India: Senior Project Associate- Gender and Social Inclusion, Climate Program

Feb 10, 2023 | World Resources Institute
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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.

WRI is inspired by and associated with World Resources Institute (WRI), a global research organization. Currently over 150 researchers are working with WRI India in its offices at Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

Program Overview for Climate:

WRI India’s Climate Program focuses on 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, WRI seeks to achieve impact at scale. 

About your role:

India 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 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 – including informal workers, small businesses, low-income households, and women. This is particularly critical for Indian MSME sector which employs 110 million workers and contributes 30% to India’s economy. Almost 99.5 percent of registered MSME units fall under the micro or small enterprise category, while a majority belong the informal economy, making it difficult for them to access formal channels for financial and other support or to connect to the global or national markets. Therefore, MSMEs will need support to adapt to climate change impacts, implement climate actions to remain competitive, and adapt to the industry and policy trends moving India towards clean energy economy through skilling, technology change and access to adequate finance.

Taking cognizance of such potential impacts in planning and implementing low carbon/climate policies and undertaking measures to minimize and manage such impacts is critical to ensure that the India’s low carbon transition is also just and equitable. In this regard, WRI India is 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.

The Senior Associate – Gender and Social Inclusion will work closely with project leads and the Director to support the program’s vision of enabling a low carbon, resilient, just and equitable development pathway for India. As a gender and social inclusion (GESI) specialist, the candidate will work collaboratively with the team to integrate the issues of gender equality and social inclusion. The candidate will broadly provide technical support to the team to: (a) build capacity within the team to apply GESI tools and approaches with climate lenses, (b) develop integrated activities within the projects support the inclusion of women and marginalized groups, and (c) collaborate with project partners disseminate and communicate effective approaches to jointly achieving GESI objectives and goals.

How your day will unfold:

The selected candidate will support the Climate Program at WRI India with the following:
• Lead the conceptualization, planning, implementation and management of project activities to meaningfully incorporate gender and social inclusion considerations and lead to positive outcomes towards the same
• Provide technical insights along with tools and resources to support the integration of GESI in the project activities
• Engage and collaborate with the external partners and industry associations to identify opportunities to mainstream GESI tools, strategies, and processes within the project activities
• Contribute to reporting, work planning, communications, etc. as need be based on the requirement of the project
• Assist the team with developing capacity building modules related to gender and social inclusion, particularly informing the stakeholders about its importance, tools, and means for identifying opportunities, among others
• Assist in developing research and/or communications material to disseminate new resources and efforts to promote GESI and environment/climate change integration
• Conceive and produce high quality knowledge products and articles
• Manage the project deliverables as per the standard and expectation of the organization

Qualifications and Requirements:

• Post-graduate in the related field
• At least 7 years of full-time work experience working or commensurate experience, developing, implementing, and/or monitoring activities that foster the inclusion of women, Indigenous Peoples, youth, and other marginalized communities into environment, climate change and/or natural resource management and development programming
• Experience in supporting donors on issues at the confluence of gender, social inclusion and climate actions
• Familiarity with the policy landscape of climate issues both at the national and subnational level
• Excellent research, writing, editing, and communication skills
• Experience in writing proposals on the issues related to gender and social inclusion
• Experience in leading and writing research papers on gender and social inclusion for academic journals, conferences, or international platforms preferred
• Highly motivated, proactive workstyle, detail oriented, organized, and independent thinker
• Ability to work independently and with a team
• Fluent in English. Fluency in regional language(s) is preferred.

Salary and Benefits: INR 11,00,000 to 13,00,000 Per Annum

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

Duration: 1 year (extendable based on performance and project requirements)

Location: New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, India 

Start Date: At the earliest

List of Documents to be attached:

• Cover Letter (outlining your interest and suitability for the position)
• Resume
• A writing sample (no more than 1000 words; preferably on a climate policy related topic for a general audience)

Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for an interview. 

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

WRI India values and promotes diversity, equity and inclusion across all areas of its work and workforce. Integrating these values into its actions fosters a progressive and collaborative culture and can also enhance its impact.  It is its responsibility to create a welcoming working environment for people of diverse cultures, backgrounds and experience to learn together. WRI is responsible for fostering a safe and inclusive workplace where questions, concerns and information about diversity, equity and inclusion are part of its ongoing dialogue and development.

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

People-centric to the core:

WRI keeps its people at the centre of everything it does- 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 WRI staff get:

Health benefits: WRI covers health insurance for the employee and their loved ones for up to INR 8 lakhs

Term Insurance: Its 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

Digital healthcare service: Online doctor consultations for your primary healthcare needs

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: WRI encourages 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 WRI benefits Careers | WRI INDIA (wri-india.org)

Equal employment @WRI India

WRI believes in equal employment, it is WRI policy to recruit, and provide opportunities for advancement in all job classifications without regard to caste, religion, sex, age, marital status, sexual preference, parental status, or disability.