IDinsight
Website:
idinsight.org
Job details:
The Opportunity
Building the capacity of the Indian state is one of the most consequential problems in global development. Governments at every level are making decisions that affect hundreds of millions of people. The quality of those decisions depends on whether the right data, evidence, and institutional capabilities are in place.
As State Capacity Lead, you will develop and hold relationships with senior leaders at influential government institutions and use them to drive reforms that actually stick. You will advise on governance reforms, improving public financial management, developing economic growth strategies, and above all, enabling governments to benefit from cutting-edge digital and AI innovations.
This role sits at the intersection of several things we think matter: governance reform, economic growth, and the use of AI in government, a space that is moving fast and where good judgment is crucial. You would be working with institutions like the Capacity Building Commission as well as planning and other departments across several key states, alongside a team that takes the analytical side of this work seriously.
This is a senior role with autonomy and agency. You would be shaping what we work on, and then driving a high-performing, motivated team towards delivering success.
About IDinsight
IDinsight is a global advisory, data analytics, and research organisation. We work with governments, foundations, and nonprofits across Asia and Africa, helping decision-makers use data and evidence to design better programmes and allocate resources more effectively. Our team of roughly 240 - including economists, data scientists, statisticians, and policy specialists - operates across nearly two dozen countries.
More at www.IDinsight.org.
About our goverance portfolio in India
We have been working with state and central Indian government organizations for about 13 years. Here are a few examples of what we are currently doing:
- Mission Karmayogi: We are the M&E partner for the civil service reform programme, working with the Capacity Building Commission and Karmayogi Bharat on how to measure and improve public sector capability.
- Uttar Pradesh Planning Department: We are helping the department build the tools to track economic activity in real time, alongside efforts to strengthen the department's own analytical capacity.
- Madhya Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Department: We are helping the department identify optimal locations for solar parks within the state by using data science to find contiguous patches of land which do not have water bodies, human settlements, agricultural land, and unfavourable elevation.
We have also worked with governments in Punjab, Telangana, Bihar, Odisha, Delhi, and Meghalaya, and with NITI Aayog on the Aspirational Districts Programme and the National Data and Analytics Platform. Our work in this space is funded by leading funders such as the Gates Foundation, MSDF, Co-Impact, and the Veddis Foundation.
What the job actually involves
The core of it is senior government relationships - being someone that senior government decision-makers want to call when they are thinking through a hard problem. That takes time to build and requires showing up consistently, understanding the institutional context, and being honest about what the evidence does and does not support.
Beyond that:
Advisory work across several domains. Our state capacity engagements touch governance reform, PFM, economic growth strategy, and increasingly AI in government. You would need to be credible and informed across these areas. Not necessarily a technical expert in all of them, but someone who can engage seriously and bring in the right people when needed.
AI and government. There is a lot of noise here, which can drown out the signal. Part of the role is helping government partners think carefully about where AI can genuinely improve how they work - in service delivery, financial management, planning - and where the institutional groundwork is not yet there.
Practice development, You would work with IDinsight India leadership on shaping what the portfolio looks like over time - which governments we engage with, what kinds of problems we take on, where we should be building deeper expertise.
Team leadership. You would manage a team of Associate Directors, Managers and Associates and be responsible for their professional development. The team does serious analytical work, and part of your job is creating the conditions for that to happen well.
Project management. This involves owning and managing timelines, budgets, and funder reporting across several projects.
Who we are looking for
Someone with 12-15 years of experience, a meaningful portion of which has been spent working with or inside the government. You do not need to have done every type of engagement we do, but you should have a genuine feel for how government institutions work - where decisions actually get made, what makes a reform stick, why good ideas often do not survive contact with implementation.
Beyond that - strong analytical instincts, comfort with data and evidence, and the kind of presence that earns trust with senior officials. You should be someone who can hold a room with a senior secretary and also give a junior team member clear, honest feedback on their work.
A Master's in public policy, economics, or public administration is preferred, but what matters more is the quality of your experience.
A note on culture
IDinsight is not a large bureaucracy. Things move, priorities shift, and you'll sometimes be asked to figure things out without a clear playbook. People who do well here tend to be intellectually curious, be comfortable with ambiguity, have a sense of humour, and be genuinely motivated by the mission. We invest seriously in professional development - mentorship, real-time feedback, and enough autonomy that growth is possible if you want it.
Nuts and Bolts:
Location: Delhi, with regular travel across India
Start date: As soon as possible
Compensation: Competitive within the global development sector, and commensurate with experience
How to apply
The application asks various questions in order for us to get to know you and requires a CV. Please note that we will be reviewing applications on a rolling basis. Please ensure that your CV includes relevant professional and personal experience as well as details on academic qualifications. CVs can range from one to two pages. Please note that headshot photographs, parental details, birth dates, marital status, and other personal information not relevant to the application do not need to be included in your CV. If you’ve previously applied to an IDinsight role, we encourage you to reapply only if you’ve gained additional relevant experience to strengthen your application since your previous application.
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 diverse workforce that inherently embodies our commitment to fostering inclusivity. This also helps 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:
- IDinsight will have greater representation from the populations with whom we work and the clients we serve.
- IDinsight will have greater representation from the countries in which we work.
- Across all countries in which we recruit, we will seek greater representation from historically excluded communities.
- IDinsight will foster an inclusive work culture that empowers a diverse team to do their best work.
IDinsight is committed to non-discrimination in our recruitment, employment practices, and organizational culture, regardless of people’s age, disability, gender identity, national origin, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or any other status protected by applicable law.
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