Projects Division, The Voluntary Health Services, Chennai -600113
|
Job Title
|
Writer – Qualitative Storytelling & Knowledge Products
|
|
No. of position
|
1 Position – Full-Time engagement
|
|
Project
|
VHS-CDC Project ASPIRE
|
|
Location
|
Chennai
|
|
Last date to apply
|
May 02, 2026
|
Overview
Most development organisations can tell you how many people they reached. Very few can make you feel it. VHS is hiring someone who can close that gap.
About the Role
VHS works at the intersection of HIV, health systems, and community. We generate rigorous programme data, reach significant numbers of people, and have accumulated a decade of learning that is genuinely useful to the sector.
What we lack—and are honest about—is the capacity to translate that evidence into the kind of writing that actually changes minds. A programme officer who reads our monitoring data knows what we did. This role exists to make them understand why it matters.
This is not a communications or PR role. It is not operational reporting. It is authorial work: the craft of moving from “4,200 PLHIV reached” to a three-page case study that carries the weight of a real programme and a real human life.
What You Will Do
Case studies and narratives: Develop long-form case studies, programme narratives, and learning documents intended for donor and policy audiences.
Knowledge products: Build and maintain a portfolio of knowledge products—distinct from compliance reports—designed to influence, attract funding, and establish thought leadership.
Field Engagement: Conduct interviews with programme staff, partners, and communities to gather primary material; know when a statistic needs a person behind it.
Production: Work with the design team to bring final documents to production quality that matches the standards of the best-resourced organisations in the sector.
Editorial objectivity: Ask the obvious questions that internal teams stop asking; maintain the editorial distance that makes documentation credible to external readers.
What You Bring
- A portfolio of long-form writing—journalism, narrative non-fiction, policy-relevant case studies, or equivalent—that demonstrates you can structure an argument and carry a reader.
- Genuine curiosity about development programming. You do not need an MPH; you need to be the kind of writer who does the reading.
- Experience working with complex, data-rich programmes and the ability to make evidence accessible without dumbing it down.
- The editorial independence to challenge framing, push back on jargon, and ask what is actually interesting about a result.
- Comfort operating in a semi-structured environment: you will have institutional support but will largely own your own work plan.
What This Is Not
This role will not produce M&E reports, donor compliance narratives, quarterly progress updates, or social media content. Those functions exist and are well handled. This role fills a different gap—one that strong development organisations consistently underinvest in because it is not required for compliance. DevNet India is choosing to invest in it.
The Right Candidate
- Has written for audiences who did not already agree with them
- Knows what makes a case study credible versus promotional
- Has covered complex systems—health, policy, or public programmes—without losing the human thread
- Brings editorial distance: close enough to understand the programme, far enough to ask the obvious questions
Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in any discipline with relevant field experience and knowledge
Age limit: The maximum age limit is 62 years for the above position
Period of engagement : This appointment shall purely be on a contractual basis. The initial contract will be made till Sep 2026, which may be extended based on performance evaluation.
Start Date : Immediate
Remuneration: Competitive remuneration commensurate with qualifications and experience, and aligned with prevailing Project norms
How to Apply : Send a CV and, more importantly, two writing samples that best represent your long-form narrative work to baskarkasi@vhsprojects.org with the subject line: “Storytelling Writer — [Your Name]” Applications without writing samples will not be reviewed.
Equal Opportunity: VHS is an equal opportunity employer. Candidates from communities affected by HIV and from underrepresented groups are especially encouraged to apply.