AMERICAN INDIA FOUNDATION TRUST
JOB DESCRIPTION
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Position:
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Chief Finance and Operating Officer
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Department:
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Finance and Operations
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Role:
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Strategic Leadership | Financial & Operational Governance
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Reporting Relationship:
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Country Director
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Location:
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Delhi
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Number of Positions:
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01
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Grade Level
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A
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Nature of Employment:
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Open-ended contract
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About American India Foundation Trust:
The American India Foundation Trust (AIF) is committed to advancing social and economic mobility for India’s most underserved communities, with a sustained focus on women, children, and youth. The Foundation does this through high-impact, scalable interventions across education, public health, and livelihoods, addressing multidimensional barriers to enable individuals to participate fully in India’s growth story. Founded two decades ago in the aftermath of the devastating Gujarat earthquake as a historic humanitarian initiative by then Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji, and U.S. President Mr. Bill Clinton, AIF has served 20.47 million lives across 35 States and Union Territories of India.
Registered as a Trust in India with an independent Board of Trustees, AIF adheres to rigorous financial and governance standards, ensuring transparency, accountability, and the responsible stewardship of resources. In strict compliance with Indian statutory and regulatory frameworks, AIF is registered under 12A, 80G, and the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), validating the organization's institutional credibility and legal compliance. Learn more at www.aif-india.org
About the Position
AIF is seeking an accomplished, purpose-driven and financially astute Chief Finance and Operating Officer (CFOO) to provide organisation-wide leadership for the systems, infrastructure and support functions that enable its programs to deliver impact at scale. This is a pivotal leadership role at a time of significant organisational transformation. The CFOO will help build the operating platform for AIF’s next phase of growth, ensuring that the organisation can scale while maintaining the highest standards of governance, compliance, financial stewardship and operational effectiveness. Reporting to the Country Director, the CFOO will provide strategic leadership to the Director/Deputy Director/Head of Finance, Procurement, Administration, Technology, Legal, Risk and Compliance. The incumbent will work closely with Programs, Fundraising and Communications leadership. The CFOO will be the enterprise-level integrator between strategy and execution, ensuring that policies, systems, processes, technology and organisational infrastructure are aligned to AIF’s strategic ambitions. This role is suited to a leader who combines strategic perspective with an exceptional execution orientation—someone who can build systems and structures while remaining close enough to operations to identify problems, solve them and drive results.
Key Responsibilities:
Strategy&Organisational Effectiveness
- Partner with the Country Director, Program Directors and Department Heads to translate AIF’s five-year strategy into effective operating priorities and plans.
- Lead the operational components of AIF’s India strategy across Finance, Procurement, Administration, Technology, Legal, Risk and Compliance.
- Develop an integrated operating model that supports AIF’s future growth.
- Identify organisational bottlenecks, risks and opportunities and drive timely, cross-functional solutions.
- Ensure that policies, SOPs, systems and organisational structures remain fit for purpose as AIF evolves.
Governance, Risk & Compliance
- Provide organisation-wide leadership on statutory, regulatory, donor and internal compliance.
- Ensure strong implementation of applicable Indian regulatory requirements, including FCRA, CSR, taxation and labour regulations.
- Strengthen internal controls, risk-management frameworks and compliance-monitoring mechanisms.
- Ensure timely completion and follow-up of internal and external audits.
- Provide high-quality governance, risk and compliance reporting to the Country Director and Board of Trustees.
- Support the Country Director in maintaining effective governance relationships with the Board and Trustees.
Financial Stewardship
- Provide strategic oversight of financial management, planning, budgeting, forecasting, cash-flow management and financial controls.
- Lead the annual organisational planning and budgeting process in collaboration with Program, Fundraising, Communications and Functional leaders.
- Ensure timely and accurate financial and management reporting.
- Oversee financial governance, audit processes, banking, investments and organisational assets.
- Ensure that financial systems and controls are robust, transparent and scalable.
Procurement, Administration & Infrastructure
- Ensure effective, transparent and compliant procurement and vendor-management systems.
- Strengthen standardisation of administrative and operational practices across field departments and program operations.
- Ensure that AIF’s infrastructure and administrative systems are adequate to support program delivery and organisational growth.
- Drive operational efficiency and cost effectiveness while maintaining quality and compliance.
Technology & Digital Transformation
- Develop and lead AIF’s organisation-wide technology and AI driven digital-transformation roadmap.
- Identify technology solutions that improve operational efficiency, integration, data management and decision-making.
- Lead major technology initiatives from strategy and business case through implementation, adoption and evaluation.
- Champion innovative, secure, cost-effective and scalable technology solutions across functions and programs.
- Ensure that technology investments are aligned with AIF’s strategic priorities and deliver measurable organisational value.
Program Enablement
- Partner closely with Program leadership to ensure that support functions are responsive to the needs of programs and field operations.
- Strengthen systems that enable consistent quality, compliance and operational excellence across regions.
- Ensure that program teams have timely access to the financial, administrative, procurement, legal and technology support required for effective delivery.
- Build strong collaboration between functions and program teams.
Qualification, Experience & Skills:
AIF is looking for a strategic operator and values-driven organisational leader with the credibility, maturity and execution capability to operate at enterprise level:
- Chartered Accountant with minimum 20 years of relevant experience, including at least 6 years in senior leadership positions (preferably as a director and above).
- Significant experience in organisation-wide operations, governance, financial management, risk and compliance.
- Strong in-depth knowledge of the Indian regulatory environment and compliance framework applicable to non-profit organisations, including FCRA, CSR, taxation and labour regulations is mandatory.
- Demonstrated experience leading complex, geographically dispersed organisations.
- Proven track record in leading organisational transformation, or large-scale change.
- Strong financial acumen, including budgeting, forecasting, cash-flow management, controls and audit.
- Experience overseeing multiple organisational functions such as Finance, Procurement, Administration, Technology, Legal and Risk.
- Experience working in a high-growth environment where scale must be balanced with strong governance and compliance.
- Strong stakeholder-management, influencing and negotiation capabilities.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Desirable Experience
- Additional qualifications of ICWA, CS, MBA Finance is preferable but not essential.
- Senior leadership experience within India’s development/social sector.
- Experience in organisations with an annual operating budget of INR 70 – 80 Crores or more.
- Experience in humanitarian or disaster-response operations.
- Exposure to international donors and/or international operating environments.
- Experience leading technology-enabled organisational transformation.
- Strong understanding of procurement, vendor management and contractual processes.
- Existing networks within India’s development and social-sector ecosystem.
Skills & Competencies
The successful candidate will be:
- A Strategic Thinker - Able to see the bigger picture, anticipate organisational needs and translate strategy into practical action.
- A Strong Executor – Solution oriented professional; comfortable moving from strategy to detail, taking ownership and ensuring that commitments translate into results.
- A Systems Builder - Able to create scalable processes and infrastructure without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.
- A Change Leader - Experienced in navigating ambiguity, organisational transformation and competing stakeholder priorities.
- A Trusted Partner - Able to build credibility with the Country Director, Board, senior leadership, program teams, donors, government and external partners.
- A People Leader - Capable of building strong teams, developing leaders and creating a culture of accountability, collaboration and service.
- A Values-Driven Professional - Demonstrates uncompromising integrity, sound judgement and a deep commitment to AIF’s mission.
This is not simply a functional operations role. The CFOO will have the opportunity to shape the operating architecture of a large, nationally dispersed organisation at a critical stage of its evolution. The role offers the opportunity to:
- Shape AIF’s next-generation operating model.
- Influence the organisation’s ability to scale impact across India.
- Drive meaningful digital and operational transformation.
- Strengthen governance and institutional resilience.
- Work closely with the Country Director and India Board of Trustees.
- Lead a diverse portfolio of critical organisational functions.
- Build high-performing leadership teams and organisational capabilities.
- Contribute directly to AIF’s ambition to significantly expand its reach and impact over the next five years.
The opportunity is to build an organisational platform that enables AIF to grow with discipline, operate with integrity and deliver impact at scale.
OTHERS:
Salary shall be commensurate with experience.
POSITION AVAILABILITY:
Immediate
Only applications of shortlisted candidates will be acknowledged.
AIF is committed to fostering an inclusive workplace and ensures equal opportunity for all, without discrimination.