Director of Operations and Strategic Growth

Transitions Research · Organization Builder Program · Remote (India) or Goa, India (Hybrid) (Note: Requires a mandatory 1-2 week in-person induction in Goa at start)

Position Overview Position Title: Director of Operations and Strategic Growth Classification: Strategic Leadership / Senior Executive Location: Remote (India) or Goa, India (Hybrid) (Note: Requires a mandatory 1-2 week in-person induction in Goa at start) Reporting Structure: Reports directly to the Founding Director (Vikrom Mathur) Direct Reports: None initially. Operates through matrix leadership, cross-functional enablement, and coaching of middle management across initiatives. Expected start date: October 2026 Duration: This is a one year contract, extendable on performance achieved Salary Range: INR 18-24 lakhs per annum (LPA) - Commensurate with senior executive experience About TRANSITIONS RESEARCH Transitions Research is a Goa-based social science research collective focused on sustainability transitions across technology, society and sustainability. The organization operates through four core initiatives: the Transition Foresight Lab, the People's Urban Living Lab (PULL), the Climate Adaptation Learning Lab (CALL), and Monsoon Academy (a skilling platform). Grounded in a workplace culture that values high trust, autonomy, and collaborative peer support, Transitions Research is transitioning into a structured, mature collective. The organization prioritizes deep research quality, technical rigor, and grounded, solution-oriented partnerships with local governments and civil society over high-volume expansion. Position Purpose The Director of Operations and Strategic Growth provides senior strategic and operational leadership to build the internal infrastructure, clear decision-making processes, and lightweight systems necessary for sustainable organizational scaling. Operating with high autonomy, this role bridges embedding internal operations with external partnership growth. This position will co-create and implement appropriate operational procedures and empower middle managers to drive quality in their teams. The position will also foster organisational culture practices and management processes across a hybrid team. The post holder will support establishing fundraising pipelines, and donor compliance requirements across distributed teams. This role is part of the Organization Builder Program, designed to help climate civil society organizations (CSOs) scale their impact by building essential operational capacity. The program directly solves operational bottlenecks faced by many climate CSO leaders by recruiting experienced, strategic operations experts into CSOs to build the systems, processes, and governance necessary for sustainable growth. To support your transition into the climate sector, and in addition to the role, the program provides structured climate education, mentorship and coaching, and a strong peer network. Ultimately, this role serves as your launchpad for a long-term career in the climate sector. Key Accountabilities 1. Organizational Architecture and Operations

Co-create Lightweight project management systems: Collaborate with team members to design and embed simple, user-friendly organisational management tools (e.g., Asana, Notion) to enhance team workflows, and responsibilities across distributed teams.
Sustainable growth: Position the organization through development of operational architecture for sustainable growth and expand its footprint across its four core initiatives: Transition Foresight Lab, People's Urban Living Lab (PULL), Climate Adaptation Learning Lab, and Monsoon Academy.
Clarify roles & decision making: Establish clear team structures, performance metrics, and operational procedures to support growth while maintaining high output quality.
Develop Knowledge management & Documentation systems: Build an organizational knowledge hub and organisational learning processes to improve cross-team alignment.
Uphold Trust-Based Management==: Develop systems and processes which support employee autonomy and trust.

2. Hybrid Culture, Onboarding & Middle Leadership Coaching

Strengthen intentional organisational culture: Foster a unified, healthy, and cohesive organizational culture across a hybrid team distributed between Goa and various remote locations.
Design hybrid team norms: Lead, integrate, and support hybrid and remote working teams with a focus on peer support and sustainable team management.
Strengthen manager capability: Coach, support, and empower program managers and first-time leaders to translate strategic vision into day-to-day team direction.
Systematize Onboarding & Feedback: Produce structured onboarding pathways, regular 1:1 check-ins, and constructive performance feedback systems.

3. Governance, Compliance & Risk Management

Oversee operational governance, donor compliance, and internal controls in coordination with the leadership.
Safeguard organizational credibility through proactive institutional risk management.

4. Fundraising Governance & Strategic Partnerships

Establish Fundraising Pipelines: Build a structured fundraising pipeline and proposal process to support business development aligned with ongoing research delivery.
Nurture Institutional Relationships: Manage key institutional donor relationships and align funding proposals with long-term organizational capacity.
Integrated Strategic Planning: Ensure research, program delivery, communications, and donor reporting are planned together from project inception to contract closure.

Required Qualifications and Experience 1.Senior Leadership & Growth : ~10 years of professional experience in senior operational leadership, organizational design, or strategic scaling. 2.Systems & Tools : Proven experience implementing lightweight digital project planning tools (e.g., Notion, Asana) and knowledge systems in remote/hybrid environments. 3.People & Leadership Coaching : Strong background in coaching, setting role expectations, and building performance and feedback frameworks. 4.Hybrid Culture Building : Demonstrated ability to foster cohesion, inclusion, and trust across geographically distributed teams. 5.Education & Certification : Bachelor's or Master's degree in Business Administration, Operations, Organizational Development, Social Sciences, HR, Organizational Psychology or a related field. 6.Partnership Governance : Track record of structuring fundraising pipelines, managing institutional donor expectations, and positioning research organizations. Personal Characteristics and Competencies

High Autonomy & Self-Drive: Capable of operating independently, diagnosing operational friction, and driving solutions without requiring day to day oversight.
Trust-Based, Empathetic Leadership: Committed to empowering management, employee agency, and supporting staff well-being.
Systemic Thinking & Clarity: Skilled at bringing structure to ambiguity, simplifying complex workflows, and creating clear decision rights.
Strong Interpersonal Communication: Excellent listening, coaching, and facilitation skills across diverse cross-functional teams.
Solution-Oriented & Technical Mindset: Aligned with grounded, technical work in partnership with local governments.

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Describe how you have brought structure to an organisation that was growing without it: the team structures, decision rights, performance metrics or operating procedures you introduced. * Tell us about your experience coaching middle managers or first-time leaders. Please give a specific example: what the person was struggling with, what you did, and how they progressed. * Describe your experience building or leading knowledge management, documentation or organisational learning practices. * Tell us about your experience with operational governance, donor compliance and internal controls, and how you have handled institutional risk. * Where are you currently based? * Your salary expectations (INR lakhs per annum) and your earliest possible start date. Please note the expected start is October 2026. * Anything else you'd like us to know? I consent to my personal data being collected and processed for this recruitment process, in line with applicable data protection laws. My data is stored on a secure, access-controlled server, kept confidential, shared only with the selection team and program administrators, and deleted when no longer needed. *