Company Description
Position:
Manager, Strategy and Build
Office:
GDI South Asia
Location:
Remote (Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi preferred)
Reports to:
Managing Director, GDI South Asia
Updated:
May 2025
GDI is an incubator for transformational development ventures, working to build and scale the next generation of social impact solutions. From climate to agriculture, health to economic inclusion, we build across sectors to drive game-changing impact at scale. Whether the concepts originate from sector experts, or are developed and tested ourselves, we create new approaches to address persistent global issues.
GDI (South Asia) Pvt Ltd is a for profit entity legally registered in India. GDI South Asia is part of the GDI network of locally-run and independently-managed global partners with a shared vision and mission.
We work with our partners in the US, Africa and Hong Kong to build knowledge and capacity in our incubation services, and we often collaborate across initiatives.Over 12–36 months, we deploy our functional teams to help early-stage initiatives design their business strategy and model, develop their brand identity, hire and retain talent, and construct their financial and operational infrastructure. Since our founding in 2013, GDI has built a significant track record in our field, having now shaped over 75 social impact ventures. See more on GDI’s approach and work on the following website: www.globaldevincubator.org
Job Description
If you enjoy the innovation and flexibility of startups and want to work on problems of great societal significance, then you may be the right fit for our team. We have a pipeline of opportunities to achieve large-scale impact, and we have the resources to get them going. Now we need you: an entrepreneur who wants to help address some of the largest social issues facing our world.GDI is looking for a well-rounded Manager with strong strategic and operational skills to join its Strategy & Build team in South Asia (based out of India).
The ideal candidate must be highly driven to build and scale the next generation of large-scale social impact solutions and create new approaches to address persistent global development issues. The Manager will be working on a range of initiatives within the GDI South portfolio, with an initial focus on GDI South Asia’s Grassroots Circular Waste Collaborative (GCWC) initiative.The GCWC initiative aims to make financing and technical assistance more easily and directly accessible by nano and micro entrepreneurs and workers in the waste management sector. It will do so by building a collaborative of capital providers and designing innovative financial instruments towards the goal of improving livelihoods through entrepreneurship in the informal and semi-formal waste sector. The Manager will also work across the Strategy & Build team to help design, build, and launch other GDI’s initiatives to set them up for long-term success. This role combines both strategy and implementation. As the engine of GDI’s initiatives across focus areas, you will manage research and analysis, and shepherd strategy development; participate in senior-level meetings with experts and partners; develop and manage work plans, workflows, and budgets; and make sure all efforts are implemented for results. GDI managers are expected to exercise a high degree of autonomy and initiative and take on significant responsibility, while working closely with Directors.
Responsibilities
- Manage initiatives against milestones, budget, and target outcomes.
- Develop a roadmap to scale for initiatives; taking an iterative and pragmatic approach to developing and implementing strategy.
- Manage priority stakeholder relationships throughout the incubation lifecycle, including with initiative leads, funders and partners.
- Develop and manage budgets for financial sustainability of the initiatives.
- Integrate services provided by other GDI teams and external consultants and experts within the work of initiatives.
- Cultivate prospects, shape new incubation opportunities and support the delivery of existing initiatives within the GDI South Asia portfolio.
- Manage GDI outreach, network-building, and fundraising efforts for initiatives.
Strategy Development
- Manage research, quantitative and qualitative analysis, stakeholder mapping, and market landscaping.
- Lead interviews with senior professionals, experts, and other stakeholders.
- Ultimately make recommendations for the fit of an initiative to GDI’s objectives and services, and support and inform early “blueprint” development for new initiatives.
- Shepherd strategy development for systems change with GDI Directors and our partners.
- Develop materials that convey the strategy to align stakeholders and mobilize resources for implementation.
Research + Communication
- Propose and manage the execution of complex financial, market, and policy analyses.
- Identify and manage risks, issues, stakeholders, and potential funders.
- Manage the development and delivery of structured communications, especially reports and presentations.
Project Management + Implementation
- Translate strategy blueprint into actionable plans, for example by developing and managing work plans and budget management.
- Partner with founding teams to deliver key components of “Discover”, “Design” and “Build” plans, ranging from early program design and piloting to developing organizational infrastructure.
- Coordinate consultants and/or service providers, including assisting supervisors in preparation, processing, and administration of consultant and technical services contracts/agreements.
- Coordinate support from other GDI teams.
- Travel as needed to support implementation, including internationally.
Donor Engagement
- Manage the development of concept notes and other fundraising materials.
- Review and analyze financial expenditure reports against budgets and donor agreements.
- Collect, organize, and prepare program and financial information for donor progress and internal grant management reports, as well as routine queries.
Support to GDI
- Brief leadership on a weekly basis as to progress, risks, and issues.
- Participate in bi-weekly and quarterly reviews with the GDI leadership team, initiative management team, and advisors.
- Contribute to the refinement of incubation methodologies based on your hands-on experiences.
- Support broader knowledge management and dissemination.
Qualifications
Required Skills
- Undergraduate college degree with 12-15 years of related professional work experience
- Demonstrated ability to break down large, complex problems into smaller pieces, develop hypotheses, structure analyses to test these hypotheses, and generate clear insights and actionable recommendations.
- Mix of a systems view of social challenges as well as the ability to break down strategic interventions into concrete, operational milestones.
- Prior experience managing teams and multiple stakeholder groups
- Outstanding analytical skills with a demonstrated ability to synthesize quantitative and qualitative data and surface clear, actionable insights for leadership.
- Collaborative team contributor; excellent listening skills; effective influencer; strong interpersonal skills.
- Exceptional verbal and written communication skills; good attention to detail.
- Ability to self-manage work streams and tasks; self-directed and resourceful with high standards for quality output.
- Ability to coach colleagues and entrepreneurs on strategy and operations skills.
- A curious and creative intellect and a style that includes flexibility, levelness, and a sense of humor and humility.
Preferred background & experience:
- Knowledge of and on-ground experience in waste management, especially the informal sector
- Some understanding of how philanthropic and private capital flow to the sector would be preferred
- Previous entrepreneurial or intrapreneurial experience in the waste and/or climate space (mitigation and/or adaptation/resilience) is desirable
Qualities of GDI Employees
- A relentless drive to get things done.
- Curious and entrepreneurial mindset.
- Passion for driving social impact and tackling the world’s biggest challenges in new ways.
Additional Information
Compensation and Benefits
Salary range for this position is INR 45L - 47L. GDI offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes employer contributions to Provident Fund, health and personal accident Insurance, generous leave allowances and professional development support.
How to Apply
If you are interested in this position and meet the qualifications above, please submit a single PDF document containing a one-page cover letter and resume. Please note that the cover letter is considered an important aspect of the application and will be evaluated against the qualifications above. Applications that do not include a cover letter will not be considered. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Global Development Incubator is an equal opportunity employer and we are committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace.
