Senior Programme Consultant (Child Opportunity Fund)

About The British Asian Trust:

The British Asian Trust is a diaspora-led international development organisation, delivering high quality programmes in South Asia. Since our formation, we have impacted the lives of over 13 million people across South Asia with high-impact interventions to address the subcontinent’s critical unmet needs in areas of livelihoods, mental health, education, child protection and conservation. We believe that traditional approaches to development cannot alone defeat poverty and inequality. We are passionate about innovation and disruption, and we are global pioneers in using social finance products to drive positive change. Our focus, at all times, is on outcomes and impact. Our portfolio of work has grown significantly in the past few years, but we still see several opportunities to have even more impact. This position will be key to effectively deliver on some of our existing programmes and ensure we build the capacity to design and deliver future programmes.

Our work spans five areas namely Child Protection, Education, Livelihoods, Mental Health and Conservation.

Role Purpose:

The Scope of Work defines the scope, deliverables, responsibilities, and terms under which the consultant  in India will deliver strategic programme consulting services to support the British Asian Trust’s Child Opportunity Fund (COF) across nine priority states and 181 districts in India.

All services will be rendered from India and exported to British Asian Trust

Key Deliverables:

Strategic Management and Outcome Delivery

1. Provide strategic programme management and delivery support for COF in consultation with the reporting point person
2. Offer strategic oversight in developing annual operational plans and budgets across all priority states.
3. Ensure effective functioning and alignment across State Project Management Units (PMUs).
4. Identify programme delivery risks and advise corrective actions.
5. Provide strategic insights and recommend course corrections based on programme and financial reviews.
6. Build capacity of State and PMU teams through training, mentoring, and technical assistance.
7. Conduct field visits across priority states/districts to review implementation quality.

Monitoring and Financial oversight

• Collaborate with the Head of COF and Finance consultant to ensure timely fund disbursement, utilisation tracking, and evidence generation.
• Review quarterly programme and financial performance of all NGO partners.
• Lead design and utilisation of a monthly programme dashboard (with MEL and Finance Teams).
• Engage with donors and ensure compliance with donor reporting and documentation expectations.

Strategic Engagement, program expansion and Risk Mitigation

• Support government-facing engagements by aligning programme evidence with sectoral priorities.
• Advise on strategic opportunities for national and state-level positioning of COF.
• Lead NGO partner selection aligned to programme objectives and risk norms.
• Strengthen cross-functional coordination with Fundraising and Programme teams.
• Manage donor relationships and proactively resolve concerns.
• Ensure compliance with safeguarding policies, legal and regulatory requirements.
• Monitor partner safeguarding compliance and escalate issues immediately.

Operational Efficiency and Team Development

• Lead monthly review meetings to monitor progress and troubleshoot challenges.
• Ensure adherence to BAT internal processes and flag operational bottlenecks.
• Guide PMUs and state teams to maintain alignment in reporting and execution.
• Provide periodic narrative updates on programme performance, risks, and required escalations.

The consultant may be requested to undertake reasonable additional duties to meet organisational needs, within mutually agreed scope and timelines.

Job-related knowledge, skills and experience

 

Knowledge and experience

• Experience: At least 15-20 years of relevant experience in strategic management and leadership, with a minimum of five years in senior leadership positions.
• Proven experience in program development, management, outcome delivery through NGO partners and leading network and alliances, preferably within the space of child rights- child protection.
• Leadership: Demonstrated experience in leading and managing teams, showcasing strong leadership and interpersonal skills, gender sensitivity and compassion. Has led large scale change both internal and external to the organization fostering collaboration and alignment. Excellent at managing relationships to achieve organisational goals. ·
• Commitment: Deep commitment to the mission of child protection within the Indian ecosystem, the sensitivity it requires
• Understanding of child rights and its violations. The various instruments, frameworks  and legal provisions to  guide and ensure the fulfilment of the rights of children in India.

Skills 

• Demonstrable knowledge of programme and project management.
• Sharp analytical, data based decision making, influencing and negotiation skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including language skills that reflect partner organisations’ preferences.
• Proven ability to work at pace, often in an ambiguous environment.
• Attention to detail / commitment to technical accuracy.
• Ability to work independently, with conflicting demands, in a high-pressure environment.
• Understanding of financial planning and budgeting.
• Able to anticipate and address complex problems with innovative solutions
• Upholds the highest ethical standards and leads organisational safeguarding strategies.

Personal qualities and attributes

• Ambitious, innovative, target driven and self-motivated.
• Demonstrates acute awareness of personal presence and its influence, adeptly modulating communication style and approach to resonate with diverse audiences and achieve desired outcomes.
• Standard setter of a collaborative working culture which encourages transparency and open communication.
• Trustworthy, patient, yet flexible and agile.
• Strong relationship builder and enjoys working as part of a team.
• Open to new ways of working, learning new tasks and skills as required.
• Passionate about the development sector and commitment to the values and ethos of the British Asian Trust.