Global Development Incubator

5 open jobs

About one in three children in low- and middle-income countries is lead poisoned, and roughly a third of that traces back to unsafe battery recycling. The Battery Index is how we figure out which recyclers are safer than others - the standard buyers, investors, and regulators use to decide who should operate. The Research & Methods Lead will build the science behind this critical tool. Organization:  Partnership for Battery Action, incubated by the Global Development Incubator Location:  Remote, with at least 5 hours of daily overlap with Eastern North American timezone Travel:  International field travel 4-5 times per year Contract Type:  Full-time equivalent; 220 days annually Reports To:  Battery Index Strategy Lead Application Deadline:  17 July 2026; applications reviewed on a rolling basis Start Date: As soon as possible; 1-year contract minimum About The Partnership for Battery Action Lead poisoning affects an estimated 800 million children worldwide. Its health burden is comparable to tuberculosis or malaria, yet it receives a fraction of the attention and funding. At least one-third of lead poisoning in low-income countries traces to a single source: unsafe recycling of used lead-acid batteries (ULABs) at facilities with few or no pollution controls, releasing lead into surrounding communities, soil, water, and air (Crawfurd et al, 2026). Unsafe recycling persists not because safer alternatives are technically impossible, but because the market rewards cheap, polluting operators. The Partnership for Battery Action (Pb Action) exists to change that. Our 15-year goal is to eliminate more than 80% of unsafe ULAB recycling globally by consolidating the industry toward fewer, safer facilities - making responsible recycling financially sustainable while removing the conditions that let unsafe operators compete. Pb Action is incubated by the Global Development Incubator, Inc (GDI), a US nonprofit organization. The successful candi