About the position:

The Director - Innovation will lead Nashik Innovation & Learning Site, a flagship hub for designing and piloting cutting-edge telemedicine, and AI-enabled solutions for last-mile healthcare delivery.

This role is responsible for translating innovation into real-world, system-integrated impact-bridging public health needs, clinical workflows, technology platforms, and emerging AI solutions. The position requires a strong, entrepreneurial leadership who can drive innovation on the ground, manage diverse multidisciplinary teams, and build Nashik as a national and global reference site for applied AI innovation in public systems for company.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities:

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic Leadership & Innovation Direction

- Provide overall strategic leadership to the Nashik Innovation & Learning Site, positioning it as a centre of excellence for last-mile telemedicine and AI innovation.

- Identify, incubate, and scale innovative concepts, pilots, and proofs of concept across telemedicine, AI-CDSS, digital public goods, and health system strengthening.

- Translate emerging technologies (AI/ML, data analytics, clinical decision support, digital platforms) into deployable, scalable, and policy-aligned solutions.

- Align innovation priorities with organizational strategy, government priorities (e.g., ABDM, eSanjeevani), and donor expectations.

2. Program Leadership & Execution

- Lead a portfolio of complex programs involving academic institutions, and technology collaborators.

- Ensure high-quality program design, implementation, monitoring, learning, and adaptation.

- Drive disciplined execution while maintaining agility for experimentation and innovation.

- Oversee program budgets, timelines, deliverables, and reporting with strong accountability.

3. Multidisciplinary Team Leadership

- Lead and mentor a diverse, high-performing team comprising:

- Public health and program professionals

- Technology and product teams

- AI/ML engineers and data scientists

- Researchers and M&E specialists

- Clinical experts and field teams

- Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, learning, and ownership.

- Build internal capacity to manage advanced technologies and complex health system engagements.

4. Technology, AI & Product Integration

- Work closely with technology and AI teams to ensure solutions are: Clinically safe and ethical, Operationally feasible at the last mile. Aligned with government workflows and regulations.

- Provide leadership on AI governance, explainability, validation, and responsible deployment in real-world health settings.

- Ensure continuous feedback loops between field implementation and product development.

5. Partner & Ecosystem Engagement

- Identify and engage local philanthropists, Hi-Net worth individuals to leverage funds/resources for supporting the innovative site.

- Work with partnership and fundraising teams to identify the opportunities for raising funds for the innovation site.

- Serve as a senior representative of company with key stakeholders, especially health departments and implementing agencies at the District/State level

- Build and manage partnerships with, Government institutions, Academic and research organizations, Technology partners and startups, Donors and multilaterals

- Position Nashik as a living lab for partners and donors to observe, test, and learn from innovation in action.

6. Learning, Evidence & Scale

- Ensure robust documentation of learnings, evidence generation, and best practices from pilots and programs.

- Work with the policy advocacy department to support dissemination through policy briefs, publications, learning events, and global forums.

- Contribute to pathways for scale-up and institutionalization within public health systems.

Qualifications:

- Postgraduate qualification in Public Health, Medicine, Health Systems, Technology, Management, or related fields.

Essential

- 12+ years of progressive leadership experience, including:

- Leading large-scale programs or innovation initiatives

- Managing multidisciplinary teams

- Working in or with public health systems

- At least 3-4 yrs of Experience leading innovation labs, pilot sites, or learning hubs.

- Demonstrated experience in deploying digital health, telemedicine, health technology, or AI-enabled solutions at scale.

- Strong understanding of public health systems, government processes, and implementation realities in LMIC contexts.

Desirable

- Hands-on exposure to AI/ML, digital platforms, or health data systems (not necessarily technical coding, but strong applied understanding).

- Prior engagement with national digital health initiatives (e.g., ABDM, telemedicine platforms, public digital infrastructure).

- Experience working with donors, multilaterals, or global health organizations.

Key Skills & Competencies

- Strategic & Systems Thinking - Ability to see the big picture while driving execution.

- Entrepreneurial Mindset - Comfortable with ambiguity, experimentation, and rapid iteration.

- Leadership & People Management - Inspires, mentors, and builds high-performing teams.

- Technology & Innovation Fluency - Able to engage deeply with tech and AI teams and translate between clinical, programmatic, and technical domains.

- Stakeholder Management - Strong credibility with government, partners, and donors.

- Execution Excellence - Strong program management, risk management, and delivery discipline.

- Communication & Influence - Clear, confident communicator at senior levels.

Measures of Success

- Nashik Innovation Site recognized for company as a model learning and innovation hub nationally and internationally.

- Successful deployment, and scaling of innovative telemedicine and AI solutions with measurable impact.

- High-performing, motivated multidisciplinary teams with strong retention and growth.

- Strong government and partner confidence in company's innovation leadership.

- Clear pathways from pilots to policy adoption, scale, and sustainability

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): First 12-18 Months

- 1-2 high-impact innovation pilots (telemedicine / AI / digital health) deployed, and evaluated at the Nashik site.

- Demonstrated measurable outcomes in at least two areas (e.g., access, quality, efficiency, clinician productivity, patient outcomes).

- Secure 2-3 strategic partnerships (academia, AI/tech partners, donors) aligned with innovation priorities.

- Build and stabilize a high-performing multidisciplinary team, with:

- Strong collaboration with clear role clarity across program, tech, AI, clinical, and research teams

- 85% retention of key team members at 12 months

- Support to produce 2-3 high-quality knowledge outputs (case studies, policy briefs, learning notes, publications showcasing Nashik innovations.

- Facilitate at least 2 learning exchanges / site visits for partners, or donors.

- Programs delivered within approved budgets and timelines (>90% milestone adherence).

Support resource mobilization efforts by contributing to at least one successful proposal or scale-up funding opportunity