Entrepreneurship Program Head, Insight, Livelihood Program

Location:
Bangalore

Duration:
Fixed Term Contract for 12 months (can be extended and regularized based on program requirements)

About The/Nudge:

The/Nudge
is an action institute building resilient livelihoods to alleviate poverty. We work with women, farmers, tribals and youth on rural development, agriculture, skilling and economic inclusion, along with 15+ central and state government partners.

Our economic inclusion journey for 25 million Indians, has reached 10 states with $250M of government funding to cover 1.25M people. Our incubator, accelerator and grand challenges have supported 200+ social entrepreneurs including 17 Forbes 30U30, 3 EarthShot Prize winners, 1 Time Magazine cover and more.

Set up with
support from 90+ eminent philanthropists , 40+ corporates and 15+ foundations including Gates, Mackenzie Scott, Vinod Khosla, Nandan Nilekani, Tata Trusts, Skoll, Meta, LinkedIn, HDFC, Mphasis, KPMG and L'Oreal, we are contributing towards a "poverty-free India, within our lifetime".

About the Program:

The InSight team at The/Nudge is dedicated to creating a Presbyopia-free India, with a special focus on empowering rural communities. Over 300 million Indians suffer from uncorrected presbyopia (distorted near vision), and over 70 million work in occupations that require clear near vision. This condition leads to $14 billion in annual productivity losses in India alone, disproportionately impacting rural livelihoods. Yet, a simple solution—reading glasses—can boost productivity by 34% and income by 20%, as randomized controlled trials conducted in Assam and Bangladesh demonstrated.

Who are we solving for?

We are solving for millions of adults in India-especially in rural communities, living with uncorrected presbyopia, a near-vision impairment affecting 1 in 3 people over 30. Without timely access to simple solutions like reading glasses, they face barriers to work and income, despite evidence showing such interventions can boost productivity by 34% and income by 20%.

What are we solving for?

India's aspiration to become a USD 30 trillion economy by 2047 is anchored in strengthening the productivity of the current workforce and enhancing the participation of the untapped workforce. Thereby creating additional economic value for the nation and fostering prosperity for all. One significant aspect that hampers participation and productivity for individuals above 35 is "uncorrected presbyopia," an age-related decline in near vision. India conservatively has 156 million people struggling with uncorrected presbyopia, which consequently impacts their vision to perform essential work-related tasks effectively.

A simple and affordable solution in "reading glasses" can enhance productivity by 33% and boost income by 20% (RCTs conducted in Assam & Bangladesh; substantiated also through pilot captured in the report -
Reading glasses and livelihood
. The economic value of provisioning reading glasses to all Indians struggling with uncorrected presbyopia is USD 16 billion, and with 85% of people without access to reading glasses being residents of rural India, this amplifies the potential of the intervention to create a thriving rural livelihood ecosystem.

We are working towards collaborating across central ministries and state governments to ensure the unlocking of funds, reforming policy to strengthen penetration, and mobilising on-ground cadres to provide effective screening and distribution.

What will you do :

The InSight Program Entrepreneurship Model Head will lead the execution and expansion of an innovative rural presbyopia care pilot. This role involves overseeing day-to-day operations, supporting and mentoring entrepreneurs, managing stakeholder relationships, and ensuring effective data and tech integration. The position demands strong coordination across partners, government bodies, and vendors, along with a focus on continuous learning, monitoring, and program refinement. The ideal candidate combines strategic thinking with hands-on execution to drive impact at scale.

Key Responsibilities:

- Pilot Management and Execution:

• Lead and manage day-to-day operations of the entrepreneurship pilot, ensuring smooth implementation across all locations.
• Ensure all pilot activities are executed on time, meet defined objectives, and adhere to quality and performance standards.

- Entrepreneur Coordination and Support:

• Oversee the hiring, onboarding, and timely payment processes for entrepreneurs, ensuring smooth operational support in collaboration with field coordinators.
• Monitor entrepreneur performance, proactively identify challenges, and provide strategic guidance to enhance impact and program outcomes.

- Program Representation:

• Serve as the primary representative of the InSight Entrepreneurship Program, actively engaging with local communities, entrepreneurs, and partner organizations to build trust and drive alignment.
• Foster and maintain strong stakeholder relationships to support seamless pilot implementation and long-term program success.

- Data Management & Analysis:

• Ensure accurate and timely collection of data from entrepreneurs on vision screenings, sales, and distributions
• Support in generating insights from data to inform program strategy and identify areas for improvement
• Maintain dashboards and program trackers
• Create visual presentations, charts, and infographics to support communication and reporting
• Compile and share regular reports with the program head and central team for analysis.
• Assist in preparing donor and partner reports

- Survey Tools and Monitoring:

• Assist in creating and reviewing survey forms for managing workflow
• Test forms for logic and usability
• Support real-time troubleshooting of field data collection

- Training and Capacity Building:

• Facilitate training sessions for entrepreneurs in collaboration with the technical partner.
• Provide ongoing mentorship and support to entrepreneurs, addressing operational challenges as they arise.

- Monitoring, Feedback, and Refinement:

• Conduct regular field visits to monitor activities and evaluate the pilot's progress.
• Coordinate with the Monitoring and Evaluation team for regular M&E exercises for the pilots
• Provide structured feedback to the program head, highlighting successes, challenges, and potential areas for improvement.
• Collaborate with the program head to tweak and refine program parameters based on field-level insights.

Program Expansion:

• Lead in planning and executing the program's expansion to other regions based on pilot results and organizational goals.
• Share key learnings and best practices from the pilot to inform future strategies.
• Hire and expand the team

- Stakeholder Coordination:

• Build and manage effective relationships with key stakeholders, including government departments, implementation partners, vendors, and ecosystem collaborators.
• Facilitate smooth communication, alignment, and coordination across partners to ensure timely and high-quality program delivery.

- Technology Development, Implementation and Optimization:

• Support the development of technological solutions aligned with program needs and field realities.
• Facilitate pilot testing, gather user feedback from entrepreneurs and stakeholders, and help refine tech solutions for effective on-ground implementation.

Qualifications and Skills:

• Minimum 10 years of experience in field operations or program management
• Experience in rural development, livelihoods, or healthcare will be a bonus
• Experience in leading field teams to achieve ambitious targets.
• Proven ability to recruit, mentor, and manage entrepreneurs or large field teams, especially in rural areas.
• Experience in stakeholder management, including engagement with local government officials and community leaders.
• Comfortable using basic technology tools such as mobile apps and data reporting platforms.
• Graduate degree required; MBA, MSW, or equivalent in relevant fields preferred.
• Familiarity with the rural context is highly desirable.
• Preference for candidates with entrepreneurial experience or a background in sales leadership roles.
• High level Proficiency in using tools like Excel, Google Sheets, and data collection platforms.
• Fluency in Hindi and English.

What's in it for you?

• Own your growth:
  An impact-led learning environment encourages Nudgesters to invest in their learning and capacity building needs through initiatives and policies, including L&D wallet, individual development plan and internal role change opportunities.
• Find your tribe:
  Our hiring philosophy emphasises intent, attitude, smarts and skills, in that order, to build a cohesive environment for Nudgesters. The organisation is committed to curating people-centric policies, enhancing how employees experience life at The/Nudge.
• Take big bets:
  Organisational initiatives are intended to facilitate Nudgesters with a view to the big picture, illustrated by our impact across households, 15+ governments, 200+ social enterprises and Charcha: India's largest social sector convening forum.
• Make it happen:
  A product-based approach in an action-biased environment empowers Nudgesters to implement audacious plans. Driven to fail fast, we endeavour to optimise resources in favour of programs that align with our scale ambition.

You can learn more about what we do and how we do it through this
deck
.

We aspire to be an inclusive and diverse organization and encourage qualified individuals irrespective of their religion, caste, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, or any other dimension of identity, to apply.