ABOUT THE ROLE
At New Story, we pioneer solutions to end the global housing crisis by empowering families to become land and homeowners in thriving communities. We believe innovative approaches are crucial to achieving this mission at scale, and we are committed to tackling the systemic barriers inherent in affordable housing and financial inclusion for underserved populations.

We seek a visionary Director of Innovation to lead our efforts in developing and scaling breakthrough solutions that tackle systemic barriers in affordable housing and financial inclusion for low-income families in rural Mexico.

This role requires overseeing the full innovation lifecycle, blending the execution focus of a startup leader, the analytical rigor of a scientist, and the deep empathy of a user-centered designer to bridge ideas and implementation for social impact and sustainable change.

WHAT YOU'LL ACCOMPLISH

• Deliver tools and materials to administer a comprehensive, end-to-end processes for sourcing, scoping, evaluating, and prioritizing innovation ideas for piloting

• Create an innovation pipeline with 20+ new potential pilots in strategic areas such as:

  • New housing finance products

  • Alternative credit scoring models

  • Digital literacy and financial management tools

  • Mobile payment solutions

  • Climate-smart housing innovations

  • Construction process optimization

  • Innovative housing plans or design methods

  • AI use cases and applications

• Execute 3-5 concurrent innovation pilots with the objective of launching 1+ innovation as a scaled implementation across our core program

• Launch Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) framework to assess the impact of innovation pilots

WHERE YOU'LL FOCUS

Strategic Innovation Leadership

• Cultivate and champion a culture of innovation, experimentation, and continuous learning throughout the organization

• Secure buy-in, resources, and support for innovation initiatives from leadership, stakeholders, and potential external funders

• Continuously monitor, analyze, and engage the external landscape to identify emerging opportunities and source innovative ideas and technologies

Innovation Pipeline & Project Management

• Lead robust sourcing, evaluation, and prioritization of innovation ideas for piloting

• Design and execute innovation pilots; includes developing detailed project plans, defining hypotheses, establishing key metrics, tracking performance, and iterating rapidly as needed

• Oversee rigorous mixed-method analysis of pilot outcomes, with the aim of generating evidence-based recommendations for scaled implementation or further development

• Collaborate with Director of Field Operations to plan and implement successful innovations across the core program

Data-Driven Monitoring and Evaluation

• Use M&E data and field/customer feedback to continuously refine strategic plans, innovation pipeline, and specific initiatives and pilots

• Work closely with the Communications and Development teams to align innovation strategies and outcomes with donor and investor engagement efforts

WHO YOU ARE

• 7-10 years of experience with a strong track record of “0 to 1” execution, including hands-on product/service/process development and full lifecycle piloting, ideally in a startup environment

• Proven experience deploying innovation methodologies/frameworks (behavioral change, human-centered design thinking) to meet needs of underserved communities and drive systemic change

• Strategic and hands-on operator that can both design and execute, balancing vision with scrappy, tactical delivery

• Operates with a business mindset and understands how to use innovation to impact the bottom line

• Robust analytical and quantitative skills, with experience in data analysis to inform decision-making and the ability to structure complex ideas into actionable strategies

• Cross-functional generalist with strong experience working across multiple disciplines and coordinating cross-functional stakeholders/teams

• Demonstrated ability to thrive in ambiguous environments, with strong problem-solving skills, adaptability, and initiative

• Strong conceptual understanding of relevant technologies (such as fintech, AI, climate tech, etc.) and their potential applications, particularly within social impact preferred

• Bilingual fluency in English and Spanish required

• Willingness to travel frequently to regional project sites and potentially internationally

REPORTING STRUCTURE

This role reports to the Managing Director of Impact.

LOCATION & COMPENSATION

This is a hybrid role based in Mexico City, Mexico. Our annual salary range for this role is $1.8M - $2.2M MXN (gross salary).

BENEFITS

Health & Wellness. We believe in thriving communities and that starts with our team being happy and healthy. New Story currently covers 100% of Employee-Only premium costs for Major Medical Health Insurance through AXA and Life Insurance through MAPFRE. New Story will also cover 60% of premium costs for a team member's dependents. Additionally, team members are provided a Flex Benefit Card with a monthly allowance of $1,000 MXN for supermarket, food, and wellness expenses.

Aguinaldo. Team members receive a federal mandated holiday bonus equivalent to 15 days of pay on or before December 20. This amount will be pro-rated for team members within their first year at New Story.

Vacation Premium. On the first (and subsequent) work anniversary, team members will be paid their annual vacation premium bonus equivalent to the number of vacation days allotted for the year at a rate of 25%. Team members enjoy a base of 12 vacation days per year.

Unlimited Vacation after the 1st Year. We believe you should have a flexible schedule that makes space for family, wellness, and fun. For the first 12 months, you'll have 12 days of PTO, 14 paid holidays, and YOUR birthday off. After year one, you can enjoy an unlimited vacation policy. This time off is paid at the regular base rate of pay.

Summer and Winter Breaks. We believe rest is critical to getting results. We intentionally pause as a whole company twice per year. Team members enjoy the first week of July and the week between December 24 and January 1.

5-Week Sabbatical after 5th Year. At the 5-year mark, we celebrate your hard work and dedication with a sabbatical. Team members take 5 weeks off fully paid to rest, recharge, and reflect.

Paid Parental Leave. Primary caregivers are given 12 weeks paid time off. Secondary caregivers are given 6 weeks paid time off.

Adoption Reimbursement. For families who are willing to adopt, thank you! New Story will reimburse eligible team members up to $180,000 MXN for adoption related expenses.

Intentional Gatherings. As a remote team, we recognize how valuable and rejuvenating in-person time can be. Whether it’s an all-company Team Summit, Fun Camp for fundraisers, or spontaneous department gatherings, we set aside budget to gather in-person to have fun, reflect, and plan together.

Improve Thru Learning. We believe in always learning and leveling up our skills. Whether it's paying for a conference, an online course, or books, an internal Hackathon, a Tea(m) Talk, or a lunch and learn, we invest in each team member so they can be the best at their craft.

Trips to the Field. It’s amazing to meet the families we help and see the homes up close and personal. You'll get to visit the work first hand in either Mexico or El Salvador. Prioritization will vary by role.

ABOUT NEW STORY

At New Story, we pioneer solutions to end the global housing crisis by empowering families to become land and homeowners in thriving communities. We work with local organizations in Latin America to build thriving communities and are committed to researching and developing innovative ways to build better and faster. Our team is distributed across the US and in Mexico City, but united by our passion for social impact. Since New Story started in 2014, we have built over 38 communities across 4 countries resulting in over 14,000 lives impacted through safe housing. We have several projects across Latin America and more on the way, with the goal of helping 1M people by 2030.

You can find us drinking coffee or bubble tea and eating churros wherever we can find them.

ABOUT OUR CULTURE

Culture is #1 for us. We invest significant time, focus, and resources to building the best environment possible. Why? Over the course of the year we spend a large chunk of our time at work. So at New Story, we want our team to find fulfillment, autonomy, mastery, and joy at work. A workplace where you can bring your whole self.

At New Story, you can expect to find a culture that reflects our values:

Humble Pursuit Of Excellence. A combination of personal humility and intense professional will.

Express Gratitude and Empathy. How would you like to be treated? That’s how we strive to treat others. Always go above and beyond to do for others what you'd like them to do for you.

Improve Through Learning and Feedback. Learn why something worked or didn't work, then implement the learning into future actions.

Team of Founders. An extreme ownership mindset where you see a problem, take action, and go above and beyond to help the team.

Think Big, Breakdown, and Execute. Set big measurable goals, formulate a plan, then execute the plan with relentless focus.

Simplify. Do more with less. This applies to everything: marketing, design, team meetings, writing, operations, and beyond.

A WELCOMING PLACE FOR ALL

New Story strives to nurture a welcoming culture of shared values and radical candor for everyone. We welcome all applicants, regardless of background, to submit an application. Black, Indigenous, and people of color are especially encouraged to apply! We know we will only succeed if we have a team who brings a wide variety of perspectives and backgrounds.

As an equal opportunity employer, our hiring decisions are based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time of hire. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all employment practices within our organization.

Join us.