Senior Program Associate – Energy Finance

Job Description

Senior Program Associate – Energy Finance

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 Earth’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.

Program Overview for Energy

The objective of the WRI India energy program is to inform and guide India’s transition to cleaner energy through strong research, ground-level implementation experience, partnerships with key stakeholders and communicating our work. The 5 pillars of the energy program focus on increasing clean energy demand, increasing clean energy supply, supporting sub-national energy transitions, raising the issues of materials and circularity for the energy transition and ensuring equitable development through energy transitions.

About the role

WRI India’s Energy Program has a four-pronged strategy to support India’s transition to clean energy - Clean Energy Supply, Decarbonized Energy Consumption, Energy for Equitable Development and Energy, Minerals & Circularity. In this role, you will explore the different types of financial mechanisms that are being deployed for adoption of clean energy and energy efficiency solutions across different consumer categories related to these four pillars. You will be required to understand the challenges faced by the end-user in accessing finance from different sources. You will also contribute to research that is being designed to identify the gaps and the potential solutions that may work or that are already being tested out at pilot level.

How your day will unfold

You will contribute under the following functions:

Research and knowledge creation (50%)

• Work towards the development new research ideas with the support of the existing team members
• Continue the existing research on end-user financing across the different consumer segments and technologies
• Conduct quantitative and qualitative research to inform the team about the financing tools and mechanisms for mitigation and adaptation
• Track and evaluate government budgetary allocations and expenditures across states and at the central level, monitor international finance flows, private sector investments
• Support in publishing the research on clean energy finance in India and gradually leading such publications
• Mentor junior researchers in designing and executing research

Stakeholder management (20%)

• Identify the stakeholders relevant for engagement across end-users, financial institutions, clean energy solution providers, government departments at the national and state level
• Maintain database of stakeholders with regular updates to track conversations by co-ordinating across the Energy pillars
• Liaise with these relevant stakeholders to seek inputs into the energy finance work
• Organize stakeholder consultations with different sets of organizations across multiple states

Understanding policy and regulatory environment (20%)

• Stay abreast of policy developments at the central and state level and analyze instruments relevant to India’s clean energy transition
• Understand the budget allocation from Central and Centrally sponsored schemes and how they interact with the state budgets and programs
• Understand the role of regulations in promoting the clean energy transition – in terms of regulatory certainty, de-risking investments, enabling new financing models, creating market demand and integrating these components into the finance work

Outreach and communication (10%)

• Participate in external and/or internal meetings and stakeholders’ consultations occasionally and provide inputs, as necessary
• Co-author blogs, publications, articles, and reports documenting research, case studies, and insights to disseminate research findings
• Present and communicate research in different platforms including the internal meetings
• Develop summaries of workshops for sharing with stakeholders, convened during consultations

Qualifications and Requirements we seek:

• Experience in the energy sector in the finance space with strong understanding of India’s clean energy ecosystem
• Familiarity with financial institutions development finance institutions, financial mechanisms
• Strong expertise in conducting research in the sector with focus on finance
• Experience co-authoring and contributing to publications with excellent writing skills, proven experience of writing clearly and concisely for specific audiences, e.g. policymakers, business leaders, etc
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work in multicultural settings and with diverse teams of individuals and colleagues.
• Project development management experience.
• Detail-oriented and organized thinker who can juggle multiple, competing priorities.
• Flexibility to travel 50% of the time or more as required
• Ability to work on datasets related to financial and investment trends
• Graduate degree in a relevant discipline, such as finance, energy policy, public policy, economics, environmental law or policy
• At least 5-7 years of relevant work experience.

Potential Salary and Benefits: 14,00,000 to 18,00,000 INR CTC Per Annum

Salary shall be commensurate with experience and skills. WRI offers a generous and comprehensive benefits package.

Duration: 2 years as term hire (extendable based on performance and project requirements)

Location: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi.

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 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.