Director, Policy & Market Research

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in India.

📋 Description

• Spearhead the transition of research initiatives, personnel, and ongoing commitments from Government Relations to the newly established department.

• Outline the operational framework of the department, including the research-request procedure, priorities, and collaboration with internal teams.

• Manage the departmental budget and develop a sustainable funding strategy.

• Establish the policy research agenda focusing on sustainable finance, capital markets development, climate and blended finance, gender-lens investing, and financial inclusion.

• Generate policy papers, regulatory analyses, briefings, country diagnostics, analyses of policy options, and submissions for public consultations.

• Monitor policy and regulatory changes across IIX markets and global as well as regional forums, interpreting their implications for IIX and its partners.

• Conduct market sizing, landscape assessments, and opportunity analyses for capital markets, sustainable and thematic bond markets, MSME finance, and impact investing.

• Create market studies to support product development, bond issuances, fundraising initiatives, and entry into new markets.

• Define and execute commissioned market research for corporations, multilaterals, and investors.

• Collaborate with the Data Platform team to gather, structure, and verify impact and financial data.

• Ensure methodological rigor, data integrity, peer reviews, sourcing, and disclosure standards are upheld.

• Establish the publication schedule and oversee key publications in partnership with Communications.

• Forge collaborations with universities, think tanks, multilateral research entities, and local research organizations.

• Develop and lead a team of Analysts, Associates, and external research collaborators.

• Set performance metrics, career pathways, and development plans aligned with PREM standards.

• Represent IIX research to external stakeholders including governments, regulators, multilaterals, corporations, and the media.

• Present research findings at policy forums, conferences, and technical working groups.

• Provide briefings to senior officials and executives.

• Collaborate with Government Relations, Business Development, and Fundraising on various engagements.

⛳️ Requirements

• Over 15 years of experience in policy research, market analysis, economic evaluation, or strategic roles within sustainable finance, capital markets, development finance, or ESG.

• Extensive experience with a focus on emerging markets.

• Proven track record of research utilized by governments, regulators, or multilaterals.

• Direct experience in market research, including market sizing, landscape assessments, and demand analysis for financial markets or investment products.

• Proficient understanding of capital markets and sustainable finance instruments, such as green, social, sustainability, and sustainability-linked bonds, as well as blended finance frameworks.

• Familiarity with relevant regulatory contexts.

• Strong quantitative and analytical skills.

• Mastery of primary and secondary research methodologies, including interviews and surveys in low-data settings.

• Experience in building or leading a research team and managing a research budget.

• Ability to write and brief senior government officials, multilateral representatives, and corporate executives effectively.

• Capacity to operate across multiple emerging markets concurrently.

• Capability to establish research initiatives in a market prior to IIX's presence.

• Preferred experience at a multilateral development bank, UN agency, central bank, securities regulator, finance ministry, or policy think tank.

• Existing connections among governments, multilaterals, DFIs, and corporations in the Asia-Pacific region and/or Africa are advantageous.

• Familiarity with gender-lens investing, blended finance, or the Orange Bond/Orange Movement ecosystem is preferable.

• Experience in securing research funding or delivering commissioned research is a plus.

• An advanced degree in economics, public policy, finance, or a related field is preferred.

• Experience working in a small, cross-functional team within the Asia-Pacific region is desirable.

• A strong passion for gender equality and climate action.

• Resilience in navigating frontier markets and managing pressure and ambiguity effectively.

• Commitment to fairness, inclusivity, and achieving measurable social and financial outcomes.

• Demonstrated bold, entrepreneurial thinking.

🏝️ Benefits

• Lead a global initiative that promotes gender equality and climate action.

• Contribute to a legacy platform aimed at impacting 100 million lives by 2030.

• Work at the intersection of finance, development, and advocacy.

• Collaborate with leading global institutions, including DFIs, government bodies, UN agencies, and Fortune 500 companies.

• Enjoy being part of an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive team.

• All applications will be handled with strict confidentiality.