Exploratory Programs Lead

Is this you?

Do you love taking promising ideas from 0 to 1 and turning them into real-world products or programs?
Have you built and led small, high-agency teams that get things done in messy, real contexts?
Are you interested in improving the welfare of farmed animals in an evidence-based way?

If yes, you might be the person to lead Fish Welfare Initiative’s Exploratory Programs (ExPros) department.

Criteria Notes—Before you read further...

This is a full-time, permanent leadership role (title: Lead), managing and growing a small team.
International candidates are welcome, though this role requires significant time living in India (see “The Fine Print”).
Application Deadline: Rolling*. Apply through this form.

*November 10 update: By November 11, everyone who has submitted their mini test task by November 10 should have heard back from us. If you haven't, please check your spam folder. We have now moved the initial application deadline (Nov 9) to rolling, and expect to leave it open until we are confident that one or more applicants in our current pool is above our hiring bar. Unlike for candidates who have applied by the initial deadline, however, we don't guarantee that we will necessarily get back to candidates who have applied after this deadline.

Who We Are

Fish Welfare Initiative (FWI) is a nonprofit dedicated to improving animal welfare in aquaculture (fish farming). We currently partner with 180+ fish farms through our Alliance for Responsible Aquaculture and are developing programs to reach many more.

What You’ll Do

FWI’s ExPros team exists to identify, test, and launch scalable, evidence-based interventions beyond our current core work. As the Exploratory Programs Lead, you will set the department’s agenda, build the team and budget, and execute and iterate to develop scalable programs—beginning with considering the following programs:

Improved Slaughter Methods (“chill kill”): An implementation-focused push to improve slaughter practices at scale. This intervention is already in progress—learn more.
The Fish Welfare App: A farmer-facing product to deliver practical, welfare-forward advice (water quality, disease, stocking/feeding), and nudge adoption of higher-welfare practices. This intervention is in its very early stages, and we need to determine whether and how to proceed further—learn more.

Your first task on the job will be to set your team’s agenda, and to determine whether and if so how the already existing two projects above will fit in that agenda.

You’ll operate with a bias for action and rapid, evidence-based iteration—complementing FWI’s R&D team, which optimizes for deeper research cycles and more rigor but less speed.

Some of your work tasks will involve:

Planning your department’s programmatic agenda and budget.
Hiring new staff. Currently, the team has two non-leadership staff members. Based on project needs, we may want you to set a plan to expand the department.
Implementing the projects you have planned, such as the above.
Evaluating the success of your initial studies and programs, and then building from there.

Job Requirements

Required

Experience: You have previously built a program or product from the ground up, including managing multiple staff. OR you have completed an entrepreneurship training program, such as Charity Entrepreneurship.
Location: You are happy to live at least four months per year (not continuous) at our field site in Eluru, Andhra Pradesh, India, for at least the first two years of your work.
Competence: You have extremely strong organizational, planning, attention to detail, and project management skills.

Ideal

You have prior experience working in India or lower- and middle-income countries.
You have prior experience with the animal advocacy or effective altruism movements.

The Fine Print

Location: Remote-friendly, with an expectation to spend 4 months/year in Eluru, Andhra Pradesh (India); travel and basic accommodation covered during field stays. Applicants of any nationality are welcome; ≥3 hours overlap with IST preferred.
Manager: Executive Director.
Position Status: Full-time, permanent. Start date: ASAP.
Compensation: Expected net pay from $40K to $80K USD per year. Heavily dependent on candidate needs (e.g., location and cost of living).

Equal Opportunity

FWI is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. We encourage people of every color, orientation, age, sex, gender, ethnicity and ability to apply. Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns regarding accessibility, and we will endeavor to make adjustments throughout the process where possible.

How to Apply

Please complete this initial 1-hour test task.

Fine Print