Director of Programs
Fish Welfare Initiative is hiring a Director of Programs to oversee our growing Programs team and execute scalable, cost-effective, and evidence-based programs. We are additionally seeking someone who can be a co-leader of our organization and take on founder-level responsibilities.
If you are extremely organized, excited by travel and life in India and possibly other countries, and driven to reduce the suffering of farmed animals, this could be the perfect role for you.
Key Details:
📍 Significant time in rural India required (especially in the first year); otherwise location-flexible
💼 Full-time, permanent role
💰 USD 25K–80K/year, depending on candidate needs (e.g., location and cost of living)
📅 Apply by June 28, 2026
Note:
- People of any nationality may apply, and part of this job may be done remotely (timezone depending). However, at least for the first year, you will be expected to live or spend significant time in India.
- This role requires at least two years of prior leadership experience. More is better.
- Apply with our initial mini test task by June 28, 2026.
About Fish Welfare Initiative (FWI)
Fish Welfare Initiative is an animal welfare organization that focuses on one of the most numerous and neglected groups of farmed animals: fishes.
We work to improve farmed fish welfare by developing and implementing scalable, cost-effective, and evidence-based interventions. Our core program, the Alliance for Responsible Aquaculture (ARA), partners with fish farmers in Andhra Pradesh, India to improve water quality and reduce stocking densities. Our Research & Development (R&D) department designs and tests new interventions that can become future programs.
FWI is currently in an intervention-development phase: running ARA while investing heavily in R&D. We expect one of our ongoing studies—most likely feed fortification—to reach the pilot and scaling stage within the next year, and bringing that work to scale would be a central part of your role.
You can learn more about our work on our blog and website.
How You Will Make a Difference
The Director of Programs leads our Programs Department, which develops and executes programs that are scalable, cost-effective, and evidence-based.
You would likely oversee two programs to start:
- Our flagship, the Alliance for Responsible Aquaculture (ARA)
- An anticipated pilot of our feed fortification intervention
Additional programs may be added in 2026 as R&D findings mature, and per our organizational vision, we hope to begin expanding into other countries as early as next year. You may play an important part in that expansion as well.
This role reports to the Executive Director and is part of FWI's leadership team.
Key Responsibilities
The following are the key responsibilities you would have:
1 - Oversee the Implementation of our Program(s) in India
A. Program selection: Drawing on R&D findings, decide which interventions move forward as programs, and flag when existing programs should be sunset or restructured.
B. Design, delivery, and scale: Shape new programs from the ground up, redesign existing ones, and bring them to scale — with the goal of improving the lives of thousands of farmed fishes cost-effectively.
C. Impact: Measure and report what FWI's work is achieving. Commission or run studies as needed.
2 - Lead the Programs Department
A. Staff: Build and manage the Programs team. Over time, the team will likely include several Program Leads, each running a large-scale program.
B. Goals: Set the department's annual goals (OKRs) and steer the team toward them.
C. Budget: Plan annual (or longer) budgets, and ensure the money is well spent.
3 - Organization-level Leadership
A. Culture: Embody FWI's values day to day, and help build a workplace where others can too.
B. Leadership decisions: Join leadership meetings and support key organizational decisions.
C. Public representation: Speak for FWI beyond your department — in talks, blog posts, and newsletters.
Requirements
- Nationality: Applicants from India preferred, though international applicants are welcome.
- Experience: We are requiring that candidates have a minimum of two years of leadership experience in order to be eligible. The more experience, the better. The following are the types of experience we think would be particularly relevant:
- Leadership experience running a charity (particularly one that might have come from the Ambitious Impact program).
- Having run an evidence-based global health program, such as the sort that might be recommended by GiveWell.
- Etc.—we are open to a variety of profiles here.
- Language: You are fluent in written and oral English.
- Location: You are excited to spend significant time living in rural India or our other countries of operation, particularly in the first few years. We are not going to place a minimum time here, though we will prefer applicants who are excited to spend more time or live full-time.
The Fine Print
- Position-Status: Full-time, permanent.
- Start Date: ASAP, with some flexibility.
- Salary Range: Flexible. We have a wide budget of $25K to $80K for this role, depending on the applicant's needs (e.g., cost of living).
- Benefits: Generous paid time off (up to 40 days personal leave), parental leave, flexible hours, and the opportunity to work for a cause you believe in.
How to Apply
Please complete this form and mini test task. It should take about 1.5 hours total (excluding any time to prepare your CV).
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What will the hiring process be like?
We will share the full hiring process with all candidates who pass round one. You can roughly expect the following stages:
- Form and mini test task (~1.5 hours)
- Full application form (~1.5 hours)
- Asynchronous Interview (~30 minutes)
- Test task (~5 hours)
- Interview (~1 hour)
- In-Person Work Trial (1-2 days, with possible travel)
Some candidates will be eliminated at each stage. You will be notified at each stage how many applicants remain, so that you might better understand your odds of acceptance.
What do you mean by "co-leader" and "founder-level responsibilities"?
We want someone who can help lead the organization, along with the executive director (ED). This will involve the following tasks:
- Setting and adjusting organizational strategy
- Making high-level personnel decisions
- Assisting with fundraising
- Publicly representing the organization, and actively participating in the broader animal advocacy movement
- Fully embodying FWI’s values
This role seems like a great fit, but I don’t want to spend that much time living in India. Should I still apply?
Potentially, if you think you are otherwise a particularly good fit. At a minimum, we are looking for someone who can make several multi-week trips to India throughout the year—and spend substantially more time on the ground in year one. We will favor applicants who are excited to spend much more time though, as one of our organizational values is “In The Field”.
We would also note that it will be particularly difficult for applicants in the Americas to work remotely, given timezone differences.
Why such a large salary range?
This is because we are open to a variety of experience levels and people with different costs of living. This is a key role for our organization, and we are willing to pay what is needed to get the right person.
Do I need to speak any specific language (besides English), or have prior knowledge of farmed fishes?
No, neither of these is strictly necessary.
Do I have to be vegetarian or have previous animal advocacy experience in order to be eligible for this role?
No. Previous animal advocacy experience is helpful but not required. No particular diet or lifestyle is ever a requirement for any role at FWI, but as this will be a leadership role, we do expect you to be committed to improving animal welfare.
Will FWI support visas, travel, possible relocation, and housing in India?
Yes. We'll work out specifics with the right candidate based on their situation.
What is it like to work at FWI?
See our blog for our recent culture surveys with unfiltered answers from our team.
I have another question about whether I should apply that isn’t listed here.
Then you should contact us—we’re happy to let you know whether you should apply, in order to potentially save you the time of filling out yet another application.