Engagement Lead Maharashtra

Council on Energy, Environment and Water; India; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

The Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) seeks an Engagement Lead to drive government engagement and policy research in Maharashtra's Climate Resilience Programme. You will interface with state institutions, contribute analytical inputs, and help shape climate action planning, adaptation finance, and sectoral strategies at district and city levels.

This senior role requires building relationships across government departments, translating complex analyses into policy-ready briefs, and

Qualifications

• Postgraduate qualification in public policy, sustainable development, environmental science, economics, urban planning, or related discipline.
• Minimum 5 years of demonstrated experience across government, policy research institutions, or development organisations.
• Direct experience with state or sub-national government, navigating departmental processes and coordinating across line departments.
• Working proficiency in Marathi, in addition to fluency in English and Hindi.
• Clear, policy-grade written English and ability to translate technical analysis for government audiences.
• Strong quantitative and analytical skills with proficiency in MS Office and data visualization tools (Power BI, Tableau or equivalent).
• Familiarity with Maharashtra's climate policy architecture, including SAPCC and flagship environmental programmes.
• Exposure to climate risk assessment frameworks and adaptation finance.

Responsibilities

• Stakeholder engagement and government partnership: serve as CEEW's point of contact for Maharashtra and lead strategic engagement with government and partners.
• Establish relationships with sub-national government bodies and planning departments; prepare briefing notes and follow-up actions.
• Represent CEEW in state-level consultations, working groups and technical committees; maintain documentation and follow-up.
• Coordinate with teams and ensure timely delivery of objectives; adapt to shifting priorities.
• Identify and pursue funding opportunities across philanthropic, CSR and development finance sources.
• Contribute to concept notes, proposals and budget narratives, and support donor reporting.

Skills

Public policy

Sustainable development

Environmental science

Economics

Urban planning

MS Office

Power BI

Tableau

Education

Postgraduate qualification in public policy

Postgraduate qualification in sustainable development

Tools

MS Office

Power BI

Tableau

Job description

Council on Energy, Environment and Water | Full time

Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW)

Terms of Reference

At CEEW, we are deliberate about what we stand for(and what we don't stand for!) as an employer. So, if the description belowstrikes a chord, we would love to hear from you!

At CEEW, we build careers in public policy

• We offer strong visionary leadership – with emphasis on researchand impact at scale
• We actively promote leadership through initiative
• We celebrate talent and ambition
• You will be surrounded by smart people who will challenge you andhelp you grow
• You will learn faster than your peers in other organisations
• Curiosity and irreverence, as well as responsibility, cometogether at CEEW
• You will get above-market remuneration
• We provide a safe space for all
• At CEEW, your life is your example for others

Designation offered

Engagement Lead(Maharashtra)

Team/Focus area

Climate Resilience

Location

Reporting to

Purpose

CEEW is seeking an Engagement Lead (EL) for its Climate Resilience Programme to serve as the Council's on-ground presence in Maharashtra.

The role sits at the intersection of government engagement and policyresearch. The EL will be CEEW'sprimary interface with the state's institutions while contributing analyticalinputs to the Climate Resilience team’s work on climate action planning,climate and adaptation finance, and sectoral adaptation strategies at thestate, district and city levels.

CEEW operates in a dynamic environment, and theconsultant will be required to show flexibility in undertaking a variety of tasks beyond those listed below.

Qualificationsand experience

• A postgraduate qualification in public policy,sustainable development, environmental science, economics, urban planning, or aclosely related discipline.
• Minimum 5 years of demonstrated experience across government, policyresearch institutions, or development organisations. Substantive experiencegained through structured internships, fellowships or traineeships embeddedwithin a government department or policy institution will be counted towardsthis requirement.
• Demonstrated experience of working directly with, orinside, a state or sub-national government — including navigating departmentalprocesses, preparing government-facing documentation, and coordinating acrossline departments.
• Working proficiency in Marathi,in addition to fluency in English and Hindi.
• Clear, policy-grade written English and the ability totranslate technical analysis into material usable by government audiences.
• Strong quantitative and analytical skills, includingproficiency in advanced MS Office, AI Tools visualisation tool (Power BI,Tableau or equivalent).
• Familiarity with Maharashtra's climate policyarchitecture, including the State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) andflagship state environmental programmes.
• Exposure to climate risk assessment frameworks andadaptation planning approaches.
• Exposure to climate or adaptation finance — includingdevelopment finance instruments, state climate budgeting, CSR or philanthropicresource mobilisation, or ESG and sustainability disclosure frameworks.

Jobduties and accountabilities

1. Stakeholder engagement andgovernment partnership

• Serve as CEEW's point of contact for Maharashtra, andlead strategic engagement with government and non-government stakeholders andpartners in the state.
• Establish and strengthen relationships withsub-national government bodies, planning and finance departments, disastermanagement authorities, urban local bodies and municipal corporations — as wellas policy and research agencies working in Maharashtra.
• Represent CEEW in state-level consultations, workinggroups and technical committees; prepare briefing notes, minutes and follow-upactions.
• Maintain a live stakeholder responsibility matrix anda map of the key governmental processes, approval pathways and budget cyclesthat CEEW's Maharashtra work depends on.
• Co-ordinate and provide operational direction tojunior colleagues working on government engagements in Maharashtra through awell structured feedback mechanism.
• Adhere to project timelines and ensure the timelydelivery of objectives; adapt to shifting project priorities.
• Identify and pursue funding opportunities for ongoingand upcoming programmes under the Climate Resilience team, spanningphilanthropic, CSR, bilateral and development finance sources.
• Contribute to concept notes, proposals and budgetnarratives, and support donor reporting and relationship management.

3. Research and analysis

• Contribute to the design and implementation of climateresilience projects across Maharashtra's state, district and city levels.
• Support the development of robust methodologies toinform disaster and adaptation fund allocation, drawing on analysis of statebudgets, centrally-sponsored schemes and existing fund flow mechanisms.
• Conduct data mining, policy and regulatory analysis,and literature review to support the core research team.
• Track emerging trends in climate adaptation, disastermanagement and climate finance, including SAPCC implementation, state climatebudgeting, city climate action plans and heat action plans.
• Collaborate with team members to identify researchgaps and improvement opportunities.

4. Knowledge products and outreach

• Draft policy briefs, issue briefs, presentations andgovernment-facing notes translating technical analysis into decision-readymaterial.
• Contribute to overall programme delivery, helping toidentify new research opportunities and emerging areas of interest.

Compensation

Competitive compensation –commensurate with the experience and matching the best of standards

adopted by industry or other similarorganisations for similar roles.