with relevant: • District Collectors/District Magistrates and designated officials; • District-level government departments; • Block-level administration; • Panchayati Raj Institutions; • Health Departments; • Education Departments; • Agriculture and Horticulture Departments; • Women & Child Development/ICDS functionaries; • Rural Development Departments; • State/District Livelihood Missions; • Skill Development agencies; and • Other government institutions relevant to assigned projects. The Program Manager will support project convergence with government programmes wherever appropriate and approved.

CSR/DONOR & PARTNER COORDINATION The Program Manager will: • Support communication and coordination with CSR/donor partners. • Ensure implementation is consistent with approved project agreements. • Prepare information required for donor/CSR review meetings. • Coordinate CSR/donor field visits. • Prepare presentations and progress updates. • Ensure timely compliance with programme-related donor requirements. • Track project deliverables and reporting commitments. • Maintain appropriate documentation and evidence required by funding partners. • Support senior management during project review and stakeholder meetings. All formal commitments to donors/CSR partners must remain within the authority delegated by MAT management.

MONITORING, EVALUATION & RESULTS MANAGEMENT Working closely with the M&E Officer, the Program Manager will: • Establish project-specific monitoring systems. • Define and track project indicators. • Monitor targets versus achievements. • Review project MIS and dashboards. • Ensure beneficiary databases are updated. • Support baseline, midline and endline assessments. • Review data quality and completeness. • Track outputs, outcomes and emerging impact. • Ensure implementation teams respond to M&E findings. • Review corrective-action plans. • Promote evidence-based decision-making. The Program Manager will ensure that project reporting focuses not only on activities completed, but also on results achieved.

BUDGET & FINANCIAL OVERSIGHT In coordination with the Finance & Accounts team, the Program Manager will: • Understand the approved project budget. • Prepare activity-wise expenditure plans and forecasts. • Monitor expenditure against approved budget heads. • Ensure activities are undertaken within approved financial provisions. • Track physical progress against financial utilization. • Support preparation of fund requirements. • Verify programme-related expenditure documentation from an implementation perspective. • Prevent avoidable or unauthorized expenditure. • Identify potential under-utilization or over-utilization of budget lines. • Support utilization reporting and financial reviews. • Ensure programme activities provide appropriate value for money. The Program Manager shall not independently alter approved budgets or authorize expenditures beyond delegated authority.

REPORTING & DOCUMENTATION The Program Manager will be responsible for ensuring timely preparation and/or review of: • Monthly Progress Reports; • Quarterly Progress Reports; • Half-Yearly/Annual Reports; • Field Monitoring Reports; • Project Dashboards; • Beneficiary Progress Reports; • Training Reports; • CSR/Donor Reports; • Government Coordination Reports; • Case Studies; • Success Stories; • Project Presentations; • Project Completion Reports; and • Other programme documentation. Reports must present accurate, evidence-supported and verifiable information.

TRAINING & CAPACITY BUILDING The Program Manager will: • Identify training and capacity-building requirements. • Develop annual/project-specific training plans. • Coordinate technical experts and resource persons. • Review training modules and materials. • Supervise organization of training programmes. • Monitor participant attendance and training quality. • Ensure pre/post assessments where appropriate. • Monitor post-training application of learning. • Evaluate training effectiveness. • Ensure appropriate documentation and evidence.

BENEFICIARY MANAGEMENT & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT The Program Manager will ensure: • Transparent beneficiary identification. • Compliance with approved eligibility and selection criteria. • Proper beneficiary documentation. • Appropriate inclusion of vulnerable and disadvantaged populations. • Meaningful community participation. • Functional community feedback mechanisms. • Timely resolution/escalation of grievances. • Regular beneficiary interaction and follow-up. • Prevention of duplication, favoritism and inappropriate beneficiary selection.

RISK MANAGEMENT & PROBLEM SOLVING The Program Manager will proactively identify risks relating to: • Implementation delays; • Underachievement of targets; • Staff performance; • Community participation; • Stakeholder coordination; • Budget utilization; • Data quality; • Procurement or logistics; • Compliance; • Reputation; • Sustainability; and • External operational factors. The Program Manager will maintain an appropriate Project Risk Register/Issue Tracker and recommend mitigation measures to management. Serious issues must be escalated immediately.

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT & PROPOSAL SUPPORT The Program Manager will also support organizational programme development by: • Conducting field needs assessments. • Identifying emerging development needs. • Collecting primary and secondary information. • Supporting development of concept notes and CSR proposals. • Developing activity plans and implementation strategies. • Supporting preparation of Logical Frameworks/Results Frameworks. • Contributing to project budgeting. • Providing field-level evidence and data for new proposals. • Participating in programme design discussions. • Supporting development of innovative and scalable interventions.

PROJECT CLOSURE & SUSTAINABILITY The Program Manager will ensure systematic project closure through: • Completion of all approved activities. • Verification of project deliverables. • Completion of beneficiary records. • Closure of pending field actions. • Final data validation. • Documentation of outputs and outcomes. • Preparation of project completion reports. • Handover of assets/institutions where applicable. • Stakeholder consultations. • Documentation of lessons learned. • Development and implementation of sustainability/exit plans. The Program Manager should ensure that projects are designed and implemented with sustainability and community ownership as core principles.

FREQUENT FIELD TRAVEL – MANDATORY Frequent and extensive field travel is an essential and non-negotiable requirement of this position. The Program Manager will be required to travel regularly to Meri Awaz Trust project locations, including rural, remote, district and state-level locations. Travel may be required for: • Project implementation; • Monitoring and supervision; • Government meetings; • CSR/donor visits; • Community consultations; • Training programmes; • Beneficiary verification; • Project assessments; • Partner meetings; • Field-team reviews; and • Other official assignments. The selected candidate must be willing to undertake multi-day field visits and overnight stays at project locations whenever required. Candidates seeking a primarily desk-based managerial position should not apply. EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION Preferred Qualification: Master's Degree in: • Social Work (MSW); • Rural Development; • Development Studies; • Management/MBA; • Public Administration; • Public Health; • Agriculture/Rural Management; • Sociology; or • Another relevant development-sector discipline. Candidates with a Bachelor's Degree and substantial relevant programme-management experience may also be considered. EXPERIENCE • Preferably 4–6 years of relevant experience in NGO, CSR, development-sector, government-supported or community-development projects. • Preferably at least 2 years of experience in programme/project coordination or team supervision. • Demonstrated experience in managing field-based development programmes. • Experience in CSR-funded projects will be an advantage. • Experience coordinating with government departments and district administration is desirable. • Experience supervising multi-location field teams will be preferred.

TECHNICAL & MANAGERIAL SKILLS The candidate should demonstrate: • Strong project-management skills; • Team leadership and supervision; • Project planning and scheduling; • Budget monitoring; • Results-based management; • Monitoring & Evaluation understanding; • MIS and data interpretation; • Strong report writing; • Stakeholder management; • Government coordination; • CSR/donor coordination; • Community engagement; • Risk management; • Training and facilitation; • Problem solving and decision making; • Strong working knowledge of MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint; and • Ability to prepare professional reports, presentations and dashboards. Knowledge of digital project-management/MIS tools, KoboToolbox/ODK, Google Workspace or Power BI will be an added advantage.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIs) Performance of the Program Manager may be assessed against: 1. Percentage of project activities completed within approved timelines. 2. Achievement against project output and outcome targets. 3. Quality of project implementation. 4. Budget utilization against physical progress. 5. Timeliness and quality of CSR/donor reports. 6. Quality and frequency of field monitoring. 7. Accuracy and completeness of project documentation. 8. Team performance and productivity. 9. Timely closure of M&E observations. 10. Quality of government and stakeholder coordination. 11. Beneficiary coverage and participation. 12. Timely identification and resolution of implementation risks. 13. Quality of project MIS and evidence. 14. Donor/CSR compliance. 15. Sustainability and community ownership of project interventions. 16. Timely completion and closure of assigned projects. SALARY & OFFICIAL TRAVEL Consolidated Salary: ?35,000/- per month Approved travel, accommodation and other official expenses incurred during authorized project assignments may be reimbursed/covered as per the prevailing policies and procedures of Meri Awaz Trust. PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT & ACCOUNTABILITY The Program Manager is expected to demonstrate: • High professional integrity; • Leadership and accountability; • Transparency; • Respect for beneficiaries and communities; • Gender sensitivity and inclusion; • Confidentiality; • Data integrity; • Responsible financial conduct; • Safeguarding of children and vulnerable persons; • Zero tolerance toward falsification of project information; and • Commitment to MAT's organizational objectives. Any deliberate falsification of beneficiary information, project achievements, monitoring data, financial supporting documents or field evidence may constitute serious misconduct. GENERAL CONDITIONS The nature of this position requires flexibility in working hours, extensive travel and responsiveness to field and project requirements. The Program Manager will be expected to take ownership of assigned projects and proactively resolve implementation challenges rather than merely report them. The employee shall comply with all policies, procedures, safeguarding standards and administrative instructions of Meri Awaz Trust. Meri Awaz Trust reserves the right to modify responsibilities and assign additional programme-management duties according to organizational and project requirements.

IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE
Meri Awaz Trust is looking for a results-driven, field-oriented and accountable development professional capable of managing the complete project cycle rather than only coordinating individual activities. The ideal Program Manager should be able to manage: Project Design ? Planning ? Team Deployment ? Government/CSR Coordination ? Field Implementation ? Budget Monitoring ? M&E ? Problem Solving ? Reporting ? Outcome Measurement ? Sustainability ? Project Closure

HOW TO APPLY
Interested and eligible candidates are invited to submit their application for the proposed position. Candidates must submit all three of the following documents/materials for their application to be considered complete: 1. Updated Resume/CV Submit your latest Resume/CV clearly highlighting: • Educational qualifications; • Relevant professional experience; • Experience in NGO/CSR/development-sector projects; • Programme/project management experience; • Field-level implementation experience; • Government/CSR stakeholder coordination experience; • Key achievements; and • Current contact details. 2. Write-Up: “Why I Am Suitable for This Position” Submit a brief write-up explaining why you consider yourself suitable for the position. The write-up should highlight your relevant experience, programme-management capabilities, leadership skills, field experience, stakeholder-management abilities and how you can contribute to the effective implementation and growth of MAT's development programmes. Candidates are encouraged to provide specific examples of projects, responsibilities and measurable achievements rather than submitting a generic statement. 3. One-Minute Video Presentation Candidates must submit a maximum one-minute video presentation on: “Why I Am Suitable for the Position of Program Manager at Meri Awaz Trust.” In the video, candidates should briefly introduce themselves and explain their relevant experience, key strengths, field orientation and the value they can bring to MAT.

Job Email ID:

kajalmeriawaztrust(at)gmail.com