Director – Child Protection and Social Resilience

Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF)

Director responsible for child protection and social resilience strategies in India. Leading systemic changes to support vulnerable children and families through evidence-based investments and partnerships.

Posted 6/24/2026full-timeNew Delhi • 🇮🇳 IndiaLeadWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Lead the development and execution of innovative, evidence-based strategies and investments that address structural drivers of vulnerability.
Strengthen household resilience, and reduce risks faced by children and adolescents.
Drive sustainable systems change and measurable improvements in outcomes for vulnerable children and families in India.
Identify and reframe challenges, uncover root causes, and translate insights into clear strategic priorities and actionable plans.
Ensure that CIFF adopts a long-term, systemic approach to addressing child vulnerability.
Build and strengthen a high-impact ecosystem of partners capable of delivering sustainable change at scale.
Design practical, scalable solutions and drive delivery with pace, rigour, and accountability.
Bring together government, civil society, philanthropy, and other stakeholders around a shared vision, fostering collaboration across sectors.
Identify opportunities to shift existing interventions from fragmented, delivery-focused approaches towards scalable, system-led models capable of delivering population-level impact.
Shape and deliver a credible and impactful Child protection and Social resilience strategy for India; develop a strong pipeline of high-quality investments; influence government systems and ecosystem actors to adopt and scale effective approaches; and demonstrate measurable improvements in economic resilience, child protection, and long-term outcomes for vulnerable children and adolescents.
Lead an ecosystem level engagement within India with a wide range of government and non-government stakeholders, building deep, aligned partnerships, and leveraging resources to achieve the Mission.
Oversee a high-quality portfolio of investment proposals and active programs that deliver CIFF’s India priorities and meet the corporate objectives of the CIFF Board.

Requirements

What you’ll need

Recognized as leader with significant experience in an area relevant to social security programmes, economic resilience and on, with a track record of working successfully in one of CIFF’s priority geographies.
Demonstrated ability to re-design or scale programmes, systems or institutions through first-principle thinking, systems analysis, and innovative approaches that challenge conventional delivery models.
Comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the development sector in India and as relevant, globally.
Detailed understanding of using cost-benefit and ROI methodologies and metrics to inform strategy and business planning.
Strong strategic leadership and independent execution – is able to set direction and drive delivery with minimal oversight, balancing long-term system change with near-term impact.
Excellent judgement in complex and ambiguous environments - is able to make high-quality decisions with incomplete information, drawing on data, experience, and sound reasoning.
Analytical and problem-solving capability- is able to interrogate complex systems, identify root causes of vulnerability, and design practical, scalable solutions.
Creative and flexible thinking – is comfortable challenging existing approaches, not constrained by established processes, and able to innovate where required to achieve outcomes.
Ability to operate with pace and discipline - driving progress with urgency while maintaining high standards of quality, evidence, and rigour.
Strong risk awareness and management - able to proactively identify risks and trade-offs, respond in a timely and balanced way, and support sound decision-making across the portfolio.
Diplomacy and influencing skills – leverage strong people leadership skills to be able to navigate complex stakeholder landscapes, build trust, and drive alignment across government and partners, and motivate the team.
Entrepreneurial mindset - opportunity-oriented, resourceful, and comfortable working in evolving contexts where strategies and approaches need to adapt over time.
Effectively champions and promotes causes – credible and professional, always present the foundation’s programmes in a compelling way to engage the audience.
Capacity to work in a range of cultural and socio-economic contexts, adapting style and approach appropriately and in a culturally sensitive manner to maximise effectiveness.
Experience of identifying and delivering business process improvements
High-level of financial literacy

Benefits

Comp & perks

Annual leave - 25 days per annum. Increasing by 1 day after each year of service to a maximum of 30 days.
Bonus - CIFF currently operates a discretionary bonus scheme.
Training allowance
Wellbeing allowance
Life insurance
Medical insurance

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Hard Skills & Tools

systems analysiscost-benefit methodologiesROI methodologiesprogram designprogram scalingdata analysisstrategic planningbusiness process improvementsevidence-based strategiesinvestment portfolio management

Soft Skills

strategic leadershipindependent executionanalytical thinkingproblem-solvingcreative thinkingrisk managementdiplomacyinfluencing skillsentrepreneurial mindsetcultural sensitivity