The/Nudge Institute - Associate Product Manager

About The/Nudge:

The/Nudge is an action institute working towards a poverty-free India, within our lifetime. We partner with governments, markets, and civil society to build resilient livelihoods for all. We are a collective of some of India's best leaders and entrepreneurs from across the industry, academia, government, and development sectors, and our work is organized across multiple verticals:

Direct Programs - 65% of India's poor live in rural areas, and they face unique and complex challenges, including cultivation being the main source of income for small farmers, but it is unpredictable or marginal farmers & landless labourers being tied to unpredictable wages, indebtedness and frequent migration or the most excluded households have limited livelihood opportunities and lack access to the basic needs. Our direct programs work towards empowering rural communities to build livelihoods.

Livelihood Ecosystem - A thriving ecosystem is key to solving large problems. It creates an environment for ideas to flourish and allows effective solutions to scale faster and further. India has fast-growing communities of problem solvers working on its development challenges. It is well within our collective means to support them and enhance their ability to create change. Through our ecosystem work, we are working to build a thriving livelihoods ecosystem in partnership with governments, markets and civil society.

What are we solving for in the InSight program?

India's aspiration to become a USD 30 trillion economy by 2047 is anchored in strengthening the productivity of the current workforce and enhancing the participation of the untapped workforce. Thereby creating additional economic value for the nation and fostering prosperity for all. One significant aspect that hampers participation and productivity for individuals above 35 is "uncorrected presbyopia," an age-related decline in near vision. India conservatively has 156 million people struggling with uncorrected presbyopia, which consequentially impacts their vision to perform essential work-related tasks effectively. The challenge becomes even more dire for 66 million professionals engaged in nimble work, including artisans, craftsmen, garment factory workers, and tea & coffee plantation workers.

A simple and affordable solution in "reading glasses" can enhance productivity by 33% and boost income by 20% (RCTs conducted in Assam & Bangladesh; substantiated also through pilot captured in the report - Reading glasses and livelihood). The economic value of provisioning reading glasses to all Indians struggling with uncorrected presbyopia is USD 16 billion, and with 85% of people without access to reading glasses being residents of rural India, amplifies the potential of the intervention to create a thriving rural livelihood ecosystem.

Considering the opportunity to unlock the nation's untapped productivity potential and the impact on the lives of millions, The/Nudge has taken up the mandate to play the orchestrator by collaborating with central and state governments, markets, and civil society to make India presbyopia-free.

We are working towards collaborating across central ministries and state governments to ensure the unlocking of funds, reforming policy to strengthen penetration, and mobilising on-ground cadres to provide effective screening and distribution. We are developing robust processes and systems by leveraging technology and partner networks to ensure that every Indian struggling with uncorrected presbyopia can access a pair of glasses within the next decade.

We have already conducted a pilot in Bidar, Karnataka, where we screened ~1,000 individuals above the age of 35 and witnessed that 66% had never gone through an eye screening, 75% needed reading glasses that we distributed as part of the pilot, and 55% of those people were first-time wearers.

We aspire to make India presbyopia-free in the next decade, which would significantly enhance productivity and participation in the workforce and add substantial economic value to the lives and livelihoods of millions of Indians.

Why work with us:

Opportunity to create impact at scale - The/Nudge is dedicated to serving towards a poverty-free India within our lifetime, and in that pursuit, all our programs are designed to deliver impact at scale.

Talented colleagues - Over the years, we have been able to build a thriving nudgester community, a talented bunch of empathetic individuals, committed to create impact.

Employee-friendly policies - The/Nudge makes significant investments towards ensuring that every nudgester has the support in policy and processes to work to their potential, from unlimited leaves to a handsome L&D wallet.

At The/Nudge, as part of the InSight program, you will:

- Innovate and design tech-led, scalable platforms that can support identification, enumeration, screening, distribution and adoption tracking for millions of individuals across diverse geographies

- Lead end-to-end research, product design, and strategy for impactful program delivery

- Develop cost-effective solutions that simplify delivery ops - identification, enumeration, screening, distribution and adoption

- Lead the operationalization of products by building the capacity of field teams, operations teams, and government partners

- Ensure that solutions are robust, scalable, and adaptable across India's socio-economic landscapes

- Act as a bridge between on-ground teams, central product teams, and external stakeholders, ensuring practical and innovative implementation

- Cultivate strong partnerships with governments, NGOs, and philanthropic organizations

- Build and inspire a high-performing product team

- Foster a culture of continuous learning, research, and iterative design improvement

- Drive ongoing research to ensure that product development is data-driven and impactful

- Continuously evaluate and optimise programs to maximise impact and efficiency

The ideal candidate for the Lead - Product, Bangalore role has:

- Graduate/Post-Graduate (Product Management, Rural Development, or related fields preferred)

- 4-7 years in product management, with a focus on scalable solutions, and an understanding of tech-led, user-centric product development (experience in startups, social enterprises, or the development sector preferred)

- Strong background in research, product development, and product lifecycle management

- Willingness to Travel: Ability and willingness to travel extensively to rural, remote locations

- Language Proficiency: Strong verbal and written communication skills in English and Hindi.

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.