Job Description:
Role: Chief Of Staff
Prosperiti | March 2025
WHO WE ARE
Prosperiti builds state capacity to increase economic freedom in India. We produce insights on state-level regulation, identify opportunities for reforms, help build policy consensus, and assist in implementation. We release issue-specific State of Regulation reports and bi-weekly broadcasts (insights and explainers) to help states make informed decisions. In partner states, we provide design, drafting, and execution support. For the near term, our focus is to reform labour regulations and building regulations.
We have thus far supported five states in their reform journey. In Uttar Pradesh, we are assisting the state to introduce reforms to labour regulations. In Punjab and Odisha, we are supporting five departments to reform building standards. In Telangana, we have helped the state draft its MSME policy. In Tamil Nadu, we assisted the MSME department to draft a chapter on ease of doing business for the MSME Report. Our research insights have been featured prominently in the Economic Survey 2023-24 and 2024-25 and were shared during the Chief Secretaries Conference 2024.
We are supported by philanthropic foundations and patrons: The Convergence Foundation, Nudge Institute, Azim Premji University, Lal Family Foundation, and Tree of Life Foundation.
WHO LEADS US
- Bhuvana Anand, Co-Founder: 18+ years in better regulation, governance, public finance, and political economy, at Centre for Civil Society, DFID, JPAL, Deloitte's Emerging Markets Group, and the UN.
- Baishali Bomjan, Co-Founder: 20+ years in business development, strategy, communications, organisation development, at Centre for Civil Society, Atlas Network, India Institute, Centre for Indonesia Policy Studies, and Agaati Foundation.
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
The Development team is the backbone of the organisation securing mission-aligned resources and building systems that drive scale and efficiency. Through strategic fundraising, process discipline, and data-driven problem solving, they power Prosperiti's long-term delivery and impact.
The Chief of Staff (CoS) will play a key support role to the Co-Founders on organisational management, efficiency and growth. At Prosperiti, we prioritise building mission-aligned partnerships and a strong, systematic operational engine. Our early successes stem from a sharp execution philosophy, and we seek an ambitious, skilled, and energetic CoS to uphold and enhance this standard. The CoS will play a critical role in strengthening this foundationimproving our talent acquisition and onboarding, streamlining performance tracking, enhancing brand visibility, ensuring financial and compliance integrity, and embedding a data-driven, high-performance system.
Qualifications and hard skills for this role include a background in business administration, finance and management, mass media and communication, or human resource management. Obviously, we are looking at experienced folks for this role (at least 6 years of experience, ideally in fast-paced or mission-driven organisations). Proven experience in driving organisational efficiency, exposure to working with funders and partners, understanding of financial and regulatory compliances, and executing communication initiatives will be essential for success in this role. In addition, a basic grounding in liberal philosophy (why economic freedom matters) will help us align at the starting point.
A Chief of Staff at Prosperiti is a systems thinker, highly organised, agile and diplomatic. They are sharp problem-solvers, can distill complex issues into actionable steps, and enable leadership to operate at their highest efficiency while fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and impact.
For us, an ideal team member can shapeshift into various roles to achieve project objectives. S/he can balance oppositescan run solo or in a team, do small tasks or deep uninterrupted work. Our culture prizes openness to ideas, antifragility, honesty, drive for self-improvement, adaptiveness, and collaborative working. This is of course the dream; each of our team members is different in temperament and skills. What they do share is curiosity about the world, a passion for what they choose to do, and an ability to relay with others.
YOUR ROLE TODAY
- Bachelors or Masters degree in business and management, accounting and finance, human resource, mass media and communications, information technology or any equivalent combination of training and experience.
- At least 6 years of experience in strategy, operations, management consulting, or a mid-tier leadership role in a high-growth organisation.
- Strong analytical, written and verbal communication skills and the ability to convey complex ideas clearly to influence decision-making
- Track record of streamlining processes, improving efficiency, and driving results, especially with the use of new tech and programme management software and tools
- Proficiency in Excel/Google Sheets for data analysis, Airtable, Monday.com, and Notion, etc for programme management, and a solid understanding of budgeting, financial planning, and resource optimisation
- Deep intellectual curiosity, entrepreneurial spirit and can-do attitude, and with an enthusiasm for details, minutiae, and work process hygiene
- Strong understanding of India's policy, economic, and governance landscape would be a plus.
YOUR ROLE TOMORROW
1. Talent Acquisition: As Chief of Staff, you will work closely with leadership to define talent needs, optimise hiring processes, and attract top-tier researchers, policy professionals, operational staff, and service providers. You will also help strengthen onboarding to ensure new hires seamlessly integrate into our culture. In this role, you will engage with talent acquisition partners, university placement cells, and our network to position Prosperiti as a top recruiter and ensure we are staffed with our kind of people on time to meet current commitments while building a future-ready team. We are also eager to launch an annual internship/apprenticeship programme to provide hands-on experience and cultivate a pipeline of future talent. You will also take the lead in designing and executing this initiative.
2. Performance Management: As Chief of Staff, you will work closely with leadership to drive organisational performance and help foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and high-impact execution. You will support the development of performance management frameworks, track key efficiency metrics for the organisation, and optimise systems for performance tracking, and reporting. We are a systems-first, process-driven organisation, proud of the early collaborative and digital infrastructure we've built. As we scale, these systems need upgrading. In your role, you will audit existing systems, identify gaps, research best-in-class tools and practices, and drive implementation and team adoption. On the team front, you will support performance reviews and implement training, upskilling, or restructuring initiatives. All of this will require systems and processes that can generate real-time, data-driven insights enabling leadership to make informed decisions.
3. External Communications: As Chief of Staff, you will work closely with leadership to craft sharp, compelling messaging that amplifies Prosperiti's visibility and influence among key stake holders donors, industry and civil society leaders, and the media. In your role you will distil complex, nuanced research insights into clear, persuasive, and accessible communication across presentations and pitch decks, donor and organisational reports, videos, and digital content. You will also build and manage relationships, ensuring Prosperitis work and team members are well-placed in policy forums, events, new media and publications. Beyond clarity, creativity is key. Our expectation is that you will also bring fresh perspectives and storytelling approaches to make Prosperitis voice distinct, memorable, and influential in a crowded policy space.
4. Finance and Compliance: As Chief of Staff, you will work closely with leadership to strengthen internal controls, ensure financial discipline and regulatory compliance. Managing funds, donor reporting, bookkeeping, budgeting, and compliance demands an eagle-eye for detail, as errors in these areas come at a high cost leading to financial losses, reputational risks, or even the loss of critical certifications. Your role will involve reviewing, coordinating, and consolidating financial statements from company accountants, auditors, and compliance filings from secretaries, and other service providers. Success in this role requires proactively identifying errors, ensuring swift corrections, optimising financial and compliance workflows, and providing data-driven insights to leadership.
5. Talent Management: As Chief of Staff, you will drive the performance and growth of your team, which includes 1-2 development/operations associates. Your role involves coaching and upskilling them helping them manage tasks, set priorities, analyse challenges, and develop solutions to refine both their work products and ways of working. A key expectation is your ability to give and receive immediate, tone-neutral feedback to drive continuous improvement. You will also be responsible for overseeing a diverse set of service providers, including the company accountant, auditor, secretary, creative and communications agencies, and other need-based consultants. Given their part-time or retainer-based engagements, you must ensure they deliver timely, high-quality outputs. This requires proactive coordination and optimising workflows to meet our commitments
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT US
At Prosperiti, culture fit is a priority. We are looking for folks who can reflect honestly on our principles and values and see if the fit is mutual.
Our Principles
- Nothing persuades like the truth.
- Eternal vigilance is sine qua non for liberty.
- Democracy is government by discussion.
Our Values
- Work for a cause, not for applause.
- Knowledge first.
- Facts over opinion.
- Mutual enrichment over crude competition.
- Don't raise your voice, improve your argument.
- Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance.
What's Our Offer
- Competitive compensation benchmarked to top think tanks, research institutions, and non-profit organisations in India.
- Sponsorship for executive training, leadership programs and opportunities to represent Prosperiti at national and international conferences.
- Opportunity to work with the co-founders, advisors and leadership to build a fast-growing organisation.
HOW TO APPLY
Location: Selected candidates will be based in Delhi (office address: 242, Okhla, Phase III, New Delhi 110020) with frequent travel to partner states.
Our work days are Monday-Friday from 10 am-6 pm.
Interview and offer process: Our selection process is designed to ensure alignment between the candidates expertise, aspirations, and Prosperiti's mission and role requirement. This will include:
1. Expression of interest here.
2. A 30-minute introductory conversation with Vishal Doshi, our Lead Talent Acquisition Partner, to understand your background, motivations, and initial fit for the role.
3. A conversation with the Co-Founders to gain a deeper understanding of the mission and role expectations, and address any clarity questions you may have.
4. An assignment on a mutually agreed-upon topic, ensuring alignment with both the candidates expertise and Prosperiti's work.
5. Presentation of assignment to the team, followed by Q&A and feedback.
6. Reflection and rating on Prosperiti Skills Matrix (will be shared at later stage) by self and the Co-founders.
7. Final offer discussion with the Co-founders including a debrief on the interview process, reflection on Skills Matrix, identified areas for development and terms of employment.
APPLICATION LINK: https://airtable.com/appCXO4xQ5AmEZ4HI/shrcaihMDHTWOmFd0
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until the position is closed.