Senior Program Associate, Climate Program

Tags: climate change finance Environment
  • Added Date: Wednesday, 13 August 2025
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About us WRI India, an independent charity legally registered as the India Resources Trust, provides objective information and practical proposals to foster environmentally sound and socially equitable development. Through research, analysis, and recommendations, WRI India puts ideas into action to build transformative solutions to protect the earth, promote livelihoods, and enhance human well-being. We are inspired by and associated with World Resources Institute (WRI), a global research organization. Currently, over 250 researchers are working with WRI India in our offices in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.

Our mission and values:Our mission is to move human society to live in ways that protect Earthโ€™s environment and its capacity to provide for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations.Our values are shared ideals that bind us together: Integrity, Innovation, Urgency, Independence and Respect.

Our culture:We are committed to advancing gender and social equity for human well-being in our mission including equal opportunities in employment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, caste, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, or protected Veteran status.About WRI Indiaโ€™s Climate ProgramAt WRI Indiaโ€™s Climate Program we focus on cutting-edge, robust research and integrated solutions that can enable a low-carbon transition in India, while ensuring that the transition is equitable and just for its people and protects natural resources. Through applied research, the use of frameworks and tools, partnerships with key stakeholders and ground-level implementation, we seek to achieve impact at scale. Overview of the roleIndia has set for itself ambitious decarbonization targets that can put the country on a low carbon development pathway. While this climate ambition must also ensure that India meets its developmental targets and raises the standard of living of all its people, climate change impacts are already affecting communities and must be addressed. Additionally, while low carbon shifts in our energy systems, industries, and transport can bring in better economic, job and development outcomes at the aggregate levels, if not managed well, they could also disproportionately and negatively impact the livelihoods of the most vulnerable โ€“ including informal workers, small businesses, low-income households, and women. Taking cognizance of this, WRI Indiaโ€™s research is aimed at supporting policymakers on policy planning and implementation through economic modelling, policy analysis, developing tools and guidance, conducting vulnerability assessments, stakeholder engagement, capacity building and skilling interventions. WRI India is also working actively on building a thriving and resilient MSME sector in India by reducing their vulnerability to climate change, building capacity on undertaking climate action, accessing technology and finance for decarbonization, and preparing MSMEs for the low carbon transition though targeted, sector-specific skilling programs. In this regard, the Climate Program at WRI India is seeking a dynamic Senior Project Associate for its ongoing intervention with the Indian MSME sector to build their resilience towards impacts of climate change, build their capacity to decarbonize and stay competitive in the low carbon economy and support a โ€œjustโ€ transition by identifying skilling needs and developing skilling programs and building capacity on accessing climate finance. The Senior Project Associate will play a critical role in: (a) successfully engaging with MSMEs, policymakers, local partners and other relevant stakeholders, (b) conducting research and implementation of the project, (c) draw key insights and provide recommendations to meet the objectives and deliver impact, and (d) facilitate on-ground activities at the state or cluster level. How your day will unfold: The Senior Program Associate will undertake a range of tasks as listed below:

๐Ÿ“š ๐——๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—›๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ฎ ๐—๐—ผ๐—ฏ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—จ๐—ก ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฏ! ๐ŸŒ๐Ÿค ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ก๐—˜๐—ช ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐˜‚๐—ถ๐˜๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—š๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—จ๐—ก ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฏ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐˜๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜ ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—จ๐—ก๐—›๐—–๐—ฅ, ๐—ช๐—™๐—ฃ, ๐—จ๐—ก๐—œ๐—–๐—˜๐—™, ๐—จ๐—ก๐——๐—ฆ๐—ฆ, ๐—จ๐—ก๐—™๐—ฃ๐—”, ๐—œ๐—ข๐—  ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€! ๐ŸŒ

โš ๏ธ ๐‚๐ก๐š๐ง๐ ๐ž ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐‹๐ข๐Ÿ๐ž ๐๐จ๐ฐ: ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ๐Ÿ๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐“๐ž๐œ๐ก๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ฎ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐ž๐ญ ๐š ๐ฃ๐จ๐› ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐”๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐Ž๐–!

Help in building and nurturing relationships with MSMEs, local governmental, industry and MSME organizations, educational institutions, associations, and communities we work with across projectsLead focused interviews, consultations, discussions, and other engagement with cluster associations, MSME units in the clusters, skill development partners, experts, policy makers and government officials as needed throughout the projectConduct secondary research to complement the interviews and consultations to identify and map existing vulnerabilities, risks, skilling needs and impact on womenConduct and support data collection, data analysis and present analysis to relevant internal and external stakeholdersLead coordination and dissemination of capacity building activitiesOrganize events/conferences/ trainings/webinars that WRI India hosts or participates in Support project by ensuring timely completion of activities and high-quality deliverablesWrite compelling and persuasive research products, articles, and blogs, and provide research and content development support, as needed Keep abreast of industry trends, policy landscape and sectoral developmentsPerform other tasks as assigned by the Project Lead and Climate Program Director Qualifications and requirements we seek: Postgraduate degree/ Masters degree in Social Sciences, Economics, or Public PolicyAt least 4 years of relevant industry experience, preferably in relation to environmental/climate change interventions, including experience with MSMEs, or local communities Experience of undertaking GHG measurement and management interventions or energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in MSMEs or planning and implementing skilling programs or capacity building for small businesses, women, or skilled/semi-skilled workers is highly desirableWillingness to travel to MSME clusters for research and engagementAwareness of environment and climate domain โ€“ key issues and trendsExperience of working with and coordinating across multiple stakeholders is preferredExcellent interpersonal skills; good communications and writing skillsWillingness to learn and develop new skills to work on cutting edge researchAbility to engage constructively and collaboratively with the team members and a strong sense of respect for the team members and stakeholdersResponsible, resourceful, and self-motivatedFluent in Tamil and EnglishFluency in other regional languages is highly preferred Potential Salary and Benefits: 14,00,000 to 18,00,000 INR CTC Per AnnumSalary shall be commensurate with experience and skills. WRI offers a generous and comprehensive benefits package.Duration: 1 years as term hire (extendable based on performance and project requirements) Location: Chennai, possibility of field work in Coimbatore or other parts of Tamil Nadu Start date: As soon as possible
List of Documents to be attached:
Cover LetterResumeOnly shortlisted applicants will be contacted for interview purpose.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) @WRI IndiaWRI India values and promotes diversity, equity and inclusion across all areas of our work and workforce. Integrating these values into our actions fosters a progressive and collaborative culture and can also enhance our impact. It is our responsibility to create a welcoming working environment for people of diverse cultures, backgrounds and experience to learn together. We are responsible for fostering a safe and inclusive workplace where questions, concerns and information about diversity, equity and inclusion are part of our ongoing dialogue and development.Learn more about WRI Indiaโ€™s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Click Here People-centric to the core: We keep our people at the center of everything we do - from a welcoming work environment to benefits and a culture that encourages staff to stay healthy, happy, engaged, and growing. Some of the non-monetary benefits that our staff get:

Health benefits: We cover health insurance for you and your loved ones for up to INR 8 lakhs Term Insurance: Our term insurance policy covers life coverage of 50 lakhs per staff member Employee Assistance program: Promoting mental well-being and supporting staff in achieving a satisfying work-life balance Health & Nutrition: Personalized diet recommendation from a certified dietitian based on the physical health condition and lifestyle Flexible work schedule: Alternative work arrangements for all who are eligible by nature of their job Learning culture: Workshops and trainings to empower staff, encourage new learning opportunities Rest and Recharge weeks: We encourage staff to take time off to rest, rejuvenate, upskill, and pursue their interests. Our leave policy: Avail personal time off at 36 per year, along with public holidays, maternity, paternity, and adoption leaves. Click here to know more about our benefits Careers | WRI INDIA (wri-india.org) Equal employment @WRI India We believe in equal employment, it is our policy to recruit and provide opportunities for advancement in all job classifications without regard to caste, religion, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, parental status, or disability.

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