Programme Lead

Who we are

Prosperiti builds state capacity to increase economic freedom in India. We produce insights on state-level regulation, identify opportunities for reforms, help build policy consensus, and assist in implementation. We release issue-specific State of Regulation reports and bi-weekly broadcasts (insights and explainers) to help states make informed decisions. In partner states, we provide design, drafting, and execution support. For the near term, our focus is to reform labour regulations and building regulations. 

We have thus far supported five states in their reform journey. In Uttar Pradesh, we are assisting the state to introduce reforms to labour regulations. In Punjab and Odisha, we are supporting five departments to reform building standards. In Telangana, we have helped the state draft its MSME policy. In Tamil Nadu, we assisted the MSME department to draft a chapter on ease of doing business for the MSME Report. We have provided research insights on land and labour regulations to the office of the Chief Economic Advisor and the Ministry of Finance. Our research insights have been featured prominently in the Economic Survey 2023-24 and 2024-25 and were shared during the Chief Secretaries’ Conference 2024.

We are supported by philanthropic foundations and patrons: The Convergence Foundation, Nudge Institute, Azim Premji University, Godrej Foundation, Harish Bina Shah Foundation, Lal Family Foundation, and Tree of Life Foundation.

Who leads us:

• Bhuvana Anand, Co-Founder: 18+ years in better regulation, governance, public finance, and political economy, at Centre for Civil Society, DFID, JPAL, Deloitte's Emerging Markets Group, and the UN.
• Baishali Bomjan, Co-Founder: 20+ years in business development, strategy, communications, organisation development, at Centre for Civil Society, Atlas Network, India Institute, Centre for Indonesia Policy Studies, and Agaati Foundation.

Who we are looking for

At Prosperiti, knowledge production and government engagement is organised through work programmes. Each work programme focuses on one area/topic, such as labour regulations or land regulations. Programme teams deliver high-precision regulatory research, novel data analysis, and practical policy insights that drive decision-making. 

A Programme Lead at Prosperiti will be responsible for driving execution across both research and policy in one such work programme. First, they will help conceptualise, produce, and promote high-quality insightful knowledge products. Second, they will act as the critical point of contact in government engagements, helping government functionaries identify regulatory challenges and solving these challenges through reforms. Third, they will curate collaborations, convenings, and broad-based communication to build salience for reforms in their practice area/topic. Fourth, they will oversee the execution of projects within their practice area/topic. Finally, they will be responsible for the performance and growth of a team comprising about 2 Senior Analysts and 2 Analysts.

Qualifications and hard skills for this role include training and work experience in economics, public policy, political science, public administration, and law. In addition to published research and writings, we expect that serious experience working with governments, either inside or alongside, and team management will be critical for success in this role. We also expect that basic grounding in liberal philosophy (why economic freedom matters) will be helpful. 

Programme Leads at Prosperiti are knowledge-driven, patient, agile, and energetic. They are adamant readers and have a deep interest in India’s political and administrative systems. They enjoy applying literature, building datasets, and engaging in robust debate around law and economics. Most importantly, they are analytically driven problem solvers. 

For us, an ideal team member can shapeshift into various roles to achieve project objectives. S/he can balance opposites—can run solo or in a team, do small tasks or deep uninterrupted work. Our culture prizes openness to ideas, antifragility, honesty, drive for self-improvement, adaptiveness, and collaborative working. This is of course the dream; each of our team members is different in temperament and skills. What they do share is curiosity about the world, a passion for what they choose to do, and an ability to relay with others. 

Your profile today

• BA/MA/MSc in Economics/Statistics/Law/Political Science/Sociology/Public Policy/Public Administration or other relevant fields. 
• At least four years of experience in a top-tier consulting firm, law firm, think tank or government body, with a track record of managing projects and teams.
• Experience working with government, policymakers, or industry leaders, with strong relationship management skills.
• Strong research, writing, and communication skills, with the ability to translate insights into actionable recommendations.
• Fluency (spoken and written) in English and Hindi, and preferably one regional language.  
• Knowledge of public administration, law, and public economics in India.
• Comfort with coding, data analysis packages, cloud working, and new tech (LaTex, Python, Google, AI).
• Avid reader with an enthusiasm for details, minutiae, and work process hygiene. 

Your role tomorrow:

Here are five things you will do:

1. Research execution: As a Programme Lead, you will help conceptualise, produce, and promote high-quality insightful research products. See our state of regulation reports (1, 2) and Prosperiti Insights as reference. Our research products combine data analysis, legal analysis, and computational thinking. In your role, you will lead the analysis of regulatory data, synthesise findings to build evidence-based insights, and apply visualisation techniques to enhance clarity and impact. You will be expected to co-author working papers, long-form insights, and State of Regulation reports and build a practice of writing compellingly in internal and external publications.
2. Government engagement: As a Programme Lead, you will support reform efforts with government partners. Our partners include state government departments and, since we work on State and Concurrent list subjects, union level ministries/departments. This will involve maintaining high-frequency communications with department officials, ensuring timely delivery of high-quality policy notes, presentations, reports, and legal drafting support to ensure movement on reform recommendations. In your role, you will travel to states regularly, meet department functionaries at high frequency, and support the file process to convert discussions into action. You will support reform presentations during government consultations, monitor regulatory changes and legislative developments to guide reform efforts. You will also lead capacity-building initiatives with government partners to strengthen reform uptake.
3. Ecosystem management: As Programme Lead, you will support the execution of collaborations, convenings, and communication efforts. You will support stakeholder outreach with different institutions and coordinate and manage logistics for consultations to ensure productive engagements. You will also assist in drafting articles, blogs, opinion pieces and presentations to disseminate research findings in media, new media and in events and conferences.
4. Project management: As Programme Lead, you will oversee the execution of projects within your practice area. You will coordinate efforts within the team to ensure the timely delivery of high-quality outputs for both planned initiatives and emerging priorities. You will track progress, maintain data integrity in reporting, and provide clear weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual updates on the work programme’s delivery status. You will also identify external and internal challenges and proactively bring them up for discussion, ensuring timely resolution.
5. Team management: As a Programme Lead, you will be responsible for the performance of your team comprising about 2 Senior Analysts and 2 Analysts. In your role, you will support the Programme Director in developing work plans, establishing priorities, assigning tasks, tracking day-to-day progress, and ensuring timely delivery on commitments. You will ensure strong work and process hygiene, do first level quality control, and help younger team members grow into their potential. You will also be expected to give and receive immediate tone-neutral feedback, and help them get to “excellence”. 

What you need to know about us:

At Prosperiti, culture fit is a priority. We are looking for folks who can reflect honestly on our principles and values and see if the fit is mutual. 

Our principles:

• Nothing persuades like the truth.
• Eternal vigilance is sine qua non for liberty. 
• Democracy is government by discussion.

Our values:

• Work for a cause, not for applause.
• Knowledge first. Facts over opinion. 
• Mutual enrichment over crude competition. 
• Don’t raise your voice, improve your argument.
• Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance.

What’s our offer:

• Competitive compensation benchmarked to top think tanks, research institutions, and non-profit organisations in India.
• Sponsorship for training, policy boot camps, or leadership programs.
• Opportunities to publish research and represent Prosperiti at national and international conferences.

How to apply:

Location:

Interview and offer process:

• Interview with PD on understanding the role, work history, publications, interests, reading habit, people management responsibilities, fit, and salary expectations (30 mins)
• Application here.
• Assignment presentation (2 hrs). 
• Interview with Co-founders on work history, ambition, key interests, leadership model
• Reference checks
• Offer email + call