Associate Director

The Convergence Foundation; New Delhi; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 7,000,000; Full time

Job summary

STEP Foundation is seeking an experienced head for its Research, Insights & Strategy (RI&S) vertical. You will lead strategy, design regulatory pilots, and develop district-level labour market insights to anchor credibility with government and industry.

You will manage a high-performing team, translate field research into policy recommendations, and liaise with senior stakeholders to advance reform in India's skilling ecosystem.

Qualifications

• 14+ years of experience in research, labour economics, public policy, workforce development, or management consulting.
• Proven ability to translate research into policy-relevant recommendations.
• Strong quantitative and analytical foundation with ability to mentor others.

Responsibilities

• Own strategy and delivery for the RI&S vertical, including regulatory pilot design and district-level labour market insights.
• Serve as primary research interface with MSDE, NCVET and NITI Aayog — shaping reform recommendations.
• Design and uphold rigorous research methods ensuring evidence-based, decision-ready findings.
• Build and lead a high-performing RI&S team of program leads and associates.
• Translate field research and stakeholder input into structured policy and programme recommendations.
• Manage vertical budget, planning and reporting as a member of the senior leadership team.

Skills

Quantitative analysis

Econometrics

Policy analysis

Stakeholder engagement

Team leadership

Data analytics

Tools

Econometrics tools

Job description

STEP Foundation (Skilling, Training & Employability for Prosperity) is a systems-level think tank and implementation body working to ensure every young Indian is employable by 2047. STEP works at the intersection of policy, institutions, and evidence — partnering with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), NITI Aayog, NCVET, state governments and industry to build the evidence base, strengthen core institutions, and scale high-impact programmes across India's skilling ecosystem.

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced research and policy leader to head STEP's Research, Insights & Strategy (RI&S) vertical. RI&S is STEP's evidence engine — the team responsible for generating the data, analysis and institutional recommendations that anchor STEP's credibility with government and industry. This includes STEP's work reforming India's vocational assessment ecosystem with MSDE and other regulatory bodies, STEP's Job Data Insights work — building district-level labour market intelligence for MSDE.

Responsibilities

• Own strategy and delivery for the RI&S vertical, including STEP's NCVET assessment-reform workstream (regulatory pilot design) and Job Data Insights workstream (Job Data Lab and District Demand Planning Framework for MSDE).
• Serve as STEP's primary research and technical interface with MSDE, NCVET and NITI Aayog — shaping reform recommendations and representing STEP in government and industry forums.
• Design and uphold STEP's research methodology and analytical rigour — ensuring findings are evidence-based, decision-ready, and defensible to senior government and industry stakeholders.
• Build and lead a high-performing RI&S team of Program Leads and Program Associates, strengthening the vertical's core research, data analytics and economics capability.
• Translate field research and stakeholder consultations (district officials, industry, implementation partners) into structured, actionable policy and programme recommendations.
• Own vertical-level budget, planning and reporting, and contribute to STEP's broader institutional strategy as a member of the senior leadership team.
• Represent STEP externally — building STEP's credibility and profile as a research and evidence partner across the skilling ecosystem.

Qualifications

• 14+ years of experience in research, labour economics, public policy, workforce development, or management consulting, including significant experience leading teams.

Required Skills

• Strong quantitative and analytical foundation — comfortable with data analysis, econometrics or applied research methods, and able to build this capability in others.
• Working knowledge of India's skilling and workforce-development ecosystem (MSDE, NCVET, NSQF, labour market data landscape) is a strong plus.
• Demonstrated experience engaging senior government stakeholders and translating research into policy-relevant recommendations.
• Proven ability to build and lead a team from the ground up.
• Entrepreneurial, first-principles operator, comfortable with ambiguity and building institutions from zero to one.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to synthesise complex evidence for non-technical, senior audiences.