Title: Program Manager / Senior Program Manager - Weather Initiatives
Location: New Delhi, India (with flexibility to support state-level expansion in India and cross-geography work in Sub-Saharan Africa).
Work authorization: Candidates must have current and ongoing work authorization in India
Salary: Commensurate with experience
Position: Full-time
Application deadline: September 12, 2025, 6 pm IST (applications may be reviewed as they are submitted)
Summary:
Precision Development (PxD) is seeking a strategic, impact-oriented Program Manager (PM) / Senior Program Manager (SPM) to lead high-profile initiatives delivering weather forecasts to smallholder farmers at scale. In this role, you will initially oversee PxD’s work in India to institutionalize weather forecast dissemination to smallholders. Based in New Delhi, you will work closely with government stakeholders at national and state levels, operating at the intersection of policy, climate adaptation, and data-driven service delivery.
This is a mission-critical management position for someone with experience in strategy execution and public sector partnerships in complex environments. You will guide and coordinate efforts from a multidisciplinary team - including product/technology, agronomy, research, and communications - through the co-design design, implementation, and scaling of farmer-centric digital weather advisory services. You will serve as PxD’s representative with government counterparts and key partners, ensuring that our interventions are timely, relevant, evidence-based, and deliver meaningful impact for millions of farmers on their livelihood decisions and resilience.
This role builds on PxD’s demonstrated success in pioneering digital advisory services. In 2025, PxD worked with partners to disseminate AI-generated monsoon forecasts to 39+ million farmers across 13 states. The PM/SPM will play a key role in driving this scale-up across geographies, refining the service through adaptive learning, and working with governments to design these programs for long-term impact and sustainability.
Key Responsibilities:
- Strategic Program Management. Drive end-to-end program management – from co-designing weather forecast message content and dissemination plans with partners to delivery - ensuring alignment with PxD’s mission and long-term vision, as well as partner strategic priorities. Develop and execute strategies to embed these services into government systems for sustainable scale-up.
- Cross-functional Team Management. Lead a growing, high-performing team and coordinate across partner organizations, including scientists (for forecast production), researchers (for M&E), and programme teams (for farmer-facing messaging and outreach). Structure problem-solving efforts, set clear priorities, and synchronize workstreams to achieve program milestones.
- Government & Stakeholder Engagement. Build and maintain strong relationships with government agencies and key partners to co-own the initiative. Navigate complex bureaucratic processes (e.g. approval systems and institutional governance) with professional maturity, flexibility, and tact to drive alignment and collaboration in time-constrained and dynamic settings. Develop processes and materials to embed the program into public systems, and build local capacity for sustainable delivery at scale.
- Evidence-Driven Decision Making. Coordinate efforts with PxD’s research team to establish a robust MEL system, synthesize data, generate insights, and farmer feedback into actionable improvements for better forecast content, delivery channels, and user experience. Champion a data-driven, adaptive approach so that the program continuously learns and increases its effectiveness over time.
- Operational Execution. Own program work plans, budgets, and resources. Monitor delivery timelines (e.g. forecast release cycles, SMS/voice campaign rollouts), troubleshoot operational challenges in a timely fashion, and ensure high-quality execution across all components. Adjust plans as needed to meet targets and maintain momentum.
- Thought Leadership & Representation. Represent PxD’s weather initiatives in external forums and partnerships, including engagement with senior government leadership, donors, and the broader climate adaptation community. Contribute to PxD’s global learning and influence by articulating insights from the program. Support fundraising efforts.
- Internal Learning & Knowledge Sharing. Strengthen PxD’s institutional knowledge by documenting lessons learned and best practices from the forecast initiatives. Mentor junior staff and facilitate knowledge exchange across teams, supporting similar efforts across geographies at PxD. Promote learning around government partnerships, climate services, and large-scale digital interventions.
Who You Are:
- Strategic Problem-Solver: You have a track record of solving problems by turning strategy into results in ambiguous, dynamic environments. You can break down complex goals into actionable plans and are quick to adapt when circumstances change.
- Cross-Sector Collaborator: You thrive in managing diverse stakeholders and aligning interests around shared goals. You are comfortable working closely with government officials, scientists, researchers, and field teams. You are able to maintain composure when navigating time-sensitive engagements or variable responsiveness from partners.
- Data-Driven & Farmer-Centred: You embrace using data and evidence to drive decisions, but you also remain grounded in the realities of end-users - in this case, millions of smallholder farmers - designing solutions that are relevant and user-friendly.
- Technically Curious & Impact-Driven: You are excited about the potential of innovative technology (such as AI-based weather forecasting) to drive social impact. You can bridge the gap between cutting-edge tech solutions and on-the-ground implementation, ensuring new tools are applied in ways that genuinely improve lives.
- Adaptive Leader: You are energized by the opportunity to lead meaningful work at scale. You demonstrate humility and adaptability, learning from failures and feedback. At the same time, you have the confidence and organizational skills to drive execution, inspire teams, and deliver against ambitious targets.
Qualifications:
- 7-10+ years of experience in roles related to strategy, program management, and implementation, ideally for public sector program initiatives.
Demonstrated experience leading complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives. - Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in public policy, agriculture, economics, business, development studies, or a related field.
- Experience working within or alongside government institutions to scale initiatives is highly preferred - for example, supporting a government-led service or acting as an embedded advisor.
- Proven ability to lead teams, manage budgets, and drive execution in challenging, multi-faceted projects.
- Strong analytical and critical thinking abilities. Comfort with data analysis and evidence interpretation to inform program decisions. Ability to use or learn relevant tools (e.g. dashboards, monitoring systems) to track performance.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English; fluency in Hindi is highly preferred; proficiency in other Indian languages is a plus. Ability to translate complex ideas into clear, actionable insights for different audiences - from writing briefings for senior officials to communicating advice to farmers in simple terms.
- Passion for impact and a strong sense of purpose aligned with PxD’s mission to serve smallholder farmers. A collaborative attitude, resilience in the face of challenges, and a drive to continuously learn and innovate.
- Familiarity with digital agriculture services, experimental economics, climate adaptation programs, and/or ICT4D (technology for development) initiatives is strongly desired. Prior work experience in these areas is an advantage.
How to apply:
To apply, please visit the PxD website and use the online application form to submit a CV, cover letter, and brief responses to the screening questions. The job position will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the application deadline of September 12, 2025, 6 pm IST
PxD is committed to building an inclusive and diverse organization. We don’t make decisions based on gender, gender identity, class, ethnicity, sexual orientation or any other personal characteristics that are unrelated to the role. We understand that everyone has different lifestyles and we accommodate flexible working to make sure you are as productive and happy as you can be.
About PxD:
Precision Development (PxD) bridges the gap between smallholder farmers and the innovations they need. We design, test, and scale interventions that promote widespread adoption of agricultural technologies. We work with low and middle-income country (LMIC) governments to ensure long-term sustainability. Our primary approach includes delivering timely, evidence-based digital agricultural information via mobile phones - proven to be cost-effective, scalable, and impactful. Rigorous evidence from our flagship program in India shows that PxD’s services generate $12–$19 in farmer profit for every $1 invested. We work with over 40 million farmers across India, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Kenya. We were founded in 2016 by a group of researchers and business leaders from top universities, including Nobel Prize-winning economist Michael Kremer. We operate in India, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Nigeria, employing a team of 60 across our technology, program, research, and data teams.
