INDIA REGIONAL DIRECTOR, IDINSIGHT

Location: New Delhi

Indian Nationals and OCIs are encouraged to apply.

IDinsight India is at an important juncture in its evolution. We have built a substantial and impactful body of work across sectors and states in India. We have an experienced and well-qualified team of 115 individuals in India and are poised for growth well into the future. We are a values-based organisation and each one of us is passionate about using data to foster a more just, prosperous, and sustainable world. We believe in staying at the cutting edge and continuously adding and innovating new evidence tools to amplify our partners’ impact. 

Building on this strong foundation, we are poised to mobilize our unique approach and expertise toward social impact with greater depth and scale. To convert the range of exciting opportunities before us into actual impact, we stand ready to welcome the development sector’s best leaders and invest them with autonomy and resources to ambitiously pursue social impact. In particular, we are searching for an exceptional and entrepreneurial leader to lead and represent IDinsight India in its next phase of growth. 

We invite you to apply for the India Regional Director (IRD) position at IDinsight. The IRD will, with the support of dedicated and talented teams, be responsible for driving IDinsight India’s strategy, projects, growth, and operations in India, in addition to being an ambassador for IDinsight’s mission and values both within and outside the organisation. The IRD’s responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Lead IDinsight India towards social impact
• Envision and execute IDinsight’s India strategy within a context of growth
• Lead and represent IDinsight India externally
• Lead, mentor, and guide a team of talented and mission-driven colleagues
• Lead project teams
• Contribute to IDinsight’s global activities and influence
• Support organisational development
• Exemplify IDinsight’s mission and values

Detailed descriptions of the list above, and the support systems for the IRD, are available in the following pages in this document. We are aware that the best leaders develop unique careers that hone their strengths in one or a few of the areas listed above, so we welcome applicants who demonstrate significant ability in their chosen domains but also have a sufficient track record and interest in the other listed areas. 

About IDinsight

We amplify social impact by partnering with leaders to develop tailored solutions. Our mission is to use data and evidence to help leaders combat poverty worldwide.

IDinsight is a mission-driven global advisory, data analytics, and research organisation that helps global development leaders maximize their social impact. We tailor a wide range of data and evidence tools, including randomized evaluations and machine learning, to help decision-makers design effective programs and rigorously test what works to support communities. We work with governments, multilateral agencies, foundations, and innovative non-profit organisations in Asia and Africa. Our work, primarily executed within a client services, project-based model, spans a wide range of sectors, including agriculture, education, health, governance, sanitation, financial inclusion, and other areas. While IDinsight is designed as a global organisation, each of the entities, including the India regional office, has significant levels of autonomy within a decentralized structure.

We have expertise in a variety of rigorous approaches and methodologies, which we tailor to each client depending on their needs and constraints. To achieve a positive social impact we:

• Support clients’ use of data and evidence for routine and major decision-making.
• Inform funding decisions – toward high-impact initiatives and away from less effective programs or approaches.
• Create and share tools, knowledge, and ideas that expand the use of data and evidence for social good.

Our diverse, growing team of roughly 180 outstanding colleagues operate in nearly two dozen countries around the world.  Learn more about our mission and values at www.IDinsight.org.  

JOB DESCRIPTION 

The India Regional Director (IRD) role will be supported by the CEO and IDinsight India’s Directors and will assume critical responsibility for driving large pieces of IDinsight’s work and strategy in India. Further, the IRD will be supported by high-quality research teams, an excellent operations team that ensures a well-functioning organisation, and a communications team. A portion of the IRD’s time will be safeguarded for research, thought leadership, professional development, and optional leadership coaching. The IRD will also work closely with a 1-2 member executive team to execute their responsibilities. Finally, the IRD will be provided with bi-annual performance reviews (including feedback from peers and direct reports) to help them continuously grow and learn as professionals. 

The IRD will be provided significant autonomy to leverage IDinsight as a platform to drive social impact (in consonance with our mission and strategy), while also being held accountable to clear goals that they will set for themselves in consultation with the CEO and other leaders at IDinsight India. 

The IRD’s role will be unique and tailored to her or his strengths and interests. However, at a high level, the role will include the following:

• Lead IDinsight India towards social impact: The IRD’s primary responsibility is to drive and increase IDinsight India’s social impact using their experience, expertise, and networks. Toward this goal, the IRD will help conceptualize, secure, fundraise, and execute high-impact initiatives that use data and evidence to drive change. In addition, the IRD is expected to repeatedly set the north star of social impact for the region, including all project teams, and drive all aspects of the organisation towards this goal.
• Envision and execute IDinsight’s India strategy within a context of growth: The IRD will be responsible for working closely with India and global leadership teams to envision, craft, refine and execute IDinsight’s strategy in India, within the framework of legal and regulatory compliance. We expect growing resources and opportunities for impact to animate strategy development. 
• Lead and represent IDinsight India externally: The IRD will represent the organisation  both within India and globally. They will be expected to apply their considerable experience, expertise, and skills to shape evidence-informed action within one or multiple sectors, regions, or specializations. This includes writing in leading newspapers and journals, speaking at important conferences, harnessing relationships and networks within the impact community to develop trusted advisory positions with senior leaders, and participating in consultative councils within governments, foundations, and/or nonprofits.
• Lead, mentor and guide a team of talented and mission-driven colleagues: The IRD will create the conditions for a rewarding professional experience for colleagues at varying points in their careers. This includes establishing a shared vision and effective organisational priority-setting based that fosters broad ownership; recruiting and mentoring both senior and junior colleagues and supporting their career development; and consistently modeling inclusive leadership. The ideal candidate will exemplify IDinsight values, be seen as a trusted advisor, and work well with others across all levels of the organisation.
• Lead project teams: The IRD will also directly lead a small number of projects. Project leadership involves liaising with senior clients regularly, ensuring the highest standards of research quality and ethics, overseeing and mentoring teams (usually 1-2 Managers, with 3-6 members in total), ensuring a safe and enabling atmosphere for colleagues, and keeping within project budgets.
• Contribute to IDinsight’s global activities and influence: The IRD will be a member of the global IDinsight leadership team, and will be expected to provide intellectual contributions to strategy development and implementation across the larger organisation. Because global leadership and support functions are designed to facilitate context-centered impact, input from regional leadership is highly influential in IDinsight’s global direction.
• Support organisational development: The IRD will contribute to global and regional operations such as recruitment, onboarding and performance reviews. They will be expected to support IDinsight to remain an impact-first, values-based, and nimble organisation as we grow.
• Exemplify IDinsight’s mission and values: Ensuring a strong alignment between incoming IRD and IDinsight’s values will be an important priority for us. The IRD is the face of IDinsight both externally and internally and will be expected to always and unambiguously exemplify our mission and values. 

This position is based in New Delhi with offices in Hauz Khas Village and will likely include domestic and international travel to fulfill the responsibilities mentioned above. While IDinsight recognizes the value of liberal “work from home” policies, significant in-office presence is desired.

QUALIFICATIONS 

We are looking for leaders who demonstrate: 

• Deep passion for development and social impact, and strong alignment with IDinsight’s vision and mission;
• Record of building strong stakeholder and client relationships, especially with governments and/or nongovernmental organisations in India;
• Record of influential thought leadership around important social and/or technical issues;
• Fluency in the role of data and evidence tools – such as impact evaluations, representative surveys, monitoring systems, and/or the application of data science – to create insights and impact;
• Demonstrated ability to be an inspiring, inclusive, and collaborative leader in a dynamic, multicultural, and values-based environment;
• Attitude to thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial setting, and able to adapt to dynamic growth and change;
• Eagerness to be a lifelong learner with keen intellectual curiosity and sense of humor;
• Willingness to travel as needed and to work remotely with colleagues in other locations and time zones;
• Experience of 10+ years using data and evidence to improve social impact, ideally in India;
• Track record of developing high-impact projects and strong funder relationships;
• An advanced degree (Master’s or Doctoral), preferably in public policy, economics, public administration, business, or public health.

We understand that no candidate will excel in all these attributes. Instead, we are looking for leaders who have a significant strength in certain attributes, while meeting a minimum threshold in all attributes.

IDinsight is growing and evolving quickly. We may suggest other suitable roles to candidates who apply, based on the overlap between IDinsight’s needs and candidates’ experience and qualifications.

Nuts & bolts

Compensation & Benefits

Dependent on relevant experience and background. Competitive with similar roles in the social impact sector. Benefits include two round-trip flights to home city per year, provident fund and retirement plan, generous leave, relocation allowance, comprehensive health insurance, technology and professional development stipends. We expect a minimum commitment of two years, but are hopeful that suitable candidates will seek to build a longer career at IDinsight. Start date is ASAP.

How to apply

Please apply online through our website: www.idinsight.org/careers. You will be asked to submit a cover letter and resume. Cover letter should include a compelling explanation of your interest and fit for this role. Please also include your preferred start date or range. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Please direct any questions to careers@IDinsight.org.

For this role, selected candidates will go through 2-3 rounds of interviews by our Senior. Leadership, a panel presentation and discussion with a group of teammates across different roles at the organisation, followed by reference checks.  

We encourage Indian citizens and Overseas Citizens of India to apply, and will accept and equally consider applications from citizens of all nationalities (and will support successful candidates to secure work authorization in India). IDinsight recognizes the negative impact of inequity and exclusion, not only in the countries and communities where we work, but within organisations. We believe diversity, equity, and inclusion is critical to organisational success, and therefore are committed to building a diverse team and creating an equitable and inclusive professional experience for each of our team members. IDinsight is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage qualified candidates to apply regardless of (but not limited to) race, ethnicity, religion/creed, caste, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, HIV status, disability, ancestry, genetic information, military or veteran status or any other legally protected status.

More information, including details on IDinsight’s hiring process and frequently asked questions, can be found online at IDinsight Careers. Any questions should be directed to careers@IDinsight.org. 

IDinsight’s commitment to reducing power asymmetries

IDinsight is committed to reducing power asymmetries in the social sector. Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion reflects our understanding of the need for the sector to abandon unhealthy practices of the past. We wish to be part of a new generation of international NGOs who are honest about this history and transparent about our role in the present. Our commitment is also aligned with the impact of our work. 

We seek a workforce that is inclusive of a variety of perspectives that will help us refine and improve our methods and relationships, and strengthen the services we provide our clients and their communities or constituencies. The following commitments represent our vision for the IDinsight team:

1. IDinsight will have greater representation from the populations with whom we work and clients we serve.
2. IDinsight will have greater representation from the countries in which we work.
3. Across all countries in which we recruit, we will seek greater representation from historically excluded communities.
4. IDinsight will foster an inclusive work culture that empowers a diverse team to do their best work.

IDinsight is an equal opportunity employer and strives to create a diverse and supportive workplace.