The posting
About The/Nudge
The/Nudge is an action institute building resilient livelihoods to alleviate poverty. We work with women, farmers, tribals and youth on rural development, agriculture, skilling and economic inclusion, along with 15+ central and state government partners.
Our economic inclusion journey for 25 million Indians has reached 10 states with $250M of government funding to cover 1.25M people. Our incubator, accelerator and grand challenges have supported 200+ social entrepreneurs, including 17 Forbes 30 Under 30, 3 EarthShot Prize winners, 1 Time Magazine cover and more.
Set up with support from 90+ eminent philanthropists, 40+ corporates and 15+ foundations, including Gates, Mackenzie Scott, Vinod Khosla, Nandan Nilekani, Tata Trusts, Skoll, Meta, LinkedIn, HDFC, Mphasis, KPMG and L'Oreal, we are contributing towards a "poverty-free India, within our lifetime".
Who are we solving for?
We are solving for households in poverty who are also financially and socially vulnerable through a whole village program. UdGram targets last-mile villages where poverty is multidimensional and intensified by climate and market constraints, and where communities are largely dependent on agriculture but aren’t able to make enough from it.
● Whole-village populations
● Priority groups for community integration: women and youth, tribal communities, landless and marginal farmers, and excluded households.
● Targeting approach: Geography selection based on high MPI deprivation and vulnerability indicators (e.g., low cropping intensity, low irrigation, high climate risk, weak service access), followed by household-level diagnostics to tailor support.
What are we solving for?
The/Nudge aims to design a time-bound village-level economic inclusion model that is intuitive, locally rooted, and lifts the income levels of the entire village, while building climate resilience in the community. It will invest in village-wide assets such as irrigation, market linkages, climate-smart agriculture, health and sanitation. By coupling household-level “big-push” interventions with community-level systems change, every socio-economic segment advances together, ensuring no one is left behind.
Designed to be low-cost and high-ROI, UdGram prioritises capability building, behaviour change, and convergence with existing government systems so impact can be achieved efficiently, creating a replicable blueprint for long-term, population-scale village prosperity.
Position Overview
The Cluster Lead is the primary point of contact between UdGram and the households it serves. You will live closest to the work, present in the block, known to every household, and responsible for ensuring that each household receives the support, information, and coaching it needs to move out of poverty. This is a deeply relational, precision-execution role that requires both warmth and discipline.
What are some of the principles/ approaches we use?
- Household-centred approach: every decision starts with understanding the specific needs, constraints, and aspirations of each family
- Behaviour change through trust: nudging action by building sustained, respectful relationships rather than top-down instruction
- No household left behind: active tracking and follow-through until every enrolled household has completed its plan
- Data discipline: accurate, timely records are as important as field presence – they are how the program learns and improves
What will you do?
A. Household Onboarding and Planning
● Conduct household onboarding and comprehensive profiling – understanding each family’s composition, assets, livelihoods, vulnerabilities, and aspirations to build an accurate baseline.
● Create individualised village plans that map available interventions to each village’s specific needs and readiness, covering livelihood, WASH, nutrition, scheme entitlements, and graduation support tracks.
● Maintain regular coaching touchpoints with each enrolled household – structured visits that review progress, address barriers, and reinforce positive action toward household goals.
● Update household plans periodically as circumstances change; ensure the most vulnerable families receive intensified support and are never de-prioritised.
B. Intervention Delivery and Behaviour Change
● Drive intervention uptake across all thematic areas – using facilitation, behaviour change nudges, referrals to relevant schemes and services, and persistent follow-up until each intervention is completed.
● Deliver training to community members across sectors including agriculture, WASH, nutrition, financial literacy, and livelihood skills – adapting content and method to the local context and audience.
● Monitor all program activities in the village – track what has been initiated, what is in progress, and what remains pending for each household and intervention type.
● Liaise with Community Resource Persons (CRPs) – coordinate, brief, and support them in their roles; ensure their engagement strengthens rather than duplicates field work.
C. Community Mobilisation and Participation
● Mobilise community participation – organise and facilitate village meetings, group trainings, and collective action events to build shared understanding and momentum for change.
● Understand and continuously deepen your knowledge of community needs – listening closely to households, identifying emerging issues, and surfacing unmet needs to the District Lead for response.
● Support SHG functioning, village committee meetings, and GP interface activities – ensuring women, youth, and excluded households are active and heard in community spaces.
● Identify and support natural leaders within the community – build their ownership of UdGram outcomes so that the program’s impact is sustained beyond the intervention period.
D. Field Records and Data Quality
● Maintain accurate, up-to-date field records in both digital and physical formats – household profiles, visit logs, training attendance, asset receipts, and intervention completion proofs.
● Support output and outcome verification – collect documentary evidence, support spot checks, and ensure data integrity for MIS entries and impact assessments.
● Report daily activity and issues to the District Lead; flag gaps, household hardships, or emerging risks that need escalation.
Who are we looking for in this role?
● 2–5 years of experience in community-based field work – NGO programs, government schemes, SHG or livelihood projects at the village level
● Full fluency in Odia (spoken and written) is essential; fluency in English is required for reporting and program communication. Knowledge of local tribal dialects is an advantage.
● Strong ability to understand community dynamics – who is included and who is excluded, how decisions are made, and how trust is built in tribal settings
● Experience with household-level profiling, planning, or case management – comfort working with data forms, tracking sheets, and basic digital tools
● Experience delivering community training or facilitation across topics such as agriculture, WASH, nutrition, or livelihoods.
● Disciplined and meticulous with records – comfortable maintaining both paper and digital documentation with accuracy and consistency
● Willingness to reside in or very close to the assigned cluster of villages and make daily field visits.
● Deep belief in the dignity and capacity of every family – and that the village can transform itself from within
What We Offer:
What’s in it for you?
- Own your growth: An impact-led learning environment encourages Nudgesters to invest in their learning and capacity building needs through initiatives and policies, including L&D wallet, individual development plan and internal role change opportunities.
- Find your tribe: Our hiring philosophy emphasises intent, attitude, smarts and skills, in that order, to build a cohesive environment for Nudgesters. The organisation is committed to curating people-centric policies, enhancing how employees experience life at The/Nudge.
- Take big bets: Organisational initiatives are intended to facilitate Nudgesters with a view to the big picture, illustrated by our impact across 50000+ households, 15+ governments, 200+ social enterprises and Charcha: India’s largest social sector convening forum.
- Make it happen: A product-based approach in an action-biased environment empowers Nudgesters to implement audacious plans. Driven to fail fast, we endeavour to optimise resources in favour of programs that align with our scale ambition.
We aspire to be an inclusive and diverse organization and encourage qualified individuals irrespective of their religion, caste, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, or any other dimension of identity, to apply.
