About the Trust

The University of Chicago Trust (the Trust) is a charitable trust in India, established in 2008 by alumnus of The University of Chicago. The objectives of the Trust’s objectives are to provide opportunities for grants to support educational programs, research programs and activities for the betterment of India.

About EPIC India

EPIC India is an environmental and energy economics research group based at the Trust in New Delhi, India. EPIC India’s mission is to work hand-in-hand with government and industry partners to identify and rigorously evaluate innovative solutions to India’s most pressing energy and environmental problems. Through these activities, EPIC India aims to identify high-value academic research opportunities for the community and communicate EPIC research findings to create lasting impacts on Indian energy and environmental policy.

Position Description

The India Program Head, EPIC India will lead the programmatic aspects of a growing, multifunctional team of EPIC India staff and will serve as the public face of EPIC India to government partners, media, and all other stakeholders, both internal and external. The India Program Head, EPIC India must understand energy and environmental research, have deep knowledge of the Indian energy and environmental policy landscape at the national and state level, and have a broad network in the public, non-profit, and private sectors.  They will act as the bridge between EPIC India and the global EPIC team.

Responsibilities

• Leading the overall vision and objectives of EPIC India, in collaboration with the EPIC Faculty Director and Deputy Faculty Director.
• Expand EPIC India’s portfolio of applied economics research projects, to maximize the energy and environment economics footprint in India.
• Identifying opportunities for EPIC India to contribute expertise to Indian energy and environmental policy issues through written reports, analyses, public commentary, etc.
• Establishing the structure of the EPIC India team, lead all staffing and hiring decisions, mentor junior staff, and appropriately resolve any conflicts in a fair and supportive manner.
• Overseeing ongoing scale-up programs and other strategic initiatives.
• Collaborate with senior leadership to enable the research design and implementation for multiple research projects.
• Represent EPIC India in high-level interactions with policymakers, officials, media, experts, and stakeholders, both in private and in public.
• Develop strategic partnerships between EPIC India and key players in Indian energy and environmental policy, including in the government, corporate sector, and civil society.
• Mobilize and manage financial resources to ensure that the EPIC India team is operating at its maximum potential, strategic programs are being effectively delivered, and the highest-potential research is pursued and executed to completion.

Qualifications

Education:

• Advanced degree in economics, energy/environmental policy, public policy, management, law or a closely related field is preferred.

Experience:

• Minimum 10 years of relevant work experience, preferably in a similar policy and research environment.

Competencies

• Deep knowledge and network in Indian regarding energy, environmental and climate policy.
• Demonstrated oversight of an independent organization and its people.
• Skilled in development and fundraising with institutions and individuals in an Indian and global context.
• Exceptional attention to detail, advanced writing and presentation skills for communicating policy lessons from academic papers in ways that are straightforward for policymakers.
• Clear, precise, non-technical writing, as well as confident and effective public speaking skills.
• Understanding of the India media market.
• Proven ability to multitask and successfully complete projects on a tight deadline.
• Willingness to work hard, self-motivated, and learn is essential for this position.
• Oversight and ability to engage well qualified staff, motivate staff in research, policy and capacity building roles, monitor their work and assist in career development
• Create and maintain a collegial work culture that emphasizes teamwork, results and good work life balance.
• A strong understanding of energy and environmental policy is necessary to ensure an ability to translate and communicate EPIC’s work in an accurate and effective manner.
• Ability to manage a heavy workload and competing priorities.
• Demonstrated sound judgement, ability to solve problems and make effective decision.

Working Conditions

• Travel mostly in India. but there is potential for international travel as well.

Candidate must have a valid work permit as per regulations to be employed in India.

Location

New Delhi, India

Application Documents

Resume

Cover Letter

Three References

Please submit all of the application documents to: Leni Chaudhuri at lenic@uchicago.edu

Last date to apply: December 31, 2o22.

Job Details

• Conduct background research and policy reviews on various energy and environment related topics
• Write materials that “translate” economic research and other EPIC-India messages into policy outreach and communications, including reports, articles, op-eds, blogs, and evaluation summaries
• Support the organization leadership in conceptualizing, operationalizing, and implementing new policy and research initiatives
• Organize meetings, events, workshops, policy dialogues with partner organizations
• Ad hoc research assistance on EPIC India’s programs and research projects (e.g., advice on the use of administrative data) and liasioning with implementation partners
• Track energy and environment policy developments and trends in India and beyond
• Support grant reporting by drafting technical progress reports for our sponsors
• Organize programmatic capacity building and training sessions, and other policy activities

Any other related tasks on an as needed basis, including (but not limited to) desk/literature survey and support in preparation of meetings and presentations for developing new partnerships, as assigned by EPIC India’s senior management.

Required Qualifications

• Post-graduate degree in economics, International development, Management, Engineering and/or other related fields with at least one year of related experience, or undergraduate degree with at least two years of related work experience
• The ideal candidate has prior research and/or project coordination experience and keen attention to detail, as well as a willingness to learn and enthusiasm for economics and policy-relevant research
• Strong communication and writing skills are essential
• Strongly motivated to drive social impact and improve lives

Preferred Qualifications

• Fluent in both English and Hindi
• Demonstrated ability to manage relationships with partner organizations
• A sound understanding and/or demonstrated interest in energy and environment policy
• Knowledge of research design and delivery is preferred
• Ability to articulate complex ideas into impactful proposals/reports
• Experience in partnership development with research affiliates, think-tanks and funding organizations

Behavioral Requirements

• Excellent time management and organizational skills along with strong quantitative skills
• Flexible, self-motivating, able to manage multiple tasks efficiently, and a team player
• Excellent presentation and report writing skills with high proficiency in MS office i.e. Word/Excel/PowerPoint etc.

Candidates must have work authorization to work in India. This covers citizens of India, Nepal or Bhutan, Persons of Indian origin (PIO), and an Overseas Citizens of India (OCI).

Interested candidates can apply using the link here.

Last date to apply: December 1, 2022

Primary responsibilities one or more of the following include:

Research and implementation

• Overseeing implementation of projects in association with our partner organizations
• Managing day-to-day research and implementation monitoring activities, from planning to implementation, and monitoring quality, interview stakeholders etc.
• Regular travel to field to monitor and assess the progress in field work, including supervision of the field staff during surveys and quality checks (if needed)
• Assisting with data collection, cleaning, preliminary data analysis, and preparation of documents and presentations for dissemination

Stakeholder Engagement

• Support the principal investigators, research manager and other EPIC India senior leaders in maintaining strong relationships with participating partner organizations, government agencies, and other relevant stakeholders
• Engage with relevant officials on different aspects of the project, and to facilitate data access and management between the involved parties
• Develop and disseminate necessary project materials and collaterals targeting a wide range of actors such as policymakers and academic researchers

Any other related tasks on an as needed basis, including (but not limited to) desk/literature survey and support in preparation of meetings and presentations for developing new partnerships, as assigned by EPIC India’s senior leadership, or Research Manager.

Required Qualifications

• A master’s in Economics, Public Policy, Environment Policy or Science or another related field. If candidate has a Bachelors degree in the related field, at least two years of work experience
• Strong demonstrated interest in the development sector
• Good data management, cleaning, and analysis skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Fluent in both English and Hindi
• Knowledge of data analysis software is preferred (Stata, R)
• Demonstrated ability to manage high-level relationships with partner organizations
• Demonstrated interest in energy and environment policy

Behavioral Requirements

• Excellent management and organizational skills along with strong quantitative skills
• Flexible, self-motivating, able to manage multiple tasks efficiently, and a team player
• Strong communication, and presentation skills

Note on Work Authorizations

Candidates must have work authorization to work in India. This covers citizens of India, Nepal or Bhutan, Persons of Indian origin (PIO), and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI).

To Apply

EPIC India offers competitive salaries. Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed and considered on a rolling basis. Please apply using the link here.

Operations

• Coordinate, negotiate and manage relationships with existing and new EPIC India vendors
• Draft vendor and consulting contracts- safeguard correctness and preparedness of the vendor contracts for materials, supplies, products, or services
• Collect, review, and compile EPIC-India vendor invoices and employee reimbursements
• Create payment vouchers with associated supporting documents for further review
• Maintain voucher information in the EPIC-India voucher master MS-Excel sheet
• Coordinate with senior management for program-related print and web materials for external audiences

Administration

• Coordinate and facilitate travel arrangements with the approved travel agents, including ticketing, hotel arrangement stay, local vehicle bookings etc.
• Book meeting rooms for EPIC-India staff and manage office space and team seating arrangements
• Maintain an asset list of items purchased for EPIC-India projects
• Manage stationery and business cards for employees
• Provide logistical support for EPIC-India events

Human Resources

• Coordinate the logistics of onboarding EPIC-India’s employees, specifically induction meeting schedules, business cards, laptops, email IDs, and other related tasks
• Assist in staffing and recruitment processes, including preparing JDs, shortlisting candidates, facilitating interviews, preparing contracts, on-boarding new hires, and managing exit processes

Leadership Support

• Provide administrative support to EPIC-India’s senior management team, including the Executive Director, and the Directors such as managing schedules, appointments, travel and expense submissions
• Attend meetings and take notes of discussion; prepare initial drafts of minutes and summaries

General

• Ensure office policies and procedures are implemented appropriately
• Maintain office calendar, schedule staff meetings, and coordinate miscellaneous office events
• Other duties as assigned

Required Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s degree in any discipline; business administration, accounting, communications or related degrees preferred
• A minimum of 3-4 years of relevant work experience in similar operations roles; non-profit experience preferred
• Excellent computer skills, including familiarity with MS Word and MS Excel
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English

Preferred Qualifications

• Understanding and application of webinar platforms like Zoom, Teams etc.
• Fluent in English and Hindi
• Experience with managing logistics for events

Behavioral Requirements

• Excellent organization and time management skills, with superior attention to detail
• Process-oriented and highly disciplined
• Flexible, self-motivating, and able to multi task efficiently
• Comfortable working in teams and ability to display ease in interactions with senior staff

Note on Work Authorizations

Candidates must have work authorization to work in India. This covers citizens of India, Nepal or Bhutan, Persons of Indian origin (PIO), and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI).

To Apply

EPIC India offers competitive salaries. Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed and considered on a rolling basis. Please apply using the link here.

The Intern will be engaged in the design, implementation, and analysis of our projects and may also be required to write and present findings of the work to external partners, and therefore should have well-developed interpersonal and communication skills. The Intern may also perform other duties as assigned.

The position offers the rare opportunity to work directly with senior researchers at the University of Chicago. The position will be full-time for a period of 3-6 months.

Education

Currently enrolled or recently graduated from Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in public policy, economics, statistics, environmental science, engineering or a similar field is required

Competencies

• Knowledge and understanding of energy and environmental policy literature is required; work/research experience in the area is strongly preferred
• Outstanding interpersonal skills and the ability to maintain positive relationships with field staff and internal/ external partners required
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present data in a simple and straightforward way for non-technical audiences required
• Familiar with any statistical software like R, Stata or Python would be a plus

To Apply

Interested applicants must submit their application here.

Our Mission

India faces the dual challenge of rapidly improving living standards—through sustained economic growth and expanded access to reliable and affordable energy—while simultaneously reducing pollution for a cleaner and healthier environment. EPIC India researchers work hand-in-hand with government and industry partners to identify innovative ideas, pilot them on the ground, and rigorously measure outcomes.

Responsibilities and Tasks:

• Conduct background research and write high quality policy reviews on various energy and environment related topics
• Write materials that “translate” economic research and other EPIC-India messages into policy outreach and communications, including reports, articles, op-eds, blogs, and evaluation summaries
• Track energy and environment policy developments and trends in India and beyond
• Assist in organizing meetings, events, workshops, policy dialogues with partner organizations
• Assist in organizing programmatic capacity building and training sessions, and other policy activities
• Perform other related duties as required as assigned by the line manager or senior management at EPIC India

Knowledge, Skill and Abilities:

• Excellent presentation and report writing skills with high proficiency in MS office i.e. Word/Excel/PowerPoint etc.
• Ability to articulate complex ideas into impactful proposals/reports
• Understanding of environmental policy is preferred
• Experience in partnership development with research affiliates, think-tanks and funding organizations.
• Ability to multitask, identify priorities and meet deadlines is essential

Minimum Qualification:

• Under-graduate degree in economics, International development, Management, Engineering and/or other related fields. Prior experience is not necessary as long as candidate has demonstrated interest in policy writing
• Strong communication and writing skills are essential
• Strongly motivated to drive social impact and improve lives

EPIC India offers competitive salaries. Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed and considered on a rolling basis.

Our Mission

India faces the dual challenge of rapidly improving living standards—through sustained economic growth and expanded access to reliable and affordable energy—while simultaneously reducing pollution for a cleaner and healthier environment. EPIC India researchers work hand-in-hand with government and industry partners to identify innovative ideas, pilot them on the ground, and rigorously measure outcomes.

Role

EPIC India is seeking a full-time (Senior) Research Manager to execute innovative ideas related to energy and environmental policy, manage small research and field teams, and play an instrumental role in developing and expanding its pipeline of applied economics research projects. This position offers the candidate an opportunity to work closely with EPIC India affiliated researchers on important research projects.

The ideal candidate possesses a mix of economics, analytical, interpersonal & communications skills and is passionate about working with cross-functional groups to drive large-scale impact in the energy and environment sector.

Job Details

• Research Support: The position will work closely with Principal Investigators and local research teams to drive project planning and support (including but not limited to) providing guidance on research design, field planning, data collection, data management, power calculations, and preliminary analysis.
• Stakeholder management: The Research Manager will communicate (both in writing (incl. presentations) and speaking) effectively with internal and external stakeholders to drive progress on EPIC-India’s research projects. Research Manager will assist their vertical head in driving existing and generating new high value research partnerships.
• People Management: The Research Manager will manage and mentor junior staff members including Interns, Research and Senior Research Associates. The manager will support their teams and PIs in all areas of project execution, maintaining the integrity of research design and generating high-quality research outputs.
• Research Manager will assist in preparation of detailed budgets and work plans in coordination with operations team and PIs, and make sure project activities are aligned with project budgets
• The position will lead or assist in writing technical proposals, donor deliverables, work on budgets and work plans, be responsible for ethical compliance on the research projects and will be overall responsible to drive forward different workstreams independently
• Support EPIC India on other research, policy and communication related-tasks as needed, or as assigned by EPIC India’s senior leadership.

Required Qualifications

• MPP, MBA, or master’s degree in development field related field
• Minimum 4 years of work experience in a role with project-based assignments, with substantial client-facing components/ experience in monitoring and evaluation projects, and at least 1 year of direct project management experience
• Experience managing and supervising junior staff members

Preferred Qualifications

• Fluent in English and Hindi
• Experience in social science or economic field research or experience conducting field research in developing countries
• Strong track record of outstanding academic/ professional performance
• Strong written and oral communication skills

Behavioral Requirements

• High degree of ownership and ability to drive forward workstreams, independently
• Attention to detail and ability to execute patiently, and diligently
• Excellent management and organizational skills along with strong quantitative skills
• Flexible, self-motivating, able to manage multiple tasks efficiently, and a team player
• Strong communication, and presentation skills

 To Apply

EPIC India offers competitive salaries. Candidates will be interviewed and considered on a rolling basis. Interested applicants can apply here.