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, , | Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative | Full-time
BRAC is an award-winning international non-governmental development organization, with the vision of a world free from all forms of exploitation and discrimination, where everyone has the opportunity to realise their potential. BRAC is a leader in developing and implementing cost-effective, evidence-based programmes to assist poor and disadvantaged communities in low-income countries, including in conflict-prone and post-disaster settings. It is an organisation of and for the people of the Global South, pioneering new development and social enterprise approaches to equip communities to achieve prosperity. As well as being the world's biggest NGO by the number of staff and people directly reached, BRAC has regularly been ranked the number one NGO in the world by the Geneva-based NGO Advisor, an independent organisation committed to highlighting innovation, impact, and governance in the non-profit sector. BRAC retained the top spot in 2020 among the top 500 NGOs for the fifth consecutive year.
BRAC was founded in Bangladesh in 1972 by Sir Fazle Hasan Abed. It started its first programme outside of Bangladesh in Afghanistan in 2002 and today has activities in 14 countries across Africa and Asia. BRAC has a holistic approach to development that uses a wide array of programmes that include microfinance, education, health, agriculture, gender, and human rights. BRAC invests in communities’ own human and material resources, catalysing lasting change and creating an ecosystem in which people in poverty have the chance to seize control of their own lives.
About the Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative
The Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative (“UPGI”) is a global unit within BRAC that was founded in 2016 to build off the success of BRAC’s Ultra-Poor Graduation programme in Bangladesh. BRAC UPGI aims to position the evidence-backed Graduation approach as a key driver to eradicate extreme poverty worldwide. It does this by:
- Advocating for uptake of the Graduation approach by policymakers, national governments, multilateral institutions, and non-governmental organisations; and
- Effective adaptation and implementation of the Graduation approach in countries around the world, supported through technical assistance and capacity strengthening for external stakeholders.
In 2002, BRAC pioneered the Ultra-Poor Graduation (“Graduation”) approach in Bangladesh — a sequenced, two-year investment that enables people to create lasting pathways out of extreme poverty — after recognising that existing programmes were not reaching the poorest people. Through the provision of a productive asset, basic needs support, and ongoing coaching, the Graduation approach tackles multiple constraints at once and achieves lasting impact.
Graduation has been adapted and implemented across a wide variety of contexts and countries, with dozens of rigorous evaluations documenting its effectiveness at achieving broad and lasting impact, as well as returns that greatly outweigh the costs. So far, a total of 6.7 million households have been reached by Graduation programs, more than 2 million of which BRAC reached through its flagship Graduation programme in Bangladesh.
To help eradicate extreme poverty, BRAC UPGI is working with governments across Africa and Asia to scale Graduation by integrating it into existing government programmes. Alongside governments, BRAC aims to equip 21 million more people to lift themselves from extreme poverty by 2030.
About BRAC International’s Work in India
The National Rural Livelihood Promotion Society under the Ministry of Rural Development has signed an MoU with BRAC International, formalising a shared commitment to promote holistic economic inclusion and social protection for people living in extreme poverty, particularly women. The MoU envisions a focused strategy to reach the poorest and most excluded households through a time-bound investment in the Graduation approach, enabling more inclusive and sustainable livelihoods across rural India.
The partnership positions BRAC International as a strategic orchestrator, demonstrating how targeted interventions can reach extremely vulnerable groups while generating evidence for scale across State Rural Livelihood Missions (SRLMs). In this role, BRAC is not only providing technical assistance for the implementation of the Samaveshi Aajeevika Yojana (SAY) but also convening stakeholders, aligning systems, and enabling coordinated action across levels. Through its partner agencies, BRAC International has established Project Management Units (PMUs) at national and state levels to support the government in co-designing approaches and ensuring strong strategic guidance alongside effective implementation support.
About the Position
This is an excellent opportunity to shape the strategic growth of BRAC in India, working directly with the Country lead, India to drive programs and expand impact across the country. The position offers a unique platform to leverage expertise in the development sector, government relations, and building teams to contribute to sustainable development outcomes.
The Senior Program Coordinator in BRAC India plays a critical role in providing strategic and operational leadership at the state level. The Senior Program Coordinator is responsible for driving programme implementation in alignment with BRAC’s graduation approach and DAY-NRLM implementation guidelines, ensuring quality, consistency, and impact across project locations.The role includes close coordination with SRLMs, government stakeholders, and partner institutions, while also supporting planning, capacity building, and adaptive learning. The role serves as a bridge between field realities and programme design, ensuring that implementation challenges are addressed proactively and that programme objectives are effectively translated into action on the ground.
Reporting to the BRAC Programme Advisor in India (and working closely with the State PMU team members), the Senior Program Coordinator will be based at BRAC UPGI’s office in New Delhi.BRAC UPGI India team works with governments to integrate and scale the Graduation approach into national and state level. In India, this involves engaging with multiple ministries and implementation partners to design programmes that align with government priorities, financing structures, and delivery systems. The State Anchor will:
- ● Support programme design and implementation decisions in close collaboration with the Country Team and government counterparts
- ● Act as a bridge between national and state governments and team
- ● Contribute to learning and knowledge generation
This role requires comfort working in ambiguous, evolving environments, where solutions must be iteratively developed.
The role requires collaboration across multiple government partners, implementation agencies and research organisations,necessitating strong interpersonal skills, a willingness to travel, and the ability to work flexibly. The ideal candidate will enjoy a challenge, think innovatively, and be passionate about contributing to sustainable solutions to eradicate extreme poverty.
This position offers an excellent opportunity for a mid-to-senior level professional to gain hands-on experience in Graduation-style programme design, government engagement, and knowledge management, while contributing to UPGI’s mission to scale graduation programmes to lift people out of extreme poverty at scale.
Responsibilities
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1. State Government Relationship Management & Institutional Strengthening ● Coordinate with the respective state govt. and State Rural Livelihood Mission under DAY-NRLM for implementation of SAY in the state. ● Build and nurture relationships with SRLMs to ensure proper implementation of SAY and integration with the SRLM’s core thematic areas. ● Support SRLM in co-designing the Graduation/SAY approach for scale-up in the state. ● Builds and manages partnerships with relevant government departments to scale the programme across the state. |
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2. Strategic Partnerships and Program Integration ● Establish better coordination between different partners (Implementation / Research) and SRLMs to translate programme design into actionable field-level interventions. ● Act as a key liaison between the National and State teams, BRAC Thematic and National/State teams ensuring seamless flow of information, alignment of priorities, and provision of timely technical guidance. ● Provide strategic inputs to ensure timely and effective implementation of all programmatic functions, in alignment with defined standards and timelines. ● Facilitates cross-state learning exchanges and immersion visits to promote continuous learning and knowledge sharing across BRAC-supported states. ● Set up a cadence for review meetings for progress tracking to ensure the programme is implemented with fidelity. ● Identifies and leverages convergence opportunities to support scale-up through strategic engagement with NGOs, CSR initiatives, and other relevant agencies. ● Tracks policy developments and proactively aligns programme strategy with emerging government priorities. |
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3. Ensure Program Quality and Fidelity to Design ● Builds a shared understanding of the graduation approach and intervention sequence among all partners. ● Create roadmap and goals for the State PMU team, and align them to the overall state strategy ● Participate and facilitate program reviews of all the states. ● Anticipate and identify potential bottlenecks or risks; design and execute proactive mitigation strategies to prevent program delays ● Coordinate with partners regularly to maintain the efficacy of the program ● Analyze performance of states regularly through data and guide the team to improve long-term progress. |
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4. Partnership Management and Implementation Support ● Facilitates the onboarding of partners and builds their capacity to implement the program effectively. ● Explores and enables the rollout of innovative methodologies and best practices to strengthen implementation. ● Drives a culture of continuous learning and improvement across the programme lifecycle, ensuring regular reflection, feedback integration, and adaptive strengthening of implementation. ● Facilitate collaboration among partners to ensure smooth and high-quality programme implementation in the state. ● Manage partner budgets and deliverables. ● Supports partners in establishing smooth and effective communication channels for statutory functions. |
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5. Knowledge Management and Communication ● Facilitate multi-stakeholder platforms, workshops, and roundtables for alignment and knowledge exchange across partners and stakeholders. ● Represents BRAC International in strategic partnerships, liaising and interfacing with government departments, partners, and other stakeholders, while facilitating knowledge sharing and collaboration. ● Develops and documents learning notes that capture key insights, field experiences, and emerging best practices, demonstrating contributions to programme design, implementation, and scale-up. |
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6. Safeguarding Responsibilities ● Ensure the safety of team members from any harm, abuse, neglect, harassment, and exploitation to achieve the program’s goals of safeguarding implementation. ● Practice, promote and endorse the issues of safeguarding policy among team members and ensure the implementation of safeguarding standards in every course of action. ● Follow the safeguarding reporting procedure in case any reportable incident takes place, and encourage others to do so. |
Qualifications
● Advanced degree in Development Studies, Social Sciences, Demographics, or a related field.
● At least ten years of work experience leading program delivery in the government or CSO sector in India.
● At least five years of experience in senior-level engagements and negotiations with partners such as governments, international financial Institutions (including Multilateral Development Banks), as well as relevant experience with donors and development sectors, preferably in the Indian and South Asian context.
● Additional experience in partner management, and preferred.
● Knowledge of the BRAC India program and work an advantage
● Experience managing a high pressure environment.
● Excellent analytical and writing skills, ability to collate reports and proposals.
● Strong relationship building skills.
● Proactive leader with the ability to prioritize and effectively manage competing work streams.
● Strong interpersonal skills and a high degree of political sensitivity
● Strong English skills and fluency in Hindi are required.
● Exceptional communication and representational skill
● Ability to travel domestically often and internationally occasionally.
How to Apply: BRAC International offers a competitive salary and benefits package. If you feel you are the right match for the position mentioned above, please submit your resume and detailed cover letter, via the below link ;
Senior Program Coordinator - India
Application deadline: June 22, 2026
BRAC is an equal opportunities employer.
BRAC is committed to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share the same commitment. We believe every stakeholder and every member of the communities we work with has the right to be protected from all forms of harm, abuse, neglect, harassment, and exploitation - regardless of age, race, religion, and gender, status as an individual with a disability or ethnic origin. Therefore, our recruitment process includes extensive reference and background checks, self-disclosure of prior issues regarding sexual or other misconduct and criminal records and our values are a part of our Performance Management System.Only complete applications will be accepted, and short-listed candidates will be contacted.
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