About The/Nudge
The/Nudge is an action institute building resilient livelihoods to alleviate poverty. We work with women, farmers, tribals and youth on rural development, agriculture, skilling and economic inclusion, along with 15+ central and state government partners. Our economic inclusion journey for 25 million Indians has reached 10 states with $250M of government funding to cover 1.25M people. Our incubator, accelerator and grand challenges have supported 200+ social entrepreneurs, including 17 Forbes 30U30, 3 EarthShot Prize winners, 1 Time Magazine cover and more.
Set up with support from 90+ eminent philanthropists, 40+ corporates and 15+ foundations, including Gates, Mackenzie Scott, Vinod Khosla, Nandan Nilekani, Tata Trusts, Skoll, Meta, LinkedIn, HDFC, Mphasis, KPMG and L'Oreal, we are contributing towards a "poverty-free India, within our lifetime". Who are we solving for?
We are solving for households in poverty who are also financially and socially vulnerable through a whole village program. Village360 targets last-mile villages where poverty is multidimensional and intensified by climate and market constraints, and where communities are largely dependent on agriculture but aren’t able to make enough from it.
- Whole-village populations
- Priority groups for community integration: women and youth, tribal communities, landless and marginal farmers, and excluded households.
- Targeting approach: Geography selection based on high MPI deprivation and vulnerability indicators (e.g., low cropping intensity, low irrigation, high climate risk, weak service access), followed by household-level diagnostics to tailor support.
The/Nudge aims to design a time-bound village-level economic inclusion model that is intuitive, locally rooted, and lifts the income levels of the entire village, while building climate resilience in the community. It will combine intensive graduation support for the most vulnerable (consumption stipends, asset transfer, coaching) while simultaneously investing in village-wide assets such as irrigation, market linkages, climate-smart agriculture, health and sanitation. By coupling household-level “big-push” interventions with community-level systems change, every socio-economic segment advances together, ensuring no one is left behind.
Designed to be low-cost and high-ROI, Village360 prioritises capability building, behavior change, and convergence with existing government systems so impact can be achieved efficiently and creating a replicable blueprint for long-term, population-scale village prosperity.
The District Lead is the most critical execution role in Village360. You will be the backbone of the program on the ground, owning field quality, leading the frontline team, ensuring community systems function, and serving as the primary bridge between village reality and program design. This is a deeply immersive, full-presence field role that demands equal parts rigour and empathy.
- Proximity to the last mile: decisions grounded in direct field observation, not reports alone
- Community ownership: building systems that work through local structures, not around them
- Government convergence: leveraging SRLM, line departments, and GP systems as force multipliers
- Adaptive management: feeding ground truth back into program design iteratively and quickly
What will you do?
A. Field Execution Quality
● Own end-to-end delivery quality across all villages in the district – household engagement, follow-through, and intervention completion across livelihood, WASH, market linkage, and graduation tracks.
● Conduct regular, structured field visits to observe work quality, verify data, and identify gaps before they compound.
● Review program data and progress against milestones weekly; flag deviations and drive course correction rapidly.
● Ensure inclusion of the most vulnerable and excluded households – those most at risk of being missed by standard delivery.
B. Frontline Team Management
● Directly manage field staff – set daily plans, review outputs, provide real-time coaching, and resolve blockers quickly.
● Build a high-performing, motivated frontline team; invest in their skill development and contextual understanding of Village360’s model.
● Identify performance gaps early and troubleshoot with empathy – distinguishing capacity issues from motivation issues from systemic barriers.
● Foster a team culture rooted in accountability, learning, and deep respect for communities.
C. Community Systems and Government Convergence
● Ensure village-level community structures function effectively – SHGs, village committees, and Gram Panchayat interfaces are active, inclusive, and resolving grievances.
● Engage regularly with block and district-level government officials – including ORMAS/SRLM, line departments (Agriculture, WASH, Health, Social Welfare), and block planning offices – to drive scheme convergence and co-delivery.
● Build and maintain trusted relationships with government partners at the block and district level; represent The/Nudge credibly and constructively with state counterparts.
● Ensure meaningful participation and inclusion of women, youth, and tribal households in community platforms and decision-making.
D. Program Design Bridge
● Systematically surface field insights – what is working, what is not, and why – to the Program Manager, Tech Lead, and Impact Associate for iteration.
● Document context-specific adaptations needed for tribal geographies, seasonal constraints, and local power dynamics; help the design team stay grounded.
● Participate in program review cycles, contribute structured field narratives, and flag risks or opportunities that require design-level response.
Who are we looking for in this role?
● 6+ years of experience in rural development, livelihoods, or community development programs, with at least 2 years in a field leadership role
● Experience working in tribal geographies; familiarity with Odisha’s rural and government ecosystem is strongly preferred
● Proven ability to manage frontline teams – setting targets, reviewing work, coaching, and sustaining motivation in challenging field environments
● Strong government interface skills; comfort engaging block and district officials on convergence, scheme access, and co-implementation
● Analytical and structured: able to read data, identify trends, and communicate findings clearly to program leadership
● Fluency in Odia essential; working knowledge of local tribal dialects an advantage
● Willingness and ability to be based full-time in the Rayagada district and travel extensively to remote villages
● Passion and commitment to poverty alleviation; belief that the village can transform itself from within
What’s in it for you?
Own your growth: An impact-led learning environment encourages Nudgesters to invest in their learning and capacity building needs through initiatives and policies, including L&D wallet, individual development plan and internal role change opportunities.
Find your tribe: Our hiring philosophy emphasises intent, attitude, smarts and skills, in that order, to build a cohesive environment for Nudgesters. The organisation is committed to curating people-centric policies, enhancing how employees experience life at The/Nudge.
Take big bets: Organisational initiatives are intended to facilitate Nudgesters with a view to the big picture, illustrated by our impact across 50000+ households, 15+ governments, 200+ social enterprises and Charcha: India’s largest social sector convening forum.
Make it happen: A product-based approach in an action-biased environment empowers Nudgesters to implement audacious plans. Driven to fail fast, we endeavour to optimise resources in favour of programs that align with our scale ambition.
You can learn more about what we do and how we do it through this deck. We aspire to be an inclusive and diverse organization and encourage qualified individuals irrespective of their religion, caste, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, or any other dimension of identity, to apply.
