Field Counsellor

About Us:

Good Business Lab (GBL) is a research-to-action nonprofit that advances access to high-quality jobs for low-income workers. We believe a truly good job is more than wages — it creates conditions for workers to thrive. Yet too few workers have access to sustained wage growth, supportive workplaces, and real opportunities for advancement. GBL works to change this by expanding pathways into better-fit, higher-opportunity work and improving job quality within large employers. We study worker needs, partner with workers and employers to co-design interventions that serve both individual and business goals, and evaluate impact through causal methods. Across manufacturing, retail, and food service, our work shows that improving job quality also improves firm performance. Globally, we have directly improved outcomes for over 500,000 workers, with indirect reach across an ecosystem impacting nearly 2 million more.

The founders of the Lab are Achyuta Adhvaryu - Professor of Economics and Director of 21st Century India Center at the School of Global Policy and Strategy, UC San Diego (www.achadhvaryu.com), Anant Ahuja - Head of ESG and Sustainability at Shahi Exports Pvt. Ltd., and Anant Nyshadham - Assistant Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy at the University of Michigan (www.anantnyshadham.com).

About the role

Good Business Lab, in partnership with researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, is testing a lay counsellor-delivered psychological intervention for harmful alcohol use in factory settings. In line with our goals, we are seeking to investigate whether this intervention can deliver both improvements in worker well-being and business impacts.

The Lay Counsellor will learn to deliver Counselling for Alcohol Problems (CAP) to enrolled participants at the project site. You will report to the Clinical Associate and the Field Coordinator, and receive individual and group clinical supervision throughout the delivery period. You do not need any prior clinical experience or training in counselling. This programme was designed to be delivered by people without formal qualifications, and all counsellors are trained before they begin delivering sessions.

The first stage of this role is training. All selected applicants will attend a five-day intensive training conducted by Sangath, the organisation that developed the intervention, at their office in Porvorim, Goa. Training expenses will be paid by Good Business Lab. The training covers the treatment manual, techniques, session structure, record-keeping, confidentiality requirements and the safety and referral protocol, and concludes with a competency assessment. Continuing into session delivery is contingent on passing this assessment.

We strongly encourage applications from individuals belonging to historically underrepresented and marginalized communities. If comfortable, please share your social location in your application. This information will be limited to the hiring team and will not have any detrimental impact on your candidature.

Location: Training Period 5 Days in Goa, Post Training- Bangalore

Duration: 5 days training + 1 month engagement (any extension will be on the basis of project requirement and performance)

Compensation: Post-training: INR 1000/day Training Period: INR 800/day

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Deliver CAP sessions one-on-one to enrolled participants, following the treatment manual.
• Build rapport with participants and engage them in conversation in a non-judgemental way, using the techniques covered in the training.
• Schedule and confirm sessions with participants, coordinating with the field team and making sure to be in the confirmed room for session delivery at the right time.
• Attend individual and group supervision sessions with the Clinical Associate. Discuss cases, raise challenges, and act on the feedback you receive.
• Protect participant confidentiality at all times.
• Safeguard equipment issued to you, including recording devices, tablets and chargers.
• Attend additional trainings, refreshers, and study team meetings as required.
• Conduct day-to-day surveys in stakeholder units and hostels.
• Other related work, as necessary.

Who are you?

• Bachelor's in psychology or related field.
• Ability to understand and communicate fluently in Hindi and Kannada. Basic reading, writing and speaking skills in English are a plus.
• Ability to talk about alcohol use, family conflict and emotional difficulty without judgment, and to hold a conversation where a participant becomes emotional or defensive.
  
• Genuine interest in learning a structured counselling method and delivering it as designed, rather than substituting your own approach.
• Ability to keep detailed, accurate records and to submit them on time.
• Ability to complete assigned tasks and meet deadlines while maintaining high-quality work.
• Availability to attend the five-day training without interruption, on the dates scheduled, in Porvorim, Goa.
• Ability to work 8 to 9 hours a day and openness to travelling in and around Bengaluru city.
• Detail-oriented, with good oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to operate a mobile phone and/or tablet.

Prior experience in counselling or community health work is not required.

We understand that candidates may not meet every listed requirement exactly. So please avoid the confidence gap, if this role excites you, and go ahead and apply. You don’t have to match all the listed requirements exactly to be considered for this role.

Additional Requirements: (If Any)

You should be comfortable with:

• Working in a team with shared responsibilities.
• Independently coordinating and collaborating with coworkers to accomplish key responsibilities.
• Travel and relocation across Karnataka for the duration of the engagement.
• Receiving regular feedback on your performance and changing your approach in response to it where needed.
  

Working hours: 9 am to 6 pm, with a lunch break of 30 to 40 minutes. Session days are scheduled in advance and follow participant shift patterns. Counsellors should expect to be at the site 6 days a week during the delivery period, with session timings that may fall in the morning or evening, and time for training, supervision and note-taking during the day.

Note: This job description may be subject to modification or addition to meet the project's evolving needs.

Recent projects and blog posts:

To acclimatize yourself with some of our work, you can explore our website where you’ll find project insights, podcasts and reports. You can also read our blog posts on Medium, and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter (X), and Instagram to learn more about our work.

Deadline to Apply: (If any/On rolling basis)

The process:

We are glad you’re interested in applying for this role! We deeply value your time and effort.

Our interview process for this role includes the following steps:

1. Resume Review
2. Introductory Conversation
3. Case Study Based Interview round

Depending on the candidate pool, we may add any additional interviews to make a well thought through decision.

The hiring team will review your application after each round and share a timely update on your application status and keep you updated on your progression through the following stages.

Our commitment to diversity:

GBL is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, age, physical disability, or length of time spent unemployed. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We are a young and growing company making us the ideal ground for team members to experiment, take on dynamic roles, and grow with us. We focus on happiness, output, and quality of work.

If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know during the recruiting process.

Background Verification:

Employment with GBL is contingent upon satisfactory background verification. GBL reserves the right to withdraw the offer in the event of any adverse or unsatisfactory findings.