Program Lead/ Senior Program Lead

Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW); Delhi; On-site; INR 1,800,000 - 3,000,000; Full time

Job summary

CEEW's Industrial Sustainability team invites applications from experienced researchers to contribute to decarbonisation strategies for India’s industry sectors, including oil and gas, green hydrogen, biofuels, CCUS, and industrial energy systems.

The role involves techno-economic analysis, model development, policy briefs, and engagement with government and R&D partners, with opportunities to lead multi-project workstreams and publish research outputs.

Qualifications

• Master degree in chemical, energy, industrial, production, mechanical engineering or related field
• Sound understanding of India’s energy markets and policy/regulatory environment
• Strong research background with quantitative skills
• 8–10 years of relevant work experience in research, policy/industry engagement and project management in fossil/alternative fuels and decarbonisation
• Experience writing white papers, articles, policy briefs and research reports
• Strong track record of team and project management with timely outputs
• Experience in consulting firms or think tanks preferred
• Ability to conduct techno-economic analysis, cost–benefit analysis, material-energy balances, basic economics
• Willingness to travel occasionally
• Proficiency in Excel; Python/ Matlab a plus
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Ability to work in interdisciplinary, multicultural teams
• Independent collaboration with international experts and government engagements

Responsibilities

• Conceptualise and implement new research projects and market solutions for decarbonising industry sectors
• Develop models for material-energy balance, techno-economic analysis, energy systems optimization
• Conduct comprehensive research using primary and secondary sources for technologies and business models
• Induct new tools and approaches in sector analysis
• Monitor and communicate policy/technical developments in the sector
• Draft high-quality reports, papers and analyses for internal/external circulation
• Publish research reports, policy papers, briefs, memos and blogs
• Support stakeholder engagement and government/industry interactions
• Drive daily analytical requirements and respond to short-turnaround requests

Skills

Research skills

Policy engagement

Quantitative analysis

Team collaboration

Education

Master's degree in chemical/energy/industrial fields

Tools

Python

Matlab

Excel

Job description

The Industrial Sustainability (IS) team aims to support India’s low carbon growth aspirations by advancing the uptake of green energy and resource efficiency practices. The IS team is working on several different initiatives that include energy transitions in the oil and gas sector, an assessment of alternative fuels like green hydrogen and biofuels uptake across difficult-to-decarbonise sectors in industry and mobility applications, developing optimal decarbonisation trajectory for the steel and cement sector, assessing the prospects on carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) in India and characterising the industrial sector value chains to analyse various aspects such as carbon footprint, financial strength, resource requirements, and jobs supported.

The IS team seeks to hire a highly committed candidate to build and expand our programme in the above mentioned sectors as well as to support government engagements. The candidate should be flexible to work on multiple projects in parallel depending on the priorities of the team. This role demands high quality research to provide direction, support, and insights to the policy planners and industry captains towards decarbonisation options. The candidate should have an active and self-directed interest towards the assessment and production of alternative fuels including green hydrogen and derivatives, biofuels, CCUS, industrial decarbonisation and other related sectors. She/he should be able to perform resource assessments, material-energy balance, techno-economic analysis, emissions analysis, scenario comparisons, etc. The candidate should be willing to collaborate with other researchers in the respective domain and independently drive collaboration with international experts on the topic. Further, the candidate should have good oral and written communication skills and have the capability to independently drive government engagements, draft briefing notes and policy documents.

Job Duties and Accountabilities

Research

• Conceptualise and implement new research projects, methodologies, and market solutions for decarbonising the industrial sector and developing new green energy sector.
• Develop models for material-energy balance, techno-economic analysis, energy systems optimisation and technology assessment and forecasting
• Conduct comprehensive research, utilising primary and secondary sources, to assess various technologies and develop business models for their adoption
• To be able to induct new tools and approaches in the analysis of the said sectors/sub-sectors
• Actively monitor and communicate key policy and technical developments in the sector
• To be able to write high-quality first drafts of reports, papers and analyses for internal and external circulation
• Publish high-quality research reports, policy papers, issue briefs, memos, opinion-pieces, blogs etc.
• Support stakeholder engagement and relevant convening, including policy and technical exchanges among government officials, R&D facilities, subject experts, etc.
• Drive daily analytical requirements of the team in responding to short-turnaround requests or studies

Shortlisting Criteria

Qualification

• Master degree in chemical, energy, industrial, production, mechanical engineering or other graduate courses along these lines.
• Sound understanding of India’s energy markets and policy and regulatory environment
• Strong research background with an adequate understanding of research methods and quantitative skills
• At least 8 – 10 years of relevant work experience in the field of research, policy/industry engagement and project management in the area of fossil fuels, alternative fuels and industrial decarbonisation
• Prior experience of writing white papers, articles, policy briefs and research reports
• Strong track record of team and project management including timely delivery of outputs
• Prior experience in consulting firms or think tanks would be preferred
• Ability and proven expertise to conduct techno-economic analysis, cost & benefit analysis, material-energy balances, sound knowledge of basic economic principles.
• Managing a team and delivering under tight deadlines
• Basic understanding of industrial sector and handling external (including government) engagements
• Proficiency in Excel is essential. Experience with software programmes such as Python, Matlab is a plus.
• Good written and oral communication skills.
• Willingness for occasional travel to stakeholder offices or operations

Personality

• Willingness to learn new research and project management skills.
• Ability to identify creative solutions to vexing challenges in taking policy to action.
• Ability to adapt and deliver under tight deadlines in a professional environment.
• Striving for rigour in research and quality in work output.
• Ability to effectively work in a team while being able to independently drive research with minimum assistance, when time demands.
• Willingness to learn, grow and develop at personal and professional front, at a rapid pace with a steep learning curve.
• Ability to work in an interdisciplinary and multicultural environment.

CEEW operates in a dynamic environment and the candidate will be required to show flexibility in undertaking a variety of tasks.

Compensation

Competitive compensation – commensurate to the experience and matching the best of standards adopted by the industry or other similar organisations for similar roles.

Application Process

CEEW is an equal opportunity employer, and the selection process does not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, caste, ethnicity, religion, or sexuality. Female candidates are encouraged to apply.