India Regional Director

Job Description

JOB DESCRIPTION

We are seeking an exceptional and entrepreneurial leader to serve as the India Regional Director (IRD) and guide IDinsight India into its next phase of growth. Based in Delhi, the IRD will oversee our largest region, lead a talented team, and champion IDinsight’s mission and values internally and externally.
The role balances three core responsibilities: growing IDinsight India’s social impact, ensuring sustainable financial performance, and building a thriving, motivated team. This includes securing high-impact and financially viable partnerships, managing regional finances, strengthening IDinsight’s external presence, and empowering teams to deliver high-quality work. The IRD will set and be accountable to clear impact, financial, and team health goals in consultation with the CEO and India leadership team. We recognize that great leaders cultivate unique strengths. We welcome applicants who demonstrate deep expertise in a subset of the areas below, complemented by a solid track record and genuine interest in the remaining categories.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Own IDinsight’s India strategy: The IRD will be responsible for working closely with the India and Global leadership teams to envision, refine, and iterate on a robust strategy that helps us grow our social impact in India while maintaining strong team health and sustainable financial performance. Find our strategy here.
• Develop high-impact partnerships and projects: A key part of driving the India strategy is conceptualizing, securing, fundraising for, and executing high-impact projects/initiatives where data and evidence helps drive change. Impact is our north star, and while financial sustainability is an important foundation for our ability to have long-term impact, we frequently turn down project opportunities that are lucrative but not set up to be socially impactful.
• Ensure the financial sustainability of the India region: The IRD will be tasked with ensuring that the region is meeting its revenue targets, covering costs, operating efficiently, and targeting promising areas of funder interest and revenue generation to sustain an impactful and right-sized portfolio of client work.
• Lead external thought-leadership: Externally representing IDinsight goes beyond partnership-building; the IRD plays an important thought-leadership role by proactively sharing our work and perspectives in both regional and global fora. This includes writing in leading media and journals, speaking at conferences, and harnessing their relationships and networks within the social sector to identify new ways to influence the uptake of data and evidence.
• Lead, mentor and guide a team of talented and mission-driven colleagues: The IRD is responsible for 5-7 direct reports including India’s client-facing senior leaders, the Deputy IRD, the India Operations Lead, and a Chief of Staff. Beyond this direct supervisory responsibility, the IRD serves as a leader for the entire IDinsight India team and is responsible for creating the conditions for a rewarding professional experience for colleagues at varying points in their careers. With the support of the regional and global operations teams, the IRD will establish a shared vision for the ‘people experience’ at IDinsight India and support activities like recruiting, serving as a bridge between the global team and the India regional team, mentorship and career development, etc.
• Lead project teams: The IRD may serve as Project Director on a few projects. Project leadership involves liaising with senior clients regularly, ensuring the highest standards of technical quality and research ethics (with the support of our Research, Evaluation, and Data teammates), overseeing and mentoring teams (usually 1-2 Managers, with 3-6 members in total), ensuring a safe and enabling atmosphere for colleagues, and optimising quality within project budgets.
• Contribute to IDinsight’s broader organizational development: The IRD will be a member of the global IDinsight Executive Team, and will be expected to provide intellectual contributions to global strategy development and implementation. They will also serve as a close advisor to the C-suite and other business unit leads on a range of issues from impact to finances to team health and culture - helping IDinsight remain an impact-first, contextually grounded, nimble organisation.
• Exemplify IDinsight’s mission and values: Ensuring a strong alignment between the IRD and IDinsight’s values and principles will be an important priority for us. The IRD is the face of IDinsight both externally and internally and must always and unambiguously exemplify our mission and values.

QUALIFICATIONS

• At least 10 years of experience in the social impact sector, management consulting, or related fields.
• Advanced degree (Master’s or Doctoral) preferred, ideally in public policy, economics, public administration, business, or relevant sector areas (e.g., health, education).
• Strong understanding of data and evidence tools (e.g., impact evaluations, monitoring systems, representative surveys, data science) and their role in decision-making.
• Deep passion for development and social impact, with strong alignment to IDinsight’s mission of using data and evidence to solve complex challenges.
• Proven ability to set and execute strategic vision while responding to opportunities and risks to drive impact and growth.
• Exceptional partnership-building ability and strong networks, with a track record of identifying and securing high-impact projects.
• Interest and ability to contribute thought leadership in the sector; existing experience is a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to be an inspiring, collaborative, and inclusive leader in a multicultural and values-driven environment.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic, entrepreneurial context.
• Commitment to lifelong learning, intellectual curiosity, humility, and a sense of humor.
• Willingness to travel and work remotely across teams and time zones.

Disclaimer: Applications will be received until this position is filled.