India Program Director

Location: India – Location within India, Flexible

Reports to: Amie Batson, Executive Director and CEO

Hours per week: Full time

Application Deadline: March 15, 2021

Our Vision and Mission – WomenLift Health is committed to expanding the power and influence of talented women in global health and catalyzing systemic change to achieve gender equality in leadership. We envision a world where diverse, accomplished leaders collectively transform health outcomes.

Our Work – Established in 2019, we work to advance equality in health leadership through a range of actions at the individual, institutional, and societal levels. This includes a “Leadership Journey,” which focuses on giving mid-career women the tools, along with peer, mentor and coach support, to successfully use their voice, expertise and leadership for impact. It includes pushing conversations and partnerships with health institutions, taking steps to prioritize gender equality. It also includes driving a global conversation about the importance of women’s leadership, amplifying the voices of national and global health leaders including at our annual conference, Women Leaders in Global Health.

Our Culture and Values – We are building a diverse, entrepreneurial team of people who bring unique cultural and technical perspectives and experiences. We welcome results-oriented problem-solvers of any nationality, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, and disability. We are a growing organization that is committed to building a culture with our partners that values:

• Collaborative leadership that celebrates diverse perspectives and experiences and ensures everyone contributes to their full potential.
• Partnership grounded in humility, respect, empathy, and inclusion.
• Transformative change based upon bold, strategic thinking combined with adaptability and pragmatic action.
• Spirit of learning that ensures we are open, forward-looking, constructive, and committed to growing collectively and individually.
• Achieving impact by improving global health and gender equality.

POSITION SUMMARY

WomenLift Health is seeking an experienced, innovative and dynamic India Program Director to design, lead, grow and implement the WomenLift Health India strategy.  Reporting to the WomenLift Health Executive Director in the interim, the India Director will lead the engagement and implementation with and by Indian partner institutions and high-level champions to expand the voice and influence of Indian women leaders in health, to influence systemic change in organizations and support a movement.  The India Director must have excellent skills engaging and building partnerships with a deep understanding of the Indian context, at both national and state levels.  The Director must thrive in a dynamic and creative work environment, be a self-starter and be a passionate change agent for advancing women’s leadership.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS

• Support the establishment and growth of WomenLift Health’s presence in India including setting up an appropriate structure and governance mechanisms and hiring and leading a small team of staff.
• Independently develop and support a consortium of Indian institutions including those focused on health, leadership, and gender equality to advance women’s leadership in health.
• Independently engage with leaders of WomenLift Health partners in India to:
  • Develop an India country wide partner engagement strategy for WomenLift Health
  • Establish and support an Indian Leadership Council composed of senior leaders from across the country in different sectors (public, private, NGO)
  • Create and execute mechanisms and a culture that encourages partners to engage in the WomenLift Health global network
  • Provide guidance to the CEO and senior leaders on best ways to mitigate risk and leverage strategic opportunities
  • Support key partners to invest in sharing and receiving best practices and other learning
• Lead efforts to identify and negotiate agreements (workplans, budgets and monitoring plans) with the institutional partner(s) that will help design and implement WomenLift Health activities in India including:
  • Establishing the processes and systems to identify and support cohorts of women leaders in a 1-year long Leadership Journey beginning with 1 cohort per year and scaling to 5-7 cohorts per year within 5 years.
  • Establishing and supporting network of women leader’s alumni
  • Integrating women’s leadership topics and speakers in planned Indian conferences and meetings
  • Designing and supporting national and State-level efforts to advance women’s leadership in the Indian health systems (public, private, NGO). This may, for example, include supporting a multi-partner Roadmap for change. 
  • Engaging select organizational leaders in creating more gender friendly work environments
• Design and lead efforts to increase brand and mission visibility of WomenLift Health, its objectives, strategy and partnerships, as well as contextualizing core messaging on the value and challenges of Indian women’s leadership in Indian health.
• Be a regional spokesperson for WomenLift Health, engaging as a speaker, panelist and participant at priority conferences and meetings.
• As a senior leader in WomenLift Health, contribute to the design and implementation of the global strategy and workplans.

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITY     

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree preferred
• Minimum 10 years related global, regional or national experience in health, gender equality, leadership and/or development in an Indian context
• Proven track record independently developing and executing a country wide engagement strategy working with Indian partners
• Strong strategic and tactical thinking ability
• Strong communication and engagement skills
• Strong influencing, negotiating and relationship management skills
• Established network of personal and institutional relationships in India relevant to development, health, gender equality and/or leadership
• Proven capacity to engage and support high-level leaders including CEOs and heads of agencies in India
• Depth of experience, sensitivity, maturity and confidence befitting a strategic leadership position
• Proven ability to manage large and complex issues through diverse and competing interests
• Demonstrated ability to earn credibility and influence opinion leaders
• Proactive, self-starter able to work independently
• Fluency in English (written, spoken, reading)

VALUED AND NON-ESSENTIAL EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITY 

• Additional language (Hindi and/or other national languages) 

How to Apply

Interested applicants can apply by completing the application form at https://www.womenlifthealth.org/open-position-india-program-director   As part of the form, you will be asked to submit a) your resume, b) cover letter detailing why you are interested and a good fit for the role, and c) list of references.

Hiring Statement

We are looking for talent that is passionate, self-driven, flexible, able to multitask and thrive in a fast-paced demanding environment that shows strong initiative and ability to proactively manage assigned project deliverables with minimal supervision.

The talent will be hired through GFS Consulting Private Limited for WomenLift Health. Global Finance Strategies (GFS) founded in 2012 is a subsidiary of Global Health Strategies (GHS), which has been providing expert consulting services to clients working in international health and development for nearly 15 years. GFS has offices in New York, New Delhi, Rio de Janeiro, Beijing, Nairobi and Johannesburg and supports work in diverse countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas.