About the Company The organisation enables young Indians to pursue high-impact, purpose-driven careers in nation building. It believes in the power of youth to drive collective change and provides young professionals with the platform to create societal impact. NationBuilding Foundation of India drives interventions to address the most pressing challenges affecting India across priority themes, with sports and health among its focus areas.

NationBuilding Foundation of India is looking for an experienced public health researcher or policy professional to lead research at the intersection of preventive health, public policy, and governance in India.

You will lead the Preventive Healthcare Vertical’s research function, providing technical and intellectual leadership across research, evidence generation, and policy advisory to ensure that our work is scientifically rigorous, policy-relevant, and grounded in the realities of India’s public health landscape.

Key responsibilities include:

- Setting the organisation’s preventive health research agenda
- Leading evidence generation and analytical research, including literature reviews, evidence synthesis, health systems research, and cost-effectiveness modelling
- Building institutional research capability
- Tracking emerging evidence and methodological developments
- Training and mentoring generalist policy team members
- Building relationships with health researchers, public health experts, academicians, health administrators, medical practitioners and allied professionals
- Engaging with government stakeholders, clients, and allied institutions
- Supporting publications, podcasts, workshops, and other public-facing advocacy efforts

This role is well-suited for an experienced public health researcher or policy professional seeking to lead research at the intersection of preventive health, public policy, and governance in India. It is ideal for individuals who are committed to advancing evidence-informed public health and driving meaningful impact through research, partnerships, and policy engagement. The role offers the opportunity to build and lead an institutional research function, influence high-level government decision-making, and contribute to long-term improvements in population health.

Eligibility criteria

Must have:





● 5-10 years of relevant experience in preventive healthcare research, epidemiology, health systems research, health policy, population health, or allied research domains, with a demonstrated track record of leading research programmes and policy-facing work.

● A postgraduate or doctoral qualification from a tier I or tier II institute in the following or similar disciplines:

○ Medicine (MBBS/MD Community Medicine/DNB)

○ Public Health (MPH/MSPH/PhD)

○ Community Medicine/Preventive & Social Medicine

○ Health Policy & Health Systems

○ Epidemiology/Biostatistics

○ Health Economics/Health Financing

○ Nutrition & Food Policy

● Demonstrated experience working with or within government health and research institutions, such as the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW), National Health Mission (NHM), NITI Aayog, state health departments, or equivalent public sector institutions, with experience contributing to evidence generation, policy development, technical advisory, or programme implementation.

● Demonstrated expertise in research methodology, evidence synthesis, epidemiological analysis,

disease burden estimation, health systems research, economic evaluation, quantitative modelling,

and scientific writing. Experience using Indian public health datasets and translating evidence into policy is highly desirable.

● A strong publication and policy portfolio, including peer-reviewed publications (preferably as first or lead author), technical reports, government publications, or policy papers, with experience presenting research at national or international forums.

● Experience leading research teams or programmes, including mentoring researchers, setting research priorities, managing quality assurance processes, and building institutional research capability.





● Established relationships with government institutions, academia, development partners, or multilateral organisations, with the ability to engage senior stakeholders and represent the organisation in technical consultations and policy discussions.

● Exceptional analytical and strategic thinking skills, with the ability to identify priority research questions, critically evaluate evidence, and develop actionable, policy-relevant recommendations for complex public health challenges.

● Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with demonstrated experience authoring policy papers, technical reports, ministerial briefs, grant proposals, and presentations tailored for senior government and policy audiences.

● Ability to build and sustain strategic partnerships, collaborate across multidisciplinary teams, and thrive in a fast-paced, high-impact policy environment while maintaining the highest standards of scientific rigour and integrity.

Good to have:

● Experience leading or advising national or state-level preventive health programmes, health system reforms, or population health initiatives, particularly in partnership with government institutions.

● Experience collaborating with international organisations, development partners, research institutions, and think tanks such as WHO, UNICEF, the World Bank, PATH, CHAI, PHFI, or equivalent organisations on public health research or policy initiatives.

● Strong qualified network within the public health ecosystem, with established relationships across government, academia, multilateral organisations, and the research community that can facilitate high-quality collaborations and policy engagement.

● Expertise in advanced epidemiological and health economics methods, including disease burden estimation, economic evaluation, cost-effectiveness analysis, priority-setting frameworks, and quantitative modelling to support evidence-informed policymaking.

● Proficiency with analytical and statistical tools such as R, Stata, Python, SQL, GIS platforms, or equivalent software used for epidemiological analysis, health systems research, and quantitative modelling.

Role location:

This is a full-time, in-office role based in Gurugram, Haryana.

📌 Head of Research (Gurugram)
🏢 NationBuilding
📍 Gurugram