Senior Director - Innovations

The Director – Innovation will lead Intelehealths Nashik Innovation & Learning Site, a flagship hub for designing and piloting cutting-edge telemedicine, and AI-enabled solutions for last-mile healthcare delivery.

This role is responsible for translating innovation into real-world, system-integrated impact—bridging public health needs, clinical workflows, technology platforms, and emerging AI solutions. The position requires a strong, entrepreneurial leadership who can drive innovation on the ground, manage diverse multidisciplinary teams, and build Nashik as a national and global reference site for applied AI innovation in public systems for Intelehealth.

Key Responsibilities

1.Strategic Leadership & Innovation Direction

• Provide overall strategic leadership to the Nashik Innovation & Learning Site, positioning it as a center of excellence for last-mile telemedicine and AI innovation.
  
• Identify, incubate, and scale innovative concepts, pilots, and proofs of concept across telemedicine, AI-CDSS, digital public goods, and health system strengthening.
  
• Translate emerging technologies (AI/ML, data analytics, clinical decision support, digital platforms) into deployable, scalable, and policy-aligned solutions.
  
• Align innovation priorities with Intelehealths organizational strategy, government priorities (e.g., ABDM, eSanjeevani), and donor expectations.
  

2. Program Leadership & Execution

• Lead a portfolio of complex programs involving academic institutions, and technology collaborators.
  
• Ensure high-quality program design, implementation, monitoring, learning, and adaptation.
  
• Drive disciplined execution while maintaining agility for experimentation and innovation.
  
• Oversee program budgets, timelines, deliverables, and reporting with strong accountability.
  

3. Multidisciplinary Team Leadership

• Lead and mentor a diverse, high-performing team comprising:
  a) Public health and program professionals
  b) Technology and product teams
  c) AI/ML engineers and data scientists
  d) Researchers and M&E specialists
  e) Clinical experts and field teams
  
• Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, learning, and ownership.
  
• Build internal capacity to manage advanced technologies and complex health system engagements.
  

4. Technology, AI & Product Integration

• Work closely with technology and AI teams to ensure solutions are: Clinically safe and ethical, Operationally feasible at the last mile. Aligned with government workflows and regulations.
  
• Provide leadership on AI governance, explainable, validation, and responsible deployment in real-world health settings.
  
• Ensure continuous feedback loops between field implementation and product development.
  

5. Partner & Ecosystem Engagement

• Identify and engage local philanthropists, Hi-Net worth individuals to leverage funds/resources for supporting the innovative site.
  
• Work with partnership and fundraising teams to identify the opportunities for raising funds for the innovation site.
  
• Serve as a senior representative of Intelehealth with key stakeholders, especially health departments and implementing agencies at the District/State level
  
• Build and manage partnerships with, Government institutions, Academic and research organizations, Technology partners and startups, Donors and multilateral
  
• Position Nashik as a living lab for partners and donors to observe, test, and learn from innovation in action.
  

6. Learning, Evidence & Scale

• Ensure robust documentation of learnings, evidence generation, and best practices from pilots and programs.
  
• Work with the policy advocacy department to support dissemination through policy briefs, publications, learning events, and global forums.
  

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): First 12–18 Months:

• 1-2 high-impact innovation pilots (telemedicine / AI / digital health) deployed, and evaluated at the Nashik site.
  
• Demonstrated measurable outcomes in at least two areas (e.g., access, quality, efficiency, clinician productivity, patient outcomes).
  
• Secure 2–3 strategic partnerships (academia, AI/tech partners, donors) aligned with innovation priorities.
  
• Build and stabilize a high-performing multidisciplinary team, with:
  a) Strong collaboration with clear role clarity across program, tech, AI, clinical, and research teams
  b) 85% retention of key team members at 12 months
  
• Support to produce 2–3 high-quality knowledge outputs (case studies, policy briefs, learning notes, publications showcasing Nashik innovations.
  
• Facilitate at least 2 learning exchanges / site visits for partners, or donors.