Chief Executive Officer

CanKids…KidsCan

Location: Delhi NCR headquarters, with significant pan-India travel

Reports to: Board of Governors through the Chairman

Joining: Oct-Dec '26 or as mutually agreed

Why this role matters

This is not simply a CEO appointment.

It is an opportunity to lead one of India’s largest patient-led health movements and one of the country’s most ambitious childhood cancer initiatives.

CanKids today works across more than 22 States and Union Territories, partnering with governments, hospitals, clinicians, survivors, parents, donors and communities so that every child with cancer has access to treatment, financial protection and the opportunity to survive and thrive.

The organisation has completed three distinct phases of institution building. The next CEO will lead Phase IV: taking astrong national institution and building it into a scalable, sustainable and internationally recognised model for childhoodcancer care.

About CanKids

CanKids…KidsCan is India’s National Society for Change for Childhood Cancer. We work in partnership with governments, hospitals, professional associations and families across more than 22 States and Union Territories to ensure that every child with cancer is detected, diagnosed, reaches appropriate treatment, receives financial protection, and has the opportunity to survive and thrive.

Our Mandala of Care integrates and strengthens healthcare systems, while our You Are Not Alone (YANA) model holds the handof every child and family throughout the cancer journey. Together, they help each child move successfully through the SurvivalEquity Cascade and drive our ambitious 2030 goals of 100% access, 100% financial protection and at least 60% survival for every child with cancer in India.

Your mission The CEO is accountable to the Board of Governors through the Chairman for seven institutional missions. Each is an organisational outcome and a promise to the children, families, partners and colleagues who depend on CanKids.

1. Children and Families First. Lead progress towards the 2030 goals of 100% access, 100% financial protection and at least 60% survival.Set annual targets, monitor outcomes and course-correct early. Scale State partnerships and the Hospital Support Unit footprint while improving treatment continuity, quality, patient experience and the rights, dignity and safety of every childand family.
2. Build Sustainability. Diversify and grow funding across CSR, foundations, government, HNI, retail and international sources. Personally lead major relationships, strengthen resource mobilisation, grow the corpus and build financial predictability - alwaysin service of, not at the expense of, the mission. Ensure that a parallel growth track to scale up the organization to meet the2030 goals is being built as we grow funding.
3. Strengthen the Engine. Consolidate Transformation and Integration outputs. Embed SOP-based operations, project-management discipline, internal controls, compliance, enterprise risk management and data-driven decision-making. Buildan organisation that runs on strong systems without becoming disconnected from children,



families and frontline realities.
4. Grow Leaders and Culture. Develop the C-Suite as a genuine executive collective and build succession pipelines across headquarters and the field. Sustain accountability with compassion, debate without division, and a culture that respondsquickly, documents carefully, disagrees respectfully and delivers reliably.
5. Scale and Monitor the Vision. Translate the 2030 ambition into three-year plans, annual roadmaps, quarterly milestones andan institutional scorecard. Balance patient interest, sustainability, team capacity, risk and partner expectations; maketransparent trade-offs without losing what makes CanKids distinct.
6. Earn Trust and Share Power. Deliver Board-quality reporting on strategy, programmes, finance, risk, people, quality andpatient experience through the C-Suite. Work effectively with an engaged Board, active Committees and Founder-Chairman.Meaningfully engage and empower children, survivors, parents and people with lived experience in programme design, quality,research, advocacy and institutional decisions.
7. Innovate and Shape the Future. Use technology, data and responsible innovation to improve access, navigation,financial protection, shared care, outcomes and organisational productivity. Shape national policy, deepen government,research and international partnerships, and position CanKids as India's leading childhood cancer institution - a voice as much as a service provider. Own and grow the partnership ecosystem of CanKids across functions, which has been instrumental in its growth.

Who will thrive here The next CEO will typically bring 18-20 years or more of progressively responsible leadership, including substantialresponsibility for a large, complex, multi-location organisation or enterprise-wide portfolio.

Experience in healthcare, publichealth, development or another mission-led institution is strongly preferred. A record in fundraising, transformation andworking with an active Board, ideally in a founder-led context, matters. A strong academic and professional foundation is expected; an advanced degree is desirable.

Experience, however, is the starting condition, not the qualifier. What decides fit is the shape of the leader more than the length of the CV.

This role is for someone who —

- believes institutions matter more than individuals;
- enjoys solving impossible problems;
- can work with brilliant and opinionated people;
- is energised by complexity rather than intimidated by it;
- sees governance as an asset rather than bureaucracy;
- can move comfortably between a government secretary's office, a paediatric oncology ward, a Board meeting, adonor dinner and a difficult internal decision in the same week;
- can resolve conflict, balance institutional and beneficiary interests,



and build people as confidently as systems;
- and wants to leave behind an institution, not merely a successful tenure.

Critical competencies

- Strategic leadership: vision, systems thinking, prioritisation, outcome monitoring and innovation.
- Operational leadership: execution, scale, governance, financial management and the ability to move betweenmacro and micro.
- External leadership: fundraising, public policy, government relations and partnerships.
- People leadership: coaching, collaboration, conflict resolution, change management and culture building.
- Mission stewardship: integrity, emotional intelligence, resilience, learning agility, patient centricity and the courage to protect beneficiary interests under pressure.

Why you will love this role

- You will help shape national childhood cancer policy.
- You will work alongside extraordinary clinicians, survivors, parents and government leaders.
- You will inherit a committed Board of Governors, active Board Committees and an engaged Founder-Chairman.
- You will inherit an institution that has done its own preparatory work and is ready to be scaled.
- You will have the prospect to build one of India’s great social institutions.
- Every decision you make will improve the lives of children and families.

What success will look like by 2030

By 2030, success will not be measured simply by the size of the organisation or the funds it raises. Success will be measured by progress towards 100% access, 100% financial protection and at least 60% survival; the experience and voice of children and families; the confidence of governments, donors and partners; the strength and digital maturity of the institution; and whether CanKids has become less dependent on any one individual, including its CEO.

If that challenge excites you, we would like to meet you.

Application and process The search will be conducted through proactive executive search and open applications. Shortlisted candidates will participate in structured interviews and a role-relevant strategic case. Psychometric and additional leadership assessments will be used at a defined stage and interpreted by qualified assessors as one input among several. Finalists will receive transparent information on the mandate, governance model, organisation and expectations before a decision is made.

To express interest, submit a CV and a short note describing the most relevant institution-building challenge you have led to [email protected]

All enquiries and applications will be treated confidentially.

CanKids is committed to an inclusive and respectful process. Candidates from diverse backgrounds and career pathways who can demonstrate the required leadership evidence are encouraged to apply.

Role at a glance — reference summary

Position Chief Executive Officer

Organisation CanKids…KidsCan — National Society for Change for Childhood Cancer in India

Location Delhi NCR headquarters; significant pan-India travel

Reports to Board of Governors through the Chairman

Direct reports C-Suite / enterprise portfolio leaders as per the approved organogram

📌 Chief Executive Officer (Delhi)
🏢 Social Synthesis
📍 Delhi