Position: Head, Strategic Planning and Collaborations

Location: New Delhi

Time Commitment: Full-time

Duration: 1 year

Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), India is an independent, non-partisan, human rights non-governmental organisation working for the practical realisation of human rights. Access to Information and Access to Justice (Police Reforms and Prison Reforms) are focus areas of CHRI’s work. For more information, please visit: www.humanrightsinitiative.org.

CHRI is looking for an experienced and dynamic person for the position of Head, Strategic Planning and Collaborations. This is a senior management position and would entail acquiring a comprehensive understanding of the organisation, including its vision, mission, values, journey, programmes, projects, funders, finances, people and culture. The position would require expertise in strategic planning, fine planning and budgeting, preparing projections based on available and expected funding. It also requires experience in identifying sources of funding, proposal development and negotiation of terms, understanding and communicating grant requirements, liaising with funders, monitoring progress, flagging concerns, making revisions to workplans and budgets, explaining variances, and preparing and submitting reports to funders and CHRI’s Executive Committee. It requires people skills, ability to coordinate with programme teams and act as the bridge between all functions for timely implementation and completion of projects and grants.

Job Responsibilities:

The Head, Strategic Planning and Collaborations will be required to:

• Work closely with the Director to develop a holistic understanding of organisational strategy and work on its implementation;
• Identify relevant funding opportunities for CHRI’s Programmes and institutional support in alignment with the strategic directions of the organisation;
• Take the lead in and support the development of concept notes, proposals and budgets with the Director and relevant team heads for funding opportunities as per the defined criteria and process;
• Ensure donor registration requirements and standards are met; documents, information and clarifications are provided, in coordination with Programme Heads, administration and accounts;
• Understand restrictions and requirements of specific donors and grants, and factor that into planning and implementation;
• Develop and maintain good relationships with current funders on a regular basis, and serve as the organisational point of contact.
• Propose, develop, execute and monitor project implementation and spending as per grant terms, and liaise with all concerned to flag concerns and find solutions;
• Keep a holistic picture of availability of funds, identifying and plugging funding gaps;
• Submit periodic reports, end grant, and timely progress reports to funders as per their requirements and agreed timelines;
• Plan expenses for non-funded programmes or activities out of institutional grants or general funds;
• Constantly review the organisational situation, and strategise as necessary in the best overall organisational interest;
• Coordinate with team heads on timely implementation of workplans to budget, and provide support as needed in fine-planning;
• Provide support during external (including funder initiated) project monitoring and evaluation exercises;
• Prepare annual and other periodic reports, agenda and background papers for CHRI’s Executive Committee (EC) meetings;
• Coordinate recruitment and internships.

A.Required Qualifications and Skills:

Essential

• Masters degree in any discipline;
• At least 10 years of work experience in non-governmental organisations, with at least 5 years in a senior position;
• Experience of preparing proposals, budgets, grant monitoring, and coordination between various teams and functions;
• Excellent word processing, internet and social media skills
• Good communication and people skills;
• Flexibility and attention to detail.

Desirable

• Knowledge or work around human rights, access to justice and access to information would be an advantage;
• Working knowledge of Hindi and at least one other regional language in India

The ideal candidate will be experienced, self-motivated, energetic, and able to work independently toward given deadlines.

B.Interested candidates should apply with:

• Current CV with a covering letter
• Two writing samples
• Contact details of two referees

Please send applications to venkatesh@humanrightsinitiative.org by 18 October 2024 at the latest, marking a copy to mohan@humanrightsinitiative.org. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Please use this subject line: Application for Head, Strategic Planning and Collaborations, CHRI

Eligible candidates belonging to the marginalised and vulnerable sections of society are encouraged to apply.