Industry Manager

The Good Food Institute India (GFI India) is the leading organisation and expert in India's emerging smart protein sector—the ecosystem of plant-based, cultivated, and fermentation-derived meat, eggs, and dairy. As part of an international network of organisations across the U.S., Brazil, Europe, Israel, Japan, and APAC, we are on a mission to unlock the knowledge and resources needed to transform how meat is made—satisfying rising food demand in ways that accelerate climate progress, protect animals and ecosystems, and strengthen public health. Working with scientists, businesses, and the public sector, GFI India is leveraging the country's unique strengths—indigenous crops and agrarian economy, low-cost technologies and infrastructure, abundant talent pool, and biomanufacturing prowess—to pioneer an ecosystem that can put smart protein on every plate.

How You Will Make a Difference
It's a critical time for smart protein in India and globally. We've seen several exciting announcements and a promising beginning, with GFI India playing a vital role as an ecosystem enabler, bridging the gap between technical possibilities and market realities. But plenty of work remains to build a truly thriving industry. In this role, you will have the opportunity to lead GFI India's Industry team; ensure successful delivery of GFI India's industry projects, and serve as the primary connective tissue that enables the Science and Technology and Policy departments. You will steward interest from companies already exploring this sector and influence the broader sector by cultivating and solidifying high-level relationships across industry stakeholders, connecting them to scientific communities, academia, public agencies, and research bodies. You will also represent and cement GFI India's position as the expert on smart proteins in India and bring our work to the most influential audiences for building alliances and accelerating progress.

The Industry Manager will be responsible for:

Executing functional strategy for the Industry team

• Responsible for GFI India's Industry function, this includes setting and implementing a plan that enables techno-commercialisation work and identifying and pursuing the most viable priorities.
• Work with the SciTech and Policy teams to develop initiatives that help the smart protein sector scale and leverage domestic and/or international opportunities to absorb these innovations.
• Identify the barriers for the Indian smart protein industry and drive initiatives, develop resources and tools that create the right ecosystem towards scaling up in India, focusing on the most tractable points in the supply chain and/or consumer demand.
• Engage with smart protein companies to understand their commercialisation challenges and translate these into research, projects or initiatives (eg, pilot projects, cost drivers, gap analyses, etc.) on key topics that push the sector trajectory forward through credible data.
• Work closely with the SciTech and Policy teams, integrating and scaling networks handed over by them, converting technical breakthroughs and policy wins into commercial opportunities.
  
  

Strengthening high-impact industry partnerships

• Build and steward relationships with companies (including startups, food manufacturers, co-manufacturers, ingredient companies and distributors), providing them with the resources and connections needed to prioritise smart proteins from curiosity to business opportunity.
• Work with manufacturers, co-manufacturers, industry associations, consortia, allied organisations, and other key stakeholders in the smart protein supply ecosystem to act as a catalyst, make impactful connections and form partnerships to apply for public funding opportunities.
• Build relationships with investors and financial institutions that explore public and private investment opportunities for the sector.
• Develop and present a compelling commercial case for smart proteins to priority stakeholders, drawing parallels with mature Western markets where required while grounding them in India's unique context, such as the BioE3 policy.
• Be a thought leader by speaking at conferences, panel discussions, webinars, and other external engagements.
• Provide input towards proposals, projects, authoring reports, op-eds, and editorial contributions.
• Collaborate with colleagues across the international network of GFI affiliates on commercialisation activities, including working closely with colleagues across the affiliate network focused on scaling.
  
  

Leading and building capacity within GFI India's Industry department

• Manage all aspects of the Industry department, including but not limited to supervising staff, working with operations to manage department spending, reporting, hiring, training, and mentoring.
• As a member of the Management team (which includes the Managing Director, Chief of Staff, Head of SciTech, Head of Policy, and Head of Strategic Communications), contribute to stewarding of GFI India's organisational health.
• Represent GFI India at cross-affiliate team meetings, sharing and exchanging best practices with colleagues, coordinating activities and initiatives, and stewarding GFI India's work with GFI's Industry team for cross-affiliate projects.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
  
  

Who We're Looking For:
We are looking for a smart, thoughtful, and creative self-starter who wants to transform the food system by supporting the development of healthy and smart protein that is accessible to everyone.

We're looking for someone who can lead with empathy and is able to build happy, cohesive, effective teams that focus on delivering objectives and enable vocational self-actualisation. The successful candidate will bring a confident ability to provide thought leadership to the team.

GFI India staff enjoy high levels of autonomy and must be self-motivated, work well both independently and in concert with a larger group, and be comfortable working with a rapidly evolving and growing team.

An ideal candidate for the Industry Manager position will have experience that reflects the following:

Knowledge and experience

• A Bachelor's degree in a relevant field such as economics, business, food systems, food technology, supply chain management, life sciences, etc, with a preference for Master's degree holders.
• 7+ Years of relevant experience, preferably in the food industry, life science industry, corporate affairs/management/engagement, supply chain management, or other relevant areas with experience in setting functional project-related strategy, leading and managing teams, and delivering end-to-end initiatives.
• Strong understanding of business models, unit economics, cost drivers, and financing strategies, with the ability to assess commercial viability.
• Excellent people skills: the ability to influence, network, and build alliances and the confidence and authority to engage with corporate executives, build long-term relationships with them, and persuade and influence decision-makers.
• Fluency in English and Hindi is required.
• An established rapport with a broad range of agri-food and/or biotech industry contacts, with an understanding of the agri-food and/or the biotech ecosystem would be preferred.
• Conversational proficiency in other regional languages would be advantageous.
  
  

Skills and behavioural attributes

• Strong support for GFI India's philosophy; demonstrated interest in public health, environmentalism, hunger relief, or animal protection; and the drive and initiative to take responsibility for delivering impact.
• Data analysis and technical report writing skills, verbal communications and organisational skills, with experience in and comfort with communicating with a range of stakeholders.
• The demonstrated ability to communicate complex information, tailoring policy or scientific information clearly to a range of audiences, including senior industry leadership and government officials.
• Persuasive and engaging interpersonal skills; the ability to build effective working relationships with stakeholders of all levels in an organisation.
• Highly organised, with a strong work ethic and effective ability to see projects through to completion.
• Self-motivated and able to work well independently under pressure.
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and meet competing deadlines.
• Ability to work creatively and effectively as a team member in a small, cross-functional organisation.
• Comfort working remotely and in-person as required and in a rapidly growing and evolving organisation.
  
  

Terms of employment: Full-time
Reports to: Managing Director

Location: Remote, with in-person meetings, and travel monthly for up to 4 days as required
Salary: Up to INR 34 lakhs per annum, commensurate with skills and experience

Benefits:

• Hugely meaningful work at the forefront of a fast-growing, intellectually challenging sector
• Working in a warm, inclusive, and high-impact team environment
• Health insurance plan, work-from-home equipment allowances, mental health support budget
• Flexible work, including working from home and hybrid working
  
  

To apply, please visit this link - https://gfi-india.homerun.co/industry-manager-2/en_GB

Applications intake is closing at 5 PM on May 3, 2026