Consultant cum State Coordinator - Tamil Nadu

This is a remote position.

Reporting to: Engagement Lead

Location: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, with occasional travel to New Delhi

Purpose:

We are looking for a suitable candidate as a consultant-cum-state coordinator for CEEW's ongoing and planned projects with various departments in the Government of Tamil Nadu, primarily in the domains of low-carbon economy, air quality, waste management, water resources, and industrial sustainability, among others. The overall aim is to drive Tamil Nadu's transition towards net-zero emissions and enable the state to become more climate resilient, through collaborative engagement with various stakeholders in TN.

The consultant will coordinate primarily with the various state departments in Tamil Nadu concerning CEEW’s various initiatives in the state with a special focus on industrial pollution, waste management, water resources, and climate change. Further, the candidate will play an important role to build trusted relationships with government stakeholders and on-ground local civil society organisations, industries, and industrial associations. The range of interrelated functions that the candidate will perform include preparing the engagement and advocacy strategy for CEEW’s initiatives in Tamil Nadu and implementing it through intensive consultations with major stakeholders. 

Job Duties and Accountabilities

• Lead CEEW’s stakeholder engagement in Tamil Nadu: Take full ownership of state-level coordination and engagement with key government departments managing energy, industry, water resources, solid waste management, planning, environment, and climate change to drive CEEW’s projects in the state. Also map and strengthen relationships with the non-governmental stakeholders in the state.
  

• Develop state-level strategies: Support design and implement an integrated air quality, water resources, and climate change engagement and advocacy strategy tailored for Tamil Nadu.
  

• Data collection, analysis and research support: Collect critical data and insights from state departments, analyse data and support CEEW’s research undertaken by various teams.
  

• Represent CEEW and build networks: Engage with stakeholders, represent CEEW at relevant conferences and events, and contribute to discussions on climate policy.
  

• Policy and programme analysis: Provide state-specific technical inputs to support a thorough analysis of policies, institutions, and programmes.
  

• Facilitate communication and coordination: Act as the primary point of contact for technical exchanges and communication between CEEW and state authorities and prepare meeting notes.
  

• Organise strategic events: Plan, minute and manage meetings, consultations, and events in collaboration with state departments.
  

• Build research networks: Establish and maintain local, national, and international research collaborations to support program goals.
  

• Present research findings: Share research outcomes with key stakeholders, advisory bodies, and at conferences and academic institutions.
  

• Fieldwork and data collection: Conduct field visits, interviews, and data collection for various research projects as needed.
  

• Knowledge dissemination: Regularly produce knowledge content such as blogs and policy briefs to share insights and findings.
  

• Additional responsibilities: Perform other tasks and provide support as needed to achieve program objectives.
  

Selection Criteria

Education

• Master's degree in Engineering/Public Policy/Governance/Climate Change /Environment Management/Development/ Energy Economics/Business Administration or any other relevant field
  

Professional experience

• 3+ years of relevant work experience in research/consulting, policy engagement and project management, preferably in energy policy, industrial emission, fossil fuels, renewable energy, climate policy, etc.
  

• Strong track record of project management and timely delivery of outputs 
  

• Experience in dealing with public and private institutions 
  

Key skills 

• Strong project management and networking skills
  

• Good written and oral communication skills; Good report-writing skills
  

• Strong statistical and quantitative analysis using MS Office application suite, STATA/R Studio/Python, and GEE
  

• Strong analytical skills, including basic research skills
  

• Desirable: Relevant publications in the form of reports, and peer-reviewed journals/book chapters
  

• Desirable: Candidates with a high degree of comfort with the local language (Tamil)
  

Personality

• Willingness to learn new (stakeholder engagement, research and project management) skills
  

• Ability to adapt to new environments and deliver under tight deadlines professionally.
  

• Striving for rigour in quality in work output
  

• Ability to effectively work in a team while independently driving project and stakeholder engagement with minimum assistance when time demands.
  

• Ability to dig deeper into details, while also keeping a sense of the broader objectives and big picture.
  

• Willingness to learn, grow and develop on 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. CEEW is an equal opportunity employer. Female candidates are encouraged to apply. CEEW offers a competitive compensation – commensurate to the experience and matching the best of standards adopted by industry or other similar organisations for similar roles. 

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. We appreciate your interest.