Director of Strategic Initiatives at Inclusion Economics India Centre (New Delhi)

This is a senior leadership opening, not an internship or early-career fellowship. The official page describes a Director of Strategic Initiatives role at the Inclusion Economics India Centre (IEIC) at IFMR, working in partnership with Inclusion Economics at Yale University. The position is based in New Delhi, India and centers on a new multi-year initiative called Women in Leadership in Economics (WiL).

If you want the plain-English version: this job is for someone who can help lead a research-to-policy platform, manage people and partnerships, and turn an ambitious idea about women’s advancement in economics into a concrete program with measurable progress. It is a good match for people who understand economics or public policy but are not interested in staying inside a purely academic lane. The role involves strategy, implementation, institutional relationship-building, communications, evaluation, and staff leadership.

The opportunity is also broader than one initiative. The official posting says the person hired will likely grow into additional strategic and policy leadership work across the Inclusion Economics network over time. That makes this more like a platform-building role than a narrow project manager position.

At a glance

What this role is trying to do

The posting is centered on a simple but ambitious idea: women’s participation and advancement in economics and policy do not improve by accident. They improve when institutions change how they recruit, mentor, fund, train, and promote talent. The WiL initiative is meant to support that change by building institutional access, professional networks, and leadership pathways for female economists and economics students in India.

That means the Director is not being hired just to “run a program” in the narrow sense. The person in this seat is expected to help shape the program itself. The official description points to work such as establishing multi-year plans, leading delivery with teams at IEIC and Yale, coordinating with a steering committee, and building relationships with universities and professional bodies. The role is both strategic and operational: it requires deciding what should happen, then making sure it actually happens.

The second part of the job is equally important. Beyond WiL, the posting says the Director will develop relationships with policymakers, identify new policy-research opportunities, and support policy engagement across the network. That means the role sits at the intersection of research, public policy, and institutional change. Someone who is happiest writing papers in isolation will probably not find this a good fit. Someone who enjoys translating research into action, and who can work across different types of organizations, probably will.

What the role likely looks like day to day

The source page gives enough detail to see the shape of the job even though it does not provide a daily schedule. A typical week could include conversations with senior leaders, meetings with partner institutions, planning sessions with staff, reviewing progress against the WiL work plan, and preparing written material for internal or external audiences.

You should expect a lot of context switching. One hour might involve staff management and hiring; the next could involve strategic discussion with researchers; later in the day you may be refining a partnership approach or reviewing communications for the initiative. Because the work touches multiple institutions and sectors, progress will depend as much on judgment and coordination as on technical expertise.

The posting also emphasizes learning, measurement, and evaluation. So this is not only a relationship and leadership role; it also requires comfort with building systems that show whether the work is producing results. If you apply, be ready to show that you can think clearly about goals, indicators, feedback loops, and how to adjust a program when reality does not match the plan.

What the position offers

The official page does not list perks in a polished benefits section, but it does make several things clear about the value of the role.

First, it is a chance to lead something with real scope. The WiL initiative is described as multi-year and collaborative, with connections to Indian academic institutions and professional organizations. That suggests the job offers meaningful ownership rather than a small supporting role.

Second, it sits inside a respected research-and-policy network. The position connects IEIC, Yale Inclusion Economics, and partner institutions in India. For the right person, that can mean unusually strong access to researchers, policymakers, and institutional decision-makers.

Third, the role has growth potential. The posting explicitly says the Director is expected to take on additional leadership responsibilities related to strategic and policy initiatives over time. In other words, this is not a static job description.

Fourth, the compensation is framed at a leadership level. The page says salary is benchmarked to peer organizations, which is useful if you are comparing it against other senior strategy or policy leadership roles. The exact number is not provided, so you should not assume more than that.

Who should seriously consider applying

This role is best suited to someone who already has substantial experience and wants to use it in a high-trust, high-responsibility setting. The official qualifications point toward a candidate with a master’s degree in economics, political science, public policy, international development, or a related field. A PhD would strengthen the application, but it is not required.

Experience matters more than academic pedigree here. The page asks for progressively senior management experience, direct experience working in India, and prior engagement with policymakers. It also prefers experience in development economics research or policy, including work related to randomized controlled trials.

You should feel comfortable with all of the following if you apply:

• leading a program or initiative rather than only contributing to one
• managing direct reports and supporting staff development
• working across universities, nonprofits, government, or donor-funded environments
• translating research or evidence into practical policy action
• building consensus among people who may not have identical goals
• writing and speaking clearly for technical and non-technical audiences
• traveling regularly for relationship-building and program delivery

If your strongest experience is narrowly academic, or if you have not yet managed people or programs, the posting may be a stretch. That does not mean you cannot be considered, but it does mean you should have a convincing story about why you are ready for senior leadership now.

Eligibility and fit: a practical read

The formal eligibility bar appears straightforward, but the real question is fit. This kind of role is usually won by someone who can show they are already operating at the level the organization needs.

The minimum educational requirement is a master’s degree. The preferred academic areas are broad but still disciplined: economics, political science, public policy, international development, or similar fields. That tells you the organization wants a candidate who can engage with evidence, institutions, and public policy in a serious way.

The experience bar is where applicants should pay closest attention. The source emphasizes senior management, direct reports, program activity in India, and policy experience. That suggests the organization is not looking for someone who merely understands the topic. It is looking for someone who has already handled the pressure of execution.

The posting also asks for excellent English communication, strong interpersonal skills, the ability to work across time zones and cultures, detail orientation, and comfort in ambiguous environments. Those are not filler phrases here. They are a realistic summary of what it takes to run a partnership-heavy initiative that crosses institutional boundaries.

How to decide whether it is worth your time

Before applying, ask yourself a few specific questions.

Do you want a role where success depends on both strategy and execution? If you prefer to stay in one lane, this may not be the right opening. The person in this job has to think, plan, negotiate, hire, and deliver.

Are you comfortable working with institutions rather than only individuals? The initiative works through universities, professional bodies, and policymakers. That means slower processes, more coordination, and more relationship management than many candidates expect.

Can you represent a research-driven agenda to people outside academia? The role depends on the ability to move between technical content and practical institutional conversations. If you can explain evidence clearly without flattening its complexity, you will have an advantage.

Do you enjoy building something that may evolve over time? The posting says the Director will likely take on broader strategic responsibilities later. That is attractive if you want growth, but less appealing if you want a fixed scope.

If your answer to most of those questions is yes, the opportunity is probably worth a serious look.

How to apply

The application process on the official page is simple, but it is not casual. Applicants are told to complete the screening questionnaire and upload a single PDF containing the required materials. The file should be labeled “Last name, First name – Director of Strategic Initiatives”.

The required PDF contents are:

• CV
• cover letter
• writing sample
• academic transcripts

That is all the source explicitly confirms. It does not list additional forms, reference letters, or other attachments on the page shown here. Do not invent extras unless the questionnaire itself asks for them.

Because the official posting does not show a fixed closing date on the page captured for this listing, the safest assumption is that the opportunity is open until the organization closes it. In practical terms, that means you should not wait around for a rumored deadline. If the role fits, apply promptly through the official link.

What to highlight in your materials

Your application should do more than repeat your résumé. It should make a clear case that you can lead a high-visibility, externally facing initiative.

In the CV, emphasize roles where you managed teams, led programs, handled partnerships, or worked on policy-facing projects. If you have worked in India, make that easy to find. If you have experience with development economics or research-to-policy translation, make that visible too.

In the cover letter, focus on three things: why you care about the mission, why you are ready for a senior leadership role, and why you can operate effectively across research, policy, and institutional partnership work. It will help to name the parts of the role that genuinely match your background rather than trying to sound broadly impressive.

The writing sample should show clarity, judgment, and the ability to communicate complex ideas cleanly. If you have a sample that connects evidence to a policy audience, that is likely more relevant than a highly technical paper with no real-world framing.

Transcripts are required, so make sure they are legible and ready to combine into the single PDF. If you have multiple degrees, include the relevant records in one clean file rather than scattering them across attachments.

How to prepare a strong application

A strong application for this role should show four things: leadership, policy fluency, organizational judgment, and mission fit.

Leadership means more than having a title. Show where you have actually moved work forward through other people, especially in settings with multiple stakeholders or unclear priorities. If you have hired, mentored, or coached staff, say so plainly.

Policy fluency means you can work with evidence and still understand institutional reality. You do not need to claim you have solved gender inequality in economics. You do need to show you know how policy or institutional change happens in the real world.

Organizational judgment means you can prioritize. The posting suggests a role with many moving pieces, so examples of planning, adaptation, and trade-offs matter. If you can explain how you managed complexity without losing focus, that will help.

Mission fit means you genuinely care about women’s advancement in economics and public policy. You do not need to overstate it. You just need to show that the issue matters to you and that you understand why this initiative exists.

Common mistakes to avoid

The biggest mistake is treating this like a generic nonprofit or research-administration role. It is not. The posting is about senior strategy, institutional influence, and initiative leadership.

Another mistake is over-indexing on academic credentials and under-explaining management experience. A PhD may help, but the source repeatedly stresses leadership, partnership work, and direct program management.

It is also a mistake to submit materials that do not clearly reflect the role’s policy-facing nature. If your writing sample and cover letter do not show that you can communicate to different audiences, you are missing a core part of the job.

Finally, do not ignore the India-specific nature of the posting. Direct experience working in India is called out explicitly, and the role is based in New Delhi with regular travel. If that is a strength for you, make it explicit. If it is not, be honest with yourself about whether the role is realistic.

Timeline and deadline

The official page shown here does not publish a specific deadline. It also does not provide a detailed timeline for interviews or start date.

That means the only reliable guidance is to apply as soon as you can if the opportunity is relevant to you. For a leadership opening like this, organizations often review candidates continuously or on a rolling basis, but you should not assume that unless the posting says so. The safest move is to treat the listing as active now.

If you are preparing an application, do not wait to polish every single detail forever. Focus on making the core materials strong and accurate, then submit through the official screening questionnaire.

Frequently asked questions

Is this an academic job?

Not primarily. It is adjacent to research and policy, but the role is leadership-oriented and operational. You will work with researchers, but the job is not mainly about publishing papers.

Do I need a PhD?

No. A master’s degree is the stated requirement. A PhD is desirable, but the posting makes clear that it is not mandatory.

Is this entry-level?

Definitely not. The posting asks for progressively senior management experience and policy engagement. It is a senior role.

Where is the job based?

New Delhi, India, with frequent travel within India and occasional international travel.

What should I upload?

A single PDF containing your CV, cover letter, writing sample, and academic transcripts.

Is the salary stated?

No exact amount is posted. The description says compensation is benchmarked to peer leadership positions.

What is WiL?

WiL stands for Women in Leadership in Economics. It is the initiative this Director will primarily lead.

What if I am mostly a researcher?

You may still be a fit if you also have leadership, partnership, and policy experience. The posting is broad enough to value research background, but the core need is senior initiative leadership.

Official links

• Official opportunity page: https://ie.yale.edu/opportunities/director-strategic-initiatives-inclusion-economics-india-centre-ifmr-partnership-inclusion-economics
• Screening questionnaire: available from the official page
• Inclusion Economics at Yale: https://ie.yale.edu/

Bottom line

This is a serious senior role for someone who wants to shape how research, policy, and institutional change connect in India. If you have led complex programs, worked with policymakers or academic institutions, and can manage both people and strategy, the opportunity is worth close attention. If you are looking for a narrower research job, an entry-level role, or a position with a fully defined playbook, this is probably not it.

The most important thing to remember is that the official page is not advertising a generic opening. It is recruiting someone to help build and lead a long-term initiative aimed at changing how women enter, advance, and lead in economics and policy. If that mission fits your background and your goals, apply through the official questionnaire and make your case clearly.