The SF Climate Week 2025 calendar is now open! 🎉 Register for 200+ events now before they fill up.

Back

Senior Program Associate- Climate Resilience Practice (Chennai)

2 months ago

Full time role

Remote · Ambattur Industrial Estate, Che... more... more

Who we are and what we do:

Who we are and what we do?

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. WRI India’s mission is to move human society to live in ways that protect Earth’s environment and its capacity to provide for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations. 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 research organization. Currently over 250 researchers are working with WRI India in our offices at Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

About the Role:

WRI India is seeking a Senior Project Associate to join the Climate Resilience Practice (CRP) team in India. The Associate will support the vision of CRP to help different tiers of the government, civil society, and other relevant stakeholders to mainstream climate change into development planning and policies for the state of Tamil Nadu.

WRI’s CRP team engages in a diverse body of work. The current projects build on a foundation of almost 10 years of work on climate change adaptation, much of which was conducted by a prior incarnation known as the Vulnerability & Adaptation Initiative. CRP has developed path-setting knowledge products to assess national institutional capacity and support civil society to enhance resilience efforts at the scale required.

This position is a unique opportunity for those wishing to be at the forefront of cutting-edge research and implementation in the field of climate change planning, institutional capacity building and mobilizing finance for climate action. The Associate will join a team of highly motivated individuals at CRP and work closely with key government stakeholders in the state to train and build institutional capacity to mainstream climate change (adaptation and mitigation) into the state’s overall development planning. The candidate will be housed in the department of environment (DoE) with the TN government, and engage in day-to-day coordination to support the state government in planning and implementation of their climate change agenda.

About the Role:

WRI India is looking for a Senior Project Associate to join the Climate Resilience Practice (CRP) team in India. You will support the vision of CRP to help different tiers of the government, civil society, and other relevant partners to mainstream climate change into development planning and policies for the state of Tamil Nadu.

WRI’s CRP team engages in a diverse body of work. The current projects build on a foundation of almost 10 years of work on climate change adaptation, much of which was conducted by a prior incarnation known as the Vulnerability & Adaptation Initiative. CRP has developed path-setting knowledge products to assess national institutional capacity and support civil society to enhance resilience efforts at the scale required.

You will be a unique opportunity for those wishing to cut-edge research and implementation in the field of climate change planning, institutional capacity building and mobilizing finance for climate action. You will join a team at CRP and work with important government partners in the state to train and build institutional capacity to mainstream climate change (adaptation and mitigation) into the state’s overall development planning. You will be housed in the department of environment (DoE) with the TN government, and contribute to daily coordination to support the state government in planning of their climate change agenda.

How your day will unfold:

Research & Knowledge

Support in designing a training module and implementing capacity building workshops at state, district and city level on mainstreaming climate change and climate proofing sectoral development plans
Develop frameworks for integrating climate adaptation and resilience actions with district and city plans and budgets, specifically in Tamil Nadu
Help develop important climate adaptation strategies and investment plans for states
Support research on climate finance and mobilizing resources for adaptation activities
Support the conceptualization and development of concept notes for funding climate change projects for states
Help pilot test frameworks and tools that help states prioritise climate actions to mainstream with development budgets
Lead the work at the city level with knowledge on urban planning and budgets
Support field visits for the climate smart villages
Undertake field visits to the relevant priority districts for gathering information and feedback from diverse partners

Provide technical support to states, districts and cities in developing and evaluating nature-based solutions for climate action

Collecting and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data
Contribute to knowledge products and working papers
Provide support to other CRP projects

Administrative

Partner with governmental and non-governmental partners and other important identified partners
Plan and implement state level training programmes for important partners.
Organize internal and external meetings, workshops, conferences and other distribution activities.
Support the state Department of Environment in developing relevant government orders. Notifications following their demand, with support from the team

Qualifications and Requirements we seek:

Required Qualifications:

Master’s Degree in Economics, Environment, Natural Resource Economics, Climate Change, Development Studies or related discipline.
Between 5-7 years of relevant fulltime research work experience in related domains
Experience of international, national and sub-national climate change policy landscape (SAPCC, NAPCC, NDC, NAP, city climate action plans)
An understanding of the government budget planning process and public finance management
Prior work experience at the sub-national level and liasoning with state governments
Prior work experience in the state of Tamil Nadu
Undertake complex quantitative and qualitative analysis of large data sets
Willingness to travel for work and conduct field visits and on short notice
Ability to work independently and shoulder responsibility
Fluency in English, Tamil and Hindi required

Preferred Qualifications:

Prior experience writing reports and publishing papers on climate change policy
Experience in climate finance research, in particular a firm grasp on public budgetary processes across different sectors at national and sub-national levels
Prior work experience with research organizations, field level experience
Prior experience in engaging and working with governmental agencies and sectors, and networking with other partners from the environmental and developmental space.
Prior experience with building and reviewing concept notes/proposals for Green Climate Fund, Adaptation Fund and other avenues of climate finance.

Duration: 1 year hire and extendable based on performance

Salary and Benefits: 1400000-1800000 INR CTC Per annum
Salary shall be commensurate with experience and skills. WRI offers a generous and comprehensive benefits package.

Location: Chennai

Start date: As soon as possible.

List of Documents to be attached:

Cover Letter
Resume

Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for interview purpose.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) @WRI India

WRI 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 India’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Click Here

People-centric to the core:

We keep our people at the centre 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.