Programme Director, Clean Energy

The International Forum for Environment, Sustainability & Technology (iFOREST), is looking for an experienced, dynamic and entrepreneurial professional to lead and grow the organisation’s the Clean Energy Programme.

This is a leadership position, wherein the successful candidate will be expected to take complete responsibility for delivering the existing Programme and driving its future growth. She/he would also be expected to contribute to institutional growth, with support in finetuning policies and establishing best practices.

In terms of the background, it is imperative that the candidate has a proven aptitude for analytical research and multi-stakeholder engagement. She/he should come in with a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of India’s clean energy sector, its policy and regulatory landscape, its key actors, and the impediments to scale-up. The candidate must be a thought leader, with clear perspectives on the way forward for the clean energy sector and have excellent communication skills to articulate the same using various mediums. On the operations end, it is important that the candidate has experience in managing deadline-driven knowledge assignments, designing programmes/knowledge assignments of various scales, and managing large teams.

It is very crucial that the candidate clearly understands and appreciates the role played by think-tanks in shaping public policy and supporting the implementation of positive policy moves.

Location: Noida, India

Required Experience: 15+ years

Education: Master’s Degree (Required)

Length of commitment: 3 years+

Reporting to: CEO

iFOREST

iFOREST is an independent not-for-profit research and innovation organisation that was established in 2019 to identify, promote and scale up solutions for pressing environment-development challenges in India and other developing countries in Asia and Africa.

Our work is rooted in regional priorities to accelerate environmental actions at the sub-national level and to improve national policies and plans to support it. Our mission is to address the unique needs of regions by leveraging our resources and expertise to scale up national action and make a global impact. We use our regional knowledge to inform national policy and plans and strengthen international collaboration.

To achieve our goals, we conduct independent evidence-based research, develop new knowledge and innovative solutions, convene stakeholders to increase awareness and build consensus, and partner with think tanks, civil society, government agencies, philanthropies and industry to scale up solutions.

The Clean Energy Programme

The Clean Energy programme of iFOREST focuses on the issue of growing regional imbalance in India’s renewable energy (RE) expansion. Given that the installed capacity of RE is mainly focused in the southern and western states, the Clean Energy programme seeks to catalyse inclusive green energy transitions in the eastern and northeastern states. The programme aims to support the development of RE, including distributed RE, in ‘low-RE’ states to meet the 500 GW target by 2030.

To achieve this objective, iFOREST works closely with implementors, regulators and policymakers at the state level, industry representatives, and civil society/ research organisations. The work cuts across independent research, structured engagement and implementation support initiatives.

The Role

The Prorgamme Director for the Clean Energy Programme will be responsible for the delivery of research and engagement outputs pertaining to the Clean Energy Programme. This would entail designing, guiding and conducting impactful research and multi-stakeholder engagement, with the support of a dedicated team, to enable the growth of RE resources in eastern region states. In addition, they would also be expected to identify new areas of work to support institutional growth, as well as contribute substantially to institutional strengthening and brand building.

Specific tasks to be undertaken by the Programme Director are highlighted below:

Lead research initiatives of the Clean Energy Programme.

Take complete responsibility of the ongoing and planned projects under the programme. Thus, take complete accountability for high quality and timely execution of all committed activities and deliverables.
Design comprehensive plans for executing research and engagement assignments. This would include developing the overall strategy and methodology, as well as identifying the specific scope of work (activities and tasks) for the research team members.
Assign the research plan to the team, and monitor its execution during the project cycle through timely interventions (in the form of review, guidance and course correction).
Build, guide and manage research teams in executing in-depth primary and secondary research, and quantitative and qualitative assessments.
Conceptualize new research ideas that are aligned with programme objectives.
Extensively write and review research documents, including analytical reports, policy briefs, factsheets, peer-reviewed journal articles etc.
Be responsible for programme budget and spending.
Engage with existing funders for technical and financial progress reporting, and other required communications.

Build the profile of the Clean Energy Programme.

Coordinate with the CEO to shape the overall strategy for the programme, aligned with institutional priorities, sector-specific issues and ongoing work of partner/non-partner institutions.
Independently develop new concept notes, proposals, theory of change and budgets for projects/interventions that further institutional objectives.
Budget programmatic fund requirement, and raise required funds by developing relationships with new and existing donors.
Identify new pathways, initiatives and partnerships that contribute to programmatic goals.

Develop strong relationships with stakeholders and lead the programme outreach.

Build deep and leverageable networks of stakeholders across segments (government, industry, CSOs, media etc.) and geographies (national, sub-national and international).
Be iFOREST’s senior representative in important meetings and conversations (at internal and external events) to present institutional perspectives and insights.
Build the individual as well as institutional profile as a thought leader in the clean energy sector.
Design and manage a comprehensive outreach strategy for effective communication of research outputs.
Enable the constructive policy-research partnerships with government, industry and other stakeholders.
Author and review articles and other forms of communication materials suitable for the public, government stakeholders, and donors.
Design and guide execution of roundtables, convenings, and report release meetings with government, industry, CSOs, media, etc.

Build and manage an effective programme team.

Take responsibility of managing a large, regionally-spread out programme team. Mentor, advise and guide them to achieve programme objectives.
Engage in timely reviews of performance to track the progress and professional growth of team members.
Coordinate staffing decisions, including identifying right candidates for the institution to hire across roles.
Identify training requirements and support capacity development of team members.

Contribute to institutional decisions and growth.

Be part of iFOREST’s senior leadership, and contribute to policy decisions that help shape a strong and resilient institution. Contribute to decisions for that ensure efficiency in organizational structure, culture and philosophy.
Adopt an entrepreneurial approach and action orientation to identify challenges, establish priorities, and implement viable solutions for the institution.
Support the CEO in taking important decisions, and in preparing for important external meetings.
Collaborate with the CEO to identify and develop new areas of work (in other programme themes as well).
Contribute to the institution’s brand building by representing iFOREST on various high-level public platforms.
Motivate, guide, catalyse and mentor the staff to deliver their best.

Additional duties.

Execute any related assignments that may arise in relation to the aforementioned tasks or for the further enhancement of the Clean Energy programme.

Qualification & Work Experience

Master’s degree (minimum) from a recognised institution in a relevant field, including management, economics, public policy, energy policy, renewable energy technology etc.

Over 15 years of extensive and rich experience in research, strategy consulting or advisory-related fields, focusing specifically on renewable energy sector.

Required competencies

In line with the listed responsibilities, the Programme Director is expected to have the following competencies:

Comprehensive understanding of India’s clean energy sector and a passion for sustainability pathways.

Deep knowledge of India’s energy policies, programmes, regulations, initiatives, and actors at the national and sub-national levels.
Informed about ongoing discussions around challenges and solutions for clean energy sector growth at the international and national levels.
Passionate towards contributing to India’s low-carbon future, and delivering impact on the ground.
Technical knowledge of the power sector is preferred.

Proficiency in research and writing.

Demonstrated experience in authoring research publications (or any form of outputs) related to clean energy sector.
Demonstrated experience of conducting qualitative and quantitative methods of research, utilising various software such as Excel, R and QGIS.
Experience in managing research teams, including building research methodologies and organising structured data collection.
Strong analytic skills, and excellent communication skills.
Awareness of latest tools and techniques for executing qualitative and quantitative research, and data visualizations.

Proficiency in stakeholder engagement and information dissemination.

Capacity to be a senior representative, with the required gravitas, in meetings/convenings. This requires an ability to understand the subject matter, listen actively to perspectives, assess scenarios and audience, and accordingly share knowledge and information.
Capacity to lead presentations and convene discussions to communicate institutional perspectives and research findings, to a diverse set of stakeholders.
Demonstrated ability to build connections and engage with a diverse group of people on research and policy issues on multiple platforms.
Experience of dealing with public and private institutions.
A pre-existing network in the clean energy sector in must.

Aptitude and interest in programme development and execution.

Demonstrated interest and ability to lead teams, guide researchers and creating a high-performance environment.
Proven track record of leadership and strategic management at middle/senior level.
Experience with programme/programme planning, tracking progress, and timely delivery of outputs and goals.
Proven track record of delivering impact.

Maturity and sincerity to take up a leadership role.

Confident, collegial, and passionate about clean energy growth in India.
A thought leader with intellectual curiosity, strategic orientation and critical thinking skills.
Clear understanding and appreciation of the role of think tanks in shaping policies and programmes.
Ability to manage time and priorities, and ensure the completion of research in keeping with tight policy windows.
Motivated to build the institutional profile, drawing on priorities and emerging sector issues.
Excellent organisation skills to manage multiple assignments.
Willingness to travel as per requirement.

What we offer

At iFOREST, we offer an inclusive and amicable work environment. In addition, our institution strongly supports professional development through education, training and capacity building.

Remuneration

We offer highly competitive salaries in a think tank space, and reward performance through annual appraisals. The remuneration will be aligned with the candidate’s experience and institutional pay scales.

Application instructions & deadline

We prefer that candidates submit online applications at https://iforest.global/careers/. In case of any difficulties, you may also send your application to careers@iforest.global.

It is preferred that applications include a CV and cover letter. Please ensure that the cover letter is no more than 500 words and clearly describes your suitability for the described position and your motivation to join iFOREST.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Position open until filled.