Strategic Initiatives (Senior) Manager

About the role

2024 and 2025 were pivotal years for Fortify Health. We have now built solid foundations for scale; we have a strong team of almost ninety professionals and a network of partners and reputable organisations across India. Now, we need to execute on those foundations and expand our work to reach more regions, partners and beneficiaries than ever before. This period will throw up new challenges and opportunities across the organisation. The Strategic Initiatives Manager will help Fortify Health’s leadership team to navigate these challenges and opportunities, planning and delivering high-priority projects that are crucial to Fortify Health’s success.

The Strategic Initiatives Manager will need to be adaptable and agile. The projects that you will be working on will be diverse. One month you could be working to develop a long-term strategy for our consumer awareness work, the next month you could be working with a cross-departmental team to engage with new government ministries in India. However, all of your projects will have one thing in common: they will be strategically important for Fortify Health’s growth.

This role would be a great learning opportunity for anyone that is looking to level up a generalist career in the charity or international development sector. The Strategic Initiatives Manager will be exposed to the whole range of Fortify Health’s work. They will also often be working closely with Fortify Health’s leadership and executive teams.

The Strategic Initiatives Manager will report to Fortify Health’s Chief Of Staff.

We may hire this role at Senior Manager level or Manager level, depending on the experience level of the successful candidate.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead long-term strategic initiatives that will advance Fortify Health’s mission
  • Prioritisation: Collaborate with the leadership team to evaluate which strategic initiatives would deliver the most benefit for Fortify Health’s mission.
  • Planning: Build comprehensive, realistic plans for strategic initiatives and monitor progress against those plans.
  • Execution: Work with team mates across the organisation to move strategic initiatives to completion. This could include a range of tasks depending on the project, from conducting data analysis to delivering presentations to internal team mates.
• Plan and execute cross departmental projects
  • Prioritisation: Identify potential cross-departmental projects, in collaboration with Fortify Health’s C suite and leadership team.
  • Execution: Coordinate the delivery of these projects, monitoring their progress and collaborating as necessary with departmental teams.
• Support to executive leadership on strategy, key fundraising and governance priorities.
  • Strategy & OKRs: Support the C-suite in OKR planning, including reviewing progress, refining priorities, and ensuring strategic goals translate into clear workplans.
  • Executive support: Assist with fundraising and governance processes, including preparation of materials for donors, board members, and senior stakeholders.

Please note that this job description is a guide to the work you will initially be required to undertake, but does not cover all of the duties the post holder may have to perform. Responsibilities will evolve over time, in discussion with the Chief of Staff.

If you were here right now, you would support with…

• Developing an automated tool for quality monitoring that standardizes the troubleshooting process and enables the intervention to operate at scale while maintaining quality.
• Building a dashboard that enables real-time monitoring of micronutrient delivery to mill partners to highlight and address delays
• Building and refining a marketing package for mill partners’ use that aims at exploring the potential for demand generation

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

Requirements

• At least 4 years of work experience in generalist roles. You could come from a wide range of backgrounds (including a start up, a charity or consulting).
• Strategic Thinking: Excellent organisation and systems thinking, with the ability to translate strategic ideas into structured workplans.
• Execution: Able to work effectively on multiple complex projects with diverse stakeholders, driving those projects forward from idea through to execution.
• Problem-solving: you should be able to resolve problems logically and methodically, taking into account relevant evidence.
• Communication: you should have strong written and verbal communication skills. You should also be able to review and refine written materials from others and ensure high quality.
• Collaboration: you should be comfortable working effectively with colleagues across seniorities. Strong interpersonal skills and experience managing people.
• Growth Mindset: you should be eager to learn from setbacks and use those insights to improve your work. You should be energized by working on early-stage, exploratory projects.
• You should be comfortable leading data or technology heavy strategic projects
• Fluency in English.

Desirable attributes

• Experience in the social sector, public health, or policy environments in India in a general management capacity.
• Proficiency in Hindi and willingness to travel as needed.
• Comfort working with large and complex datasets, including data analysis skills.
• Product management experience, including running A/B tests.
• Familiarity with the principles of effective altruism.

Benefits

At Fortify Health, we’re building a team of passionate, driven individuals who want to create measurable public health impact. We believe that people thrive when they feel supported, trusted, and empowered to grow. Here’s what you can expect when you join our team:

• Opportunities for career growth:Whether you’re early in your career or bringing years of experience, we offer opportunities to take on new responsibilities, build your skills, and grow into leadership roles. We support professional development through feedback, mentorship, and learning resources.
• Flexible work hours:
  • We understand that everyone works differently. Fortify Health offers flexible working hours to help you manage your time effectively and maintain a healthy work-life balance.
• Inclusive and supportive culture:
  • We foster a collaborative and respectful work environment where diverse perspectives are valued.
  • Our team is supportive and mission-driven, united by a shared commitment to improve public health through wheat fortification.
• Meaningful, impact-driven work:
  • Your work at Fortify Health will directly contribute to improving nutrition and health for millions of people. We focus on high-impact, evidence-based solutions, and every team member plays a role in driving our mission forward.
• Transparent and structured systems:
  • We strive for clarity in how we work. From performance reviews to team communications, we use structured systems to ensure that expectations are clear, feedback is regular, and growth pathways are visible.
• Learning and Development:
  • Team members have access to resources for professional development, including training, workshops, and mentorship opportunities.
  • We actively support upskilling and cross-functional learning to help team members expand their capabilities.

Compensation: INR 115,949 / month