Research Lead - Exercise & Movement

NationBuilding Foundation of India · Gurugram, India

About the Company

The organisation enables young Indians to pursue high-impact, purpose-driven careers in nation building. It believes in the power of youth to drive collective change and provides young professionals with the platform to create societal impact. NationBuilding Foundation of India drives interventions to address the most pressing challenges affecting India across priority themes, with sports and health among its focus areas.

About the Preventive Healthcare Vertical

Non-communicable diseases cause the highest number of premature deaths globally. India, too, faces a rising burden of non-communicable and preventable diseases driven by modifiable risk factors. However, the current systemic approach focuses on treatment and management rather than prevention.

The Preventive Healthcare Vertical seeks to shift this paradigm by advancing a science-driven approach to prevention that enables people not only to live longer, but to live healthier for longer. We believe that improving India's health outcomes requires deliberate investment in evidence-based preventive interventions across the life course, with particular emphasis on early-life prevention to reduce the burden of disease later in life.

The vertical is committed to placing healthspan alongside lifespan at the centre of public health thinking. By combining rigorous research, policy engagement, strategic communications, and scalable interventions, we seek to strengthen the preventive public health ecosystem, shape state action, and inspire healthier behaviours across populations. If this vision excites you, we invite you to join our dynamic team and contribute to the ambitious goal of building a healthier India.

About the Role

You will join the preventive public healthcare vertical to lead research on physical activity, exercise,

mobility, and their role in promoting healthy ageing and preventing disease.

As Research Lead for Exercise & Movement, you will be responsible for generating and synthesising evidence on physical activity and exercise, assessing their relationship with health and ageing outcomes, and developing evidence-based exercise recommendations. You will translate scientific evidence into practical recommendations and frameworks that can inform preventive health interventions, programmes, and policy.

Key Responsibilities

● Leading research on physical activity and exercise: You will lead research examining the role of

physical activity, exercise, mobility, and movement in preventing disease and promoting healthy

ageing across the life course.

NationBuilding Foundation of India

● Researching exercise science: You will examine evidence from exercise physiology, sports

science, kinesiology, and related disciplines to understand how different forms, intensities, and

patterns of physical activity influence health outcomes.

● Developing exercise recommendations: You will synthesise scientific evidence to develop

practical, evidence-based recommendations on physical activity and exercise, with consideration

of different population groups, life stages, and health needs.

● Evaluating interventions: You will assess evidence on exercise and physical activity interventions,

including their effectiveness, feasibility, and potential for implementation at scale in preventive

health settings.

● Generating and synthesising evidence: You will design and oversee literature reviews, evidence

syntheses, research studies, and analytical work related to exercise and movement. You will

ensure that research outputs are methodologically rigorous, scientifically credible, and relevant to

Indian contexts.

● Translating evidence into recommendations: You will translate research findings into clear and

actionable recommendations for preventive health programmes, policy, and interventions, working

closely with policy and implementation teams.

● Building domain knowledge: You will develop and maintain knowledge resources on physical

activity, exercise, mobility, fitness, and healthy ageing, strengthening the organisation's institutional understanding of exercise and movement science.

● Client interaction and communication: You will present research findings and exercise-related

recommendations to government stakeholders, clients, and allied institutions, translating technical

evidence into clear and actionable insights.

● Public interaction for advocacy: You will contribute to publications, workshops, discussions, and

other public-facing engagements that communicate the role of physical activity and exercise in

prevention and healthy ageing.

Eligibility criteria

Must have:

● 2-5 years of relevant experience in exercise science, sports science, human physiology, kinesiology, physical activity research, healthy ageing, or allied research domains, with demonstrated experience contributing to research or evidence-generation programmes.

● A postgraduate or doctoral qualification from a tier I or tier II institute in the following or similar

disciplines:

○ Exercise Science

○ Sports Science

○ Human Physiology

○ Kinesiology

○ Physical Activity / Movement Science

○ Public Health or related disciplines with a strong focus on physical activity and exercise

● Strong understanding of physical activity, exercise, mobility, fitness, and their relationship with health and healthy ageing.

NationBuilding Foundation of India

● Demonstrated experience in exercise or physical activity research and evidence synthesis, including literature reviews, research studies, systematic evidence assessment, or related methodologies.

● Ability to critically evaluate scientific evidence and translate findings into practical, evidence-based exercise and physical activity recommendations.

● Strong analytical and scientific writing skills, with the ability to communicate research findings

through technical reports, presentations, research outputs, and other knowledge products.

● Ability to work with multidisciplinary teams and engage effectively with researchers, clinicians,

exercise professionals, public health practitioners, and other domain experts.

Good to have:

● Experience conducting research on physical activity, sedentary behaviour, mobility, fitness, exercise interventions, or healthy ageing.

● Experience working with population-level physical activity or health datasets and analysing patterns of physical activity, exercise, or related health outcomes.

● Experience in exercise physiology, intervention evaluation, behavioural determinants of physical

activity, or implementation of exercise programmes.

● Peer-reviewed publications, technical reports, or other research outputs in exercise science, sports science, physical activity, healthy ageing, or related fields.

● Proficiency with analytical and statistical tools such as R, Stata, Python, or equivalent software used for research and quantitative analysis.

Role benefits

● Competitive compensation aligned with industry standards and experience

● Reimbursements will be provided in line with organisational travel policies and applicable norms

● Comprehensive medical insurance coverage as per organisational policy

● Direct exposure to government decision-making processes, including engagement with senior

policymakers, administrators, and institutional stakeholders

● Hands-on involvement across the full policy lifecycle from evidence generation and problem framing to consultation, advocacy, and implementation support

● Opportunity to contribute to high-impact, preventive public health initiatives with potential for

real-world policy adoption

Role location:

This is a full-time, in-office role based in Gurugram, Haryana.