TinkerLabs
Website:
tinkerlabs.in
Job details:
Want to use behavioural science & human-centered design to drive meaningful and sustainable change? We are hiring a Behaviour Design Strategist dedicated to Social Impact.
------------
We work where behaviour is hardest to change.
In this sector, awareness campaigns run, funding arrives, policies pass - and people carry on exactly as before (in most instances). Without understanding the behaviour and designing for it on the ground, nothing significant actually happens.
We've worked across health, education, livelihoods, financial inclusion, gender, WASH, digital inclusion, justice and climate - and within health, on immunisation, SRHR, TB and HIV. With migrants, adolescents, PWDs, PLWs and sex workers. Alongside Project Concern International, UNFPA, PATH, GIZ, KHPT, Population Council, Gates Foundation and Splash.
Behavioural research is hard, and harder to synthesise. Turning it into an intervention that actually works is harder still. And then comes the part nobody warns you about - making the case again and again, to partners, to funders and to officials, until something finally moves.
We love it anyway. We've stayed true to the process until we've got it right, and seen real impact. That work is what's put us in a position to grow. At this inflection point, we're looking for someone who knows exactly what this job is, and still wants it.
What you'll do:
- Lead social impact projects: Drive end-to-end design research, behaviour mapping and analysis, ideation and prototype testing while managing project timelines and risks. You own the arc from kick-off to handover.
- Build for scale: Transform paper concepts into field-ready, scalable interventions without diluting core behavioural insights - whether that's a pilot in a district or a design for a state. Balance user needs, system needs and client capabilities.
- Craft strategic narratives for buy-in: Translate complex findings into intuitive reports, visual narratives and actionable next steps, and communicate processes and decisions effectively to non-profits, civic organisations and impact partners. Simplify, simplify, simplify.
- Facilitate interactive workshops: Host engaging remote and field workshops across diverse community and organisational stakeholders. Fight for the voice of the beneficiaries.
- Shape what we take on: Build pitches, write approach notes and proposals for funders and partners. The more interesting the work we win, the more interesting your next project. Help us win the next one.
Who we need:
The team at TinkerLabs has always had a diverse set of backgrounds - design, architecture, business, development studies, social sciences. Your background doesn't matter as much as how it enables you to deliver. In addition, you must have:
- An instinct for uncovering why people do what they do: 5+ years of professional experience, with a proven track record in applied behavioural science, design research or service design, specifically in the development sector, through single and mixed methods studies.
- Built interventions at more than one scale: Behavioural interventions that benefit a small organisation, a population of a district, state or country, or designs built for pilot studies.
- Patience, and the temperament to match it. These are long projects. They move slowly and results are rarely immediate. The people who do well here are the ones who find that interesting rather than frustrating.
- Rock-solid project discipline: A strong track record of running day-to-day project operations, leading client communications, and driving momentum across teams independently.
- A track record of moving people: Lobbying for change with partners, funders, officials, community leaders and institutions who weren't planning to make it.
- Complete control and the ability to hold a room: Presentation and communication skills to pitch, teach and lobby, with humility and grace, in front of design and non-design stakeholders (govt leaders, bureaucrats amongst others) alike.
Why you should consider working with us:
Good intentions are the one thing this sector never runs short of. We find the behaviour, design the intervention, put it in the field and stay until it works. You'll see the whole arc - from the first insight to whether it actually worked.
We're small and growing fast. Whoever joins now shapes what we become. What that means concretely:
- Ownership from day one. As we grow, this role grows into practice leadership.
- Range. Diverse briefs across research, strategy and workshops.
- A team that makes you better. Small, sharp, supportive. Your ideas get pushed further here, which makes the workday genuinely fun.
- You won't be at your desk. Expect meaningful travel - client sites, field work, workshops across India.
- High Impact, High Velocity. We believe high impact doesn't have to mean burnout, so we take personal boundaries seriously. But make no mistake - we move fast and aim high, offering the kind of environment where you can do some of the most meaningful work of your career.
How to apply:
To help us get a feel for how you think, we'd love for you to respond to the following question:
- What behaviour have you consistently observed that you believe should change at population scale but hasn't - despite awareness campaigns, funding or policy attention? Why has it not shifted? What would you do differently, and how would you know it worked?
Please feel free to share the response in any format you would do justice to - write it, draw it, record it, create a presentation. You may also share a relevant case study from your existing portfolio.
Please share your response, updated resume and portfolio to curious@tinkerlabs.in with the subject line: Behaviour Design Strategist_Social Impact_(Your name)
A human reviews all applications. Everyone will receive a reply in due time.
Click on Apply to know more.