Program Associate- Climate CoE

NSRCEL; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 600,000 - 1,000,000; Full time

Job summary

NSRCEL at IIM Bangalore's Climate Centre of Excellence runs climate programs to support startups across India. You will oversee day-to-day operations, coordinate founders and mentors, and ensure data-driven reporting and budget compliance for impactful ventures.

Ideal candidate has 1–3 years in incubator/accelerator settings, strong communication, and proficiency with AI productivity tools to streamline workflows and SOPs.

Qualifications

• 1–3 years of experience at incubator/accelerator, VC, CSR team, or climate/sustainability org.
• Clear, careful writing and confident verbal communication.
• Strong command of spreadsheets and attention to numbers.
• Hands-on familiarity with AI productivity tools.
• Ability to run multiple moving parts with senior leaders and partners.

Responsibilities

• Run day-to-day operations of one or more climate programs end-to-end.
• Be the first point of contact for startups in the cohort and coordinate needs.
• Match founders with mentors from a 250+ network and track feedback.
• Maintain venture data, monitoring, and reporting for internal reviews and partners.
• Track program spend, raise purchase orders, and ensure compliance and audits.

Skills

Incubator/accelerator experience

Written communication

Verbal communication

Spreadsheet proficiency

AI productivity tools

Project coordination

Stakeholder management

Education

Graduate degree (any discipline)

Postgraduate degree (management/sustainability/engineering)

Tools

AI productivity tools

Job description

• Industry Nonprofit Charitable Organizations
• Work Experience 2-4 years
• Country India
• Postal Code 560076

Job Description

Who we are

The N.S. Raghavan Centre forEntrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL) is IIM Bangalore's startup hub and incubationcentre, structured as a Section 8 not-for-profit. Its mission is to supportventures that can create significant economic and societal impact. Thisfinancial year alone, NSRCEL has engaged with 1,106 ventures through 13 programtracks across 82 towns in India.

NSRCEL is supported by theDepartment of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Electronics andInformation Technology, and partners with corporates and foundations to supportidea-stage and early-revenue entrepreneurs in climate-tech, women entrepreneurshipand social impact.

About the Climate Centre ofExcellence

The Climate Centre of Excellence(Climate CoE) is NSRCEL's climate vertical. It runs a five-pillar platform(Incubation, Capital, Research, Policy and Global Innovation) and works with100+ climate startups every year across multiple corporate-sponsored programs,backed by a network of 250+ mentors.

The CoE works with corporatepartners such as Maruti Suzuki, Hindustan Unilever and Pernod Ricard IndiaFoundation, and with institutional partners such as KREDL, IISc and UNSW.Through its Sunrise Sectors work, it also tracks emerging sectors to shape whereNSRCEL incubates next.

The role

You will run the day-to-dayoperations of one or more climate programs. Your work keeps a cohort moving:founders know what is next, mentors turn up prepared, data is current and everyrupee is accounted for. It is a hands-on role and a good way into climate-techand the Indian startup ecosystem.

What you will do

• Cohortoperations: Run theprogram calendar end to end, including application intake, screening logistics,selection panels, workshops, mentor sessions, field visits and demo days.
• Founderengagement: Be thefirst point of contact for startups in the cohort. Run regular check-ins, logwhat they need and route it to the right person.
• Mentorcoordination: Matchfounders with mentors from the 250+ network, schedule sessions and recordfeedback and outcomes.
• Venturedata and M&E: Keepventure metrics trackers current, run monitoring and evaluation surveys, andturn the data into clear insights for internal reviews and partner reports.
• Budgetsand compliance: Trackprogram spend against budget, raise purchase orders, process vendor paymentsand keep the documentation that utilisation certificates and audits need.
• Reportingand communications: Draftfirst versions of partner updates, impact stories, case studies and socialmedia content.
• Research: Support desk research for climatesector briefs and the Sunrise Sectors initiative, including market maps,startup landscapes and policy scans.
• Outreachand events: Helpbring in strong applicants through ecosystem outreach, info sessions, campusand community events.
• Betterways of working: Use AIand no-code tools to automate trackers, reports and repetitive tasks, anddocument what works as SOPs.

What success looks like in yourfirst year

• At least one program cycle run end to endwith no missed partner milestones.
• Venture data and financial records that arecurrent, accurate and ready for audit at any time.
• Founders and mentors who would describe theprogram as well run.
• Ownership of at least one workstream of yourown, such as mentor operations, an event series or a reporting process.

Requirements

What you will need to bring tothe table

• 1–3 years of experience at an incubator oraccelerator, VC, CSR team, consulting firm, climate or sustainabilityorganisation, or a startup.
• A graduate degree in any discipline. Apostgraduate degree in management, sustainability, engineering or a relatedfield is a plus.
• Clear, careful writing and confident verbalcommunication.
• Strong command of spreadsheets and attentionto detail with numbers.
• Hands-on familiarity with AI productivitytools (this is a must).
• The discipline to run many small moving partswithout dropping any, and the maturity to work with senior leaders, corporatepartners and founders.

What will set you apart

• Real interest in climate-tech, whetherenergy, mobility, agriculture, circularity, water or climate finance.
• Experience running events or communities, orhaving worked at or founded a startup.
• Comfort with travel to meet founders andpartners.