Global Growth Manager/Lead

Fish Welfare Initiative (FWI) is hiring a Global Growth Manager or Lead to scope and identify the next country(ies) for FWI’s international expansion. We are seeking someone for this role who is experienced working internationally, skilled at both desk research and scoping visits, and comfortable with significant time traveling.

If you are excited to work autonomously, prioritize strategically, and be FWI’s first “boots on the ground”, this might be the right role for you.

Before reading further, please note:

The only prior experience strictly required is that you have spent extended time traveling or living independently in countries unfamiliar to you. See more below.
People of any nationality may apply.
You will be expected to spend six months or more in-country (likely various countries in Asia) during the first one to two years of the role. Afterwards, more of the work can be done remotely.
Apply with our initial mini test task, linked below, by Sunday, September 20.

About Fish Welfare Initiative (FWI)

Fish Welfare Initiative is an animal welfare organization that focuses on one of the most numerous and neglected groups of farmed animals: fishes.

We work to improve farmed fish welfare by developing and implementing scalable, cost-effective, and evidence-based interventions. Our core program, the Alliance for Responsible Aquaculture (ARA), partners with fish farmers in Andhra Pradesh, India to improve water quality and reduce stocking densities. Our Research & Development (R&D) department designs and tests new interventions that can become future programs.

Our prior work has focused primarily on India and China. Your task will be to identify and support early-stage work in our next country.

You can learn more about our work on our blog and website.

Key Responsibilities

The following are the key responsibilities you would have:

Desk research: Conduct extensive desk research to inform which countries to visit. This will include weighted factor models and expert interviews.
Field visits: Conduct extensive scoping visits to prioritized countries. Field visits will involve farm visits, stakeholder visits, and developing a general understanding of what it would be like to work in this country. You will likely be given a budget to hire in-country contractors to support this work.

For an example of the sort of reports you will complete, see our scoping reports from Vietnam and the Philippines (also note that, particularly in the case of our Vietnam report, our quality standards have since improved).

Recommendation and report writing: Based on your desk and field research, submit a report to the Executive Director regarding which country(ies) FWI should expand to.
Early stage operations: Support or lead the early-stage operations in our next country of focus. This likely includes hiring, management, strategy, and legal support.

Requirements

Required Criteria

International experience: You have spent extended time—three months or more, cumulatively—traveling, living, or working independently outside your home country, including in lower-income countries and outside of major cities. This need not have been across many countries; sustained time in one unfamiliar country can count.
Skills: You are extremely organized, able to work autonomously, and comfortable making high-level decisions under conditions of extreme uncertainty.
Values: You believe in the importance of fish welfare, and/or are aligned with the values of effective altruism.

Ideal Criteria

You have previously conducted country scoping and prioritization work.
You have worked previously in the animal advocacy or effective altruism spaces.
You have previous knowledge of or experience with aquaculture.

Designation and Reporting

We are considering two different designations for this role:

Global Growth Manager: More junior, likely for applicants with 5 or less years of work experience.
Global Growth Lead: More senior. You will be expected to work more autonomously, and likely will own more of the early-stage in-country operations (for instance, by having initial local staff reporting to you).

We expect this role to report to the Executive Director. That may change, however, if we hire multiple staff at different seniority levels for this role.

The Fine Print

Location: You should expect to work six months or more in-country during the first one to two years (cumulative, not continuous). After that, more flexibility will be given to work remotely.
Position-Status: Full-time, permanent.
Start Date: ASAP, with some flexibility.
Salary Range: Flexible. We have a wide budget of $25K to $70K for this role, depending on the applicant's needs (e.g., location/cost of living).
Benefits: Generous paid time off (up to 40 days of personal leave), parental leave, flexible hours, and the opportunity to work for a cause you believe in.

How to Apply

Please complete our mini test task. It should take about 1.5 hours total (excluding any time to prepare your CV).

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Which countries are you considering scoping?

Given a) numbers of fishes farmed, and b) our prior work experience, we are most interested in countries in South or Southeast Asia. Countries we are excited about now include the Philippines, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, etc. We will likely ask you to investigate these countries first.

We are open to considering other countries, and possibly open to considering other regions, based on your initial research.

What will the hiring process be like?

We will share the full hiring process with all candidates who pass round one. You can roughly expect the following stages:

Mini test task (~1.5 hours)
Full application form (~1.5 hours)
Asynchronous Interview (~30 minutes)
Interview (~1 hour)
In-Person Paid Work Trial (1-2 days, also with travel)

Candidates will be eliminated at each stage. You will be notified at each stage how many applicants remain, so that you might better understand your odds of acceptance.

Where can/should I be based out of when I’m not traveling for this role?

That’s largely up to you, though we do have some preferences (though these are not hard criteria):

It is challenging to have staff based in the Americas, due to timezone differences and travel costs to Asia.
You would benefit from living at our headquarters in Eluru, Andhra Pradesh, India, as this is where a large portion of our team is based.
You would also benefit from living in South or Southeast Asia, either in one of the countries we might scope or in a regional hub (e.g. Singapore).

I think I would be a great fit, but I can’t travel 6 or more cumulative months in a year. Should I still apply?

No, this is a hard requirement.

What will success in Year 1 look like?

A successful first year may look like you having:

Conducted prioritization research on a larger number of countries.
Conducted scoping visits in a couple of the most promising countries.
Recommended to the team an initial country to expand to.
Supported the early operations in that country, such as the hiring of local staff.

Will I be considered for the Manager or Lead designation?

See above for the distinction. This is a single hiring process for both designations, and we will decide which one makes sense for you to be considered for in the later stages of the process.

How many staff will you hire for this role?

For this position, if we find multiple strong applicants, it is possible we will hire more than one. We are interested in investing heavily in determining the right country, or countries, to expand to.

Why such a large salary range?

This is because we are open to a variety of experience levels and people with different costs of living. This is a key role for our organization, and we are willing to pay what is needed to get the right person.

Do I need to speak any specific language (besides English), or have prior knowledge of farmed fishes?

No, neither of these is strictly necessary, though prior knowledge of farmed fishes will be helpful. Likewise, speaking a language in a country we may scope will be helpful.

Do I have to have previous animal advocacy experience in order to be eligible for this role?

No. Previous animal advocacy experience is helpful but not required. We are, however, seeking someone who is deeply committed to improving the lives of animals.

Will FWI support visas and travel?

Yes, including relocation and housing support. We'll work out specifics with the right candidate based on their situation.

What is it like to work at FWI?

See our blog for our recent culture surveys with unfiltered answers from our team.

FAQs Anchor-OL