Program Manager (DRE)

Project Concern International; Lucknow; On-site; INR 1,800,000 - 2,800,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance for self & family

Group Life Insurance

Group Accident Insurance

Statutory benefits

Job summary

PCI India invites applications for the Program Manager (DRE) role based in Lucknow. The role leads decentralised renewable energy projects, coordinating field inspections, pilot deployments, and vendor performance to deliver productive-use energy solutions for rural livelihoods.

You will oversee technology selection, system sizing, quality assurance and after-sales support while managing field teams and partners across Uttar Pradesh. Fluency in English and Hindi is required.

Qualifications

• B.E./B.Tech in Electrical, Electronics, Energy or Renewable Energy.
• Minimum 8 years in renewable energy and field deployments.
• Fluency in English and Hindi; willingness to travel in Uttar Pradesh.

Responsibilities

• Lead DRE strategy, technology, and delivery aligned with business goals.
• Conduct field visits to assess energy needs and validate installations.
• Oversee technical due diligence, sizing, BOMs, pilots and commissioning.
• Manage pilots, deployments, and field after-sales support.
• Coordinate with vendors, EPC partners, and field teams.

Skills

Field supervision

Renewable energy

Vendor management

Team leadership

MS Excel

MS PowerPoint

Field travel

English

Hindi

Education

BE in Electrical/Electronics/Energy/RE

Postgraduate degree in Renewable Energy

Tools

MS Excel

PowerPoint

MIS tools

Job description

PCI India, a registered Indian society, has been working in India for the past 28 years. We drive interventions to transform the lives of communities at scale by solving complex development problems. In the past year, PCI India reached more than 2 crore (20 million) people across 200+ districts in 23 states.

Our Vision and Mission:

Vision – A happy, healthy, safe and a sustainable world for all.

Mission – Rooted in community realities, we co create and scale sustainable solutions to complex development problems.

Our Values:

• Excellence – Quality in everything no matter how small, is paramount.
• Respect – There is inherent value in all people for who they are and what they contribute.
• Collaboration – Only through collaboration we can address complex development problems.
• Boldness – Boldness requires disruptive thinking backed up by courage and conviction.
• Creativity – Creativity ensures dynamic responsiveness, relevance, and impact.
• Integrity – Integrity is non-negotiable in both personal and professional domains.

PCI is an Equal Opportunity Employer:

PCI is committed to providing equal opportunity to all working for it and in creating an inclusive work environment. We respect the diversity of our people and follow a fair, non-discriminatory approach in terms of gender, age, nationality race, caste, religion, community, marital status, physical challenge, and sexual orientation. We promote diversity in the workplace and ensure a culture of zero tolerance to any form of discrimination, abuse, or harassment whether sexual, physical, or psychological.

PCI provides equal opportunity in recruitment, appraisals, promotion, and career progression. Our people policies are fair, objective, and non-discriminatory and everyone is expected to adhere to them.

About the Position:

Reporting: Senior Manager

Location: Lucknow

Grade: D

Type: Regular

Position Purpose

The Program Manager (DRE) will lead Prerna Ojas’ technical and commercial work on decentralised renewable energy solutions. The role is field-facing: the Program Manager is expected to spend substantial time at field level — inspecting installed systems, sitting through commissioning and demonstrations, and troubleshooting on-site with field coordinator, technicians and entrepreneurs in addition to validating technologies and vendor performance from technical specifications and reports. This includes identifying suitable DRE technologies, validating their technical and business viability, managing pilots and deployments, and ensuring quality, safety and reliable after-sales support across productive-use energy, rural livelihoods and last-mile markets, while coordinating technology providers and ecosystem partners to convert field needs into scalable DRE solutions.

Key Responsibilities

DRE Strategy, Technology and Delivery

• Develop and periodically update the DRE portfolio and implementation priorities in line with Prerna Ojas’ business and livelihood objectives.
• Conduct household- and enterprise-level energy-needs assessments through direct field visits observing existing energy use, appliance load, seasonal patterns and willingness/ability to pay.
• Identify, evaluate and recommend suitable DRE technologies based on technical performance, user needs, affordability, operating conditions and lifecycle costs, including hands‑on testing of sample units/pilots at the field level before wider rollout.
• Lead technical due diligence, system sizing, specifications, bills of quantities, pilot design, installation planning and commissioning, and be physically present on-site during pilot installations and first commissioning of each new technology or vendor.
• Personally inspect a sample of installed systems each month (site visit, physical check of installation quality, load testing, meter/output readings).
• Plan and manage DRE projects against agreed timelines, budgets, quality requirements and deployment targets, visiting installation sites to resolve implementation bottlenecks (site-readiness issues, civil work delays, grid/metering constraints, logistics) directly with the vendor/installer on the ground keeping RO in loop.
• Monitor technology performance, system uptime, customer usage and recurring technical issues through a combination of remote monitoring data (where available) and physical field verification and use this evidence to improve or scale solutions.
• Maintain a field fault/complaint log capturing breakdowns, downtime, repeat failures and resolution turnaround time by technology and vendor, sourced from direct customer/technician conversations during visits.

Commercialization, Quality and Partners

• Develop viable delivery and business models for DRE products and productive‑use technologies, including assessment of unit economics, customer affordability and payback, validated against real usage and payment behavior observed in the field.
• Support identification, technical assessment and performance management of manufacturers, suppliers, installers, EPC partners and service providers, including unannounced site visits to installer/vendor project sites to verify workmanship, safety practice and installation quality.
• Establish and enforce quality‑assurance, safety, inspection, warranty, operations and maintenance, and service‑escalation protocols, and personally audit a sample of completed installations and after‑sales service calls against these protocols.
• Work with enterprise, marketing, finance and supply‑chain teams to align product selection, pricing, availability, customer communication and after‑sales support, including joint field visits to review how products are actually being sold, installed and used.
• Identify relevant government programmes, subsidies and financing mechanisms and build working relationships with financial institutions, technical agencies and ecosystem partners
• Represent Prerna Ojas in relevant technical forums, partner discussions, demonstrations and consultations, and contribute technical inputs to proposals and partnerships.

Performance, Knowledge and Team Leadership

• Define technical and operational indicators for DRE projects and ensure accurate reporting through appropriate MIS and management dashboards, reconciling field‑collected readings and site‑visit findings against vendor/remote‑monitoring data.
• Prepare technical notes, management reports, SOPs, checklists, user guides and documentation of pilots, lessons and scalable DRE models, drawing on direct field observation and interviews with technicians, entrepreneurs and end users.
• Develop the technical capability of field teams, entrepreneurs, technicians and other stakeholders through structured, largely on‑site training — live installation/commissioning walkthroughs, hands‑on troubleshooting drills and safety demonstrations — supplemented by classroom sessions where useful.
• Lead and mentor DRE team members, including joint field visits to observe and improve their technical assessment and installation‑supervision skills, allocate responsibilities, review progress, and maintain strong coordination with marketing, enterprise, operations, procurement, finance and MIS teams.
• Identify technical, operational and commercial risks — including through direct field observation of installation quality, vendor practices and recurring faults — and establish practical mitigation and escalation mechanisms.
• Maintain current knowledge of developments in renewable‑energy technologies, standards, regulation, financing and rural energy markets.
• Any other task assigned by the Supervisor, based on evolving program needs

Note: Performance will be reviewed monthly and quarterly against the field‑verifiable indicators. Wherever possible, KPIs are checked against physical field evidence rather than self‑reported MIS data alone.

Qualifications and Experience

• Tech./B.E. in Electrical, Electronics, Energy, Renewable Energy Engineering or another relevant technical discipline from a recognized institution.
• A postgraduate degree in Renewable Energy, Energy Systems, Sustainable Energy, Energy Management or a related discipline will be preferred.
• At least 8 years of relevant professional experience in renewable energy, solar energy, DRE, productive‑use energy solutions or a closely related field, including a demonstrated track record of regular, hands‑on field/site engagement (not primarily a desk/reporting role).
• Hands‑on experience in technical assessment, system design/sizing, installation, commissioning, quality assurance or management of solar PV (on and off grid), including direct site‑level supervision.
• Experience with productive‑use technologies such as solar pumps, cold storage, refrigeration, dryers, processing equipment or other energy‑enabled livelihood solutions is desirable.
• Experience managing technology vendors, installers, EPC partners, field implementation and multi‑location projects, including conducting site audits and vendor performance reviews in person.
• Working knowledge of renewable‑energy business models, costing, lifecycle economics, financing mechanisms, warranties, O&M and after‑sales service.
• Demonstrated experience in team management and stakeholder coordination; exposure to rural livelihoods, community institutions or last‑mile markets will be preferred; comfort with extensive rural travel including to remote villages.
• Strong analytical, problem‑solving, documentation and presentation skills, with proficiency in MS Excel, PowerPoint and project/MIS monitoring tools.
• Fluency in English and Hindi.

Travel Requirement

• Maintain a defined minimum number of field days per month for site inspections, pilot commissioning, vendor/installer audits and technician accompaniment, with office/desk time used mainly for MIS updates, reporting and coordination.
• Travel across project geographies in Uttar Pradesh (and other locations as required) on a rotating site‑coverage plan so that every active vendor/installer and technology line is physically inspected on a defined minimum frequency.
• Be available to travel at short notice to a specific site in response to a major system failure, safety concern or customer escalation.

What can you expect in PCI:

• A warm, inclusive, and happy work environment.
• The best of the class benefits from competitive remunerations.
• Health Insurance coverage for self, spouse & Children.
• Group Terms Life Insurance and Group Accident Insurance for Self.
• All other statutory benefits.
• Regular Recognition of performance and PCI Value display in work
• An empowering organization structure which values individual’s skills, competencies and potential.
• Opportunities to operate in a cross functional role.
• Higher responsibilities and larger roles are merit based.
• Young Talent Programs for developing future leaders.
• Leadership roles for women are encouraged and given preference in selection and training.

PCI is committed to preventing any type of unwanted behavior at work including sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, lack of integrity and financial misconduct.