Director – Public Policy & Government Affairs (AI)

Director – Public Policy & Government Affairs (AI)

Josh Talks AI | India

Location: Delhi/NCR

Reporting to: Founders

About Josh Talks AI

Josh Talks AI is building the foundational layer for real-world voice AI systems, starting with India.

We work at the intersection of:

• Large-scale conversational voice datasets
• Evaluation systems and benchmarks (Voice of India)
• Research and domain-specific AI infrastructure

Our work enables leading AI labs and enterprises to build voice systems that perform reliably across India's linguistic and real-world diversity.

As AI adoption accelerates, there is a growing need for credible, real-world evaluation and measurement frameworks. Josh Talks AI is building that layer.

About the Role

We are looking for a Director – Public Policy & Government Affairs to help shape how voice AI and multilingual AI systems are understood, evaluated, and adopted across India.

This role sits at the intersection of:

• Government engagement
• Policy and regulatory ecosystems
• Industry partnerships
• Research and institutional collaboration

You will work closely with leadership, research, and communications teams to build meaningful partnerships with public institutions and ecosystem stakeholders.

What You Will Do

1. Government & Institutional Partnerships (State-Level)

• Build and manage relationships with state governments and public institutions
• Work on state-level collaborations around Voice of India (VOI), our benchmark for measuring model performance, including language-specific or state-focused reports
• Support the planning of state-level launches, discussions, and knowledge-sharing forums
• Engage with relevant stakeholders (e.g., IT departments, digital missions, language bodies) to drive awareness and adoption of evaluation frameworks

2. Strategic Central Government Engagement

• Build relationships with key central government bodies such as:

1. Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY)
2. India AI Mission/ Digital India/ IndiaAI ecosystem
3. Other relevant national initiatives

• Support partnerships that align VOI and related work with national priorities around AI, language technology, and digital inclusion
• Contribute to policy conversations on:

1. Multilingual AI
2. Evaluation standards
3. Responsible and inclusive AI deployment

3. Strategic Policy Engagement

• Track and engage with developments in AI, data, and digital policy
• Represent Josh Talks AI in relevant forums, consultations, and policy discussions
• Help translate ecosystem learnings into constructive inputs for policy and institutional stakeholders

4. Ecosystem & Industry Partnerships

• Develop partnerships across sectors such as:

1. Financial services
2. Healthcare
3. Customer experience / BPO

• Support the development of domain-specific initiatives and benchmarks in collaboration with industry and institutional partners

5. External Stakeholder Engagement

• Build relationships with:

1. Academic institutions and researchers
2. Think tanks and policy organizations
3. Civil society groups working on language, accessibility, and inclusion

• Facilitate collaborative discussions, roundtables, and joint initiatives

6. Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with:

1. Communications team (external narratives and launches)
2. Research team (credibility and technical alignment)
3. Business team (partnership opportunities)

7. Program & Partnership Execution

• Support the planning and execution of:

1. State-level engagements and VOI-related initiatives
2. Institutional partnerships and collaborations
3. Multi-stakeholder discussions and events

• Help build a structured, long-term approach to engagement across government and policy stakeholders

What We're Looking For

• 10–15 years of experience in:

1. Public policy
2. Government relations
3. Regulatory or ecosystem roles in tech, digital infrastructure, or adjacent sectors

• Strong understanding of:

1. India's policy landscape
2. Government functioning at state and central levels

• Experience working with:

1. Ministries, public institutions, or policy bodies
2. Multi-stakeholder environments

Preferred Qualities

• Ability to translate complex technical ideas into accessible policy narratives
• Strong relationship-building and stakeholder management skills
• Experience working in fast-paced, high-growth environments
• Interest in AI, language technology, and digital inclusion

Why This Role Matters

Voice is becoming a primary interface for how people interact with technology especially in a country as linguistically diverse as India.

This role offers a unique opportunity to work at the intersection of AI, policy, and real-world impact, helping shape how these systems are built and evaluated for millions of users.