Program Manager - Urban Development, Odisha
About Us
WRI India, an independent knowledge organization registered as India Resources Trust, provides objective information and practical proposals to foster environmentally sound and socially equitable development. Through research, analysis, and recommendations, WRI India puts ideas into action to build transformative solutions to protect the earth, promote livelihoods, and enhance human well-being. Know more: wri-india.org
Program Overview For Sustainable Cities And Transport
WRI India's urban development work aims to transform the way cities are planned and designed to ensure that urban development benefits people, nature and climate. We focus on integrated solutions to long-standing urban challenges, leveraging evidence-based data, applied research and our network of partners and experts. We collaborate at all levels with the government, city administrations, urban stakeholders and partners to help cities become resilient, low-carbon and liveable while balancing their socio-economic goals. Our work seeks to shape a future where cities work better for everyone.
Job Highlight
The WRI India Ross Center for Sustainable Cities is seeking to fill a full-time position to advance the work of its initiatives under the Urban Development vertical in the state of Odisha. As part of this vertical, WRI India’s work has spanned areas such as urban planning and economic development, urban water and climate resilience, eco-city regions, and neighbourhood improvement programmes across Indian cities.
In Odisha, over the last five years, WRI India has led several key programmes focused on inclusive public space development, climate and water resilience, and climate finance, working closely with the Government of Odisha and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in Bhubaneswar, Baripada and Rourkela. WRI India now seeks to further expand its work in Odisha, particularly focusing on supporting cities and urban local bodies across the state in identifying, preliminary evaluation, developing, structuring, and packaging robust, urban infrastructure projects that are climate-aligned, implementation-ready and attractive to public and private sector investors.
You will manage and coordinate these projects, primarily serving as the interface between the programme team and government counterparts. You will oversee the day-to-day coordination of project activities across team members, ensure timely delivery of outputs to partners, liaise with government departments and agencies, coordinate with local institutions and partners, and work closely with staff across WRI India and WRI Global offices.
WRI globally, has deep experience in the urban development sector and is widely recognized as a leader in promoting sustainable cities. Currently, WRI India is supporting various government and private agencies to promote low carbon climate resilient development in Indian cities, ensuring decarbonization that is ‘just’ and ‘inclusive’.
What Will You Do
The selected candidate will support the Sustainable Cities program at WRI India with the following:
What Will You Need
Salary shall be commensurate with experience and skills. WRI offers a generous and comprehensive benefits package.
Location: Bhubaneswar, Odisha India
Duration: 1 years as term hire (extendable based on performance and project requirements)
Start date: As soon as possible
List Of Documents To Be Attached
How To Apply
Qualified applicants should apply online at www.wri.org/careers. All applications must be submitted online through this career portal in order to be formally considered. Only select applicants will be contacted for interview. There will be a writing test conducted with final candidates. Please do not contact program staff directly for this position.
Kindly note that WRI India’s recruitment process does not involve any payment at any stage. Applicants will never be asked to share bank account or financial information as part of the application. All official communication and offer letters are issued only through authorised WRI India email IDs.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) @WRI India
WRI India values and promotes diversity, equity and inclusion across all areas of our work and workforce. Integrating these values into our actions fosters a progressive and collaborative culture and can also enhance our impact. It is our responsibility to create a welcoming working environment for people of diverse cultures, backgrounds and experience to learn together. We are responsible for fostering a safe and inclusive workplace where questions, concerns and information about diversity, equity and inclusion are part of our ongoing dialogue and development.
Learn more about WRI India’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Click Here
People-centric To The Core
We keep our people at the center of everything we do - from a welcoming work environment to benefits and a culture that encourages staff to stay healthy, happy, engaged, and growing.
Some Of The Non-monetary Benefits That Our Staff Get
Health benefits: We cover health insurance for you and your loved ones for up to INR 8 lakhs
Term Insurance: Our term insurance policy covers life coverage of 50 lakhs per staff member
Employee Assistance program: Promoting mental well-being and supporting staff in achieving a satisfying work-life balance
Health & Nutrition: Personalized diet recommendation from a certified dietitian based on the physical health condition and lifestyle
Flexible work schedule: Alternative work arrangements for all who are eligible by nature of their job
Learning culture: Workshops and trainings to empower staff, encourage new learning opportunities
Rest and Recharge weeks: We encourage staff to take time off to rest, rejuvenate, upskill, and pursue their interests.
Our leave policy: Avail personal time off at 36 per year, along with public holidays, maternity, paternity, and adoption leaves.
Click here to know more about our benefits Careers | WRI INDIA (wri-india.org)
Equal employment @WRI India
We believe in equal employment, it is our policy to recruit and provide opportunities for advancement in all job classifications without regard to caste, religion, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, parental status, or disability.
WRI India, an independent knowledge organization registered as India Resources Trust, provides objective information and practical proposals to foster environmentally sound and socially equitable development. Through research, analysis, and recommendations, WRI India puts ideas into action to build transformative solutions to protect the earth, promote livelihoods, and enhance human well-being. Know more: wri-india.org
Program Overview For Sustainable Cities And Transport
WRI India's urban development work aims to transform the way cities are planned and designed to ensure that urban development benefits people, nature and climate. We focus on integrated solutions to long-standing urban challenges, leveraging evidence-based data, applied research and our network of partners and experts. We collaborate at all levels with the government, city administrations, urban stakeholders and partners to help cities become resilient, low-carbon and liveable while balancing their socio-economic goals. Our work seeks to shape a future where cities work better for everyone.
Job Highlight
The WRI India Ross Center for Sustainable Cities is seeking to fill a full-time position to advance the work of its initiatives under the Urban Development vertical in the state of Odisha. As part of this vertical, WRI India’s work has spanned areas such as urban planning and economic development, urban water and climate resilience, eco-city regions, and neighbourhood improvement programmes across Indian cities.
In Odisha, over the last five years, WRI India has led several key programmes focused on inclusive public space development, climate and water resilience, and climate finance, working closely with the Government of Odisha and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in Bhubaneswar, Baripada and Rourkela. WRI India now seeks to further expand its work in Odisha, particularly focusing on supporting cities and urban local bodies across the state in identifying, preliminary evaluation, developing, structuring, and packaging robust, urban infrastructure projects that are climate-aligned, implementation-ready and attractive to public and private sector investors.
You will manage and coordinate these projects, primarily serving as the interface between the programme team and government counterparts. You will oversee the day-to-day coordination of project activities across team members, ensure timely delivery of outputs to partners, liaise with government departments and agencies, coordinate with local institutions and partners, and work closely with staff across WRI India and WRI Global offices.
WRI globally, has deep experience in the urban development sector and is widely recognized as a leader in promoting sustainable cities. Currently, WRI India is supporting various government and private agencies to promote low carbon climate resilient development in Indian cities, ensuring decarbonization that is ‘just’ and ‘inclusive’.
What Will You Do
The selected candidate will support the Sustainable Cities program at WRI India with the following:
- Lead engagements with City and State Departments in Odisha to identify opportunities within Odisha State for programmatic convergence through relevant programs, policies and schemes.
- Lead relationships with City and State leadership across Odisha, and across administrative heads, relevant line departments/ agencies/ parastatal organizations/ IFI’s / Bilat/Multilaterals/ CSOs/ NGOs/ local media/ local research institutes for various deliverables under the project.
- Lead the project team and coordinate project deliverables, laisse with relevant government agencies to obtain required data.
- Identify partners and ‘best practice’ consultants to support project activities and deliverables pertinent to each city, that meet WRI India’s high standards of innovation and technical assurance.
- Working closely with consultants in each city and city officials to lead, advise, facilitate and finalise the pre-feasibility or Detailed Project Reports
- Facilitate collaborative design of projects that address climate challenges and community priorities, working with municipal governments/government departments, engineers, and citizen groups; thereby strengthening partnerships with peer organizations, and partners working on the ground.
- Provide thought leadership on the role of embedded platforms/cells within municipal governments to support the implementation of adaptation and resilience projects and explore innovative financing mechanisms for implementation and long-term maintenance of nature-based interventions
- Frequently travel to project relevant cities for all important milestone events during the process
- Support in formulating effective climate policies and regulations, and innovative approaches to mobilize urban climate finance at the local and state levels.
What Will You Need
- Post-graduate in the related field of urban planning, urban design, energy, environment, climate change, sustainable development, economics, etc.
- Experience in project execution and knowledge of statutory processes.
- At least 6-8 years of sectoral experience in the field of climate change; urban design, urban planning and infrastructure project management is a strong plus.
- Demonstrated experience of working with sub-national governments in India on climate change and urban planning and development
- Knowledge of state-led urban planning and development programs and initiatives, relevant low-carbon policies and climate-resilient development in Odisha
- Strong communication skills, ability to liaise with government and other stakeholders - to enable data collection, communicate analysis & findings, and seek feedback iteratively
- Proficiency in quantitative and/or qualitative data collection and analysis
- Demonstrated ability to work both independently as well as part of a team
- Ability to articulate and present complex information in a clear and concise manner
- Ability to think creatively, work calmly and enthusiastically under pressure
- Strong understanding of urban finance and climate finance architecture is a plus.
- Ability to speak, understand, read and write Odiya
Salary shall be commensurate with experience and skills. WRI offers a generous and comprehensive benefits package.
Location: Bhubaneswar, Odisha India
Duration: 1 years as term hire (extendable based on performance and project requirements)
Start date: As soon as possible
List Of Documents To Be Attached
- Cover Letter
- Resume
How To Apply
Qualified applicants should apply online at www.wri.org/careers. All applications must be submitted online through this career portal in order to be formally considered. Only select applicants will be contacted for interview. There will be a writing test conducted with final candidates. Please do not contact program staff directly for this position.
Kindly note that WRI India’s recruitment process does not involve any payment at any stage. Applicants will never be asked to share bank account or financial information as part of the application. All official communication and offer letters are issued only through authorised WRI India email IDs.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) @WRI India
WRI India values and promotes diversity, equity and inclusion across all areas of our work and workforce. Integrating these values into our actions fosters a progressive and collaborative culture and can also enhance our impact. It is our responsibility to create a welcoming working environment for people of diverse cultures, backgrounds and experience to learn together. We are responsible for fostering a safe and inclusive workplace where questions, concerns and information about diversity, equity and inclusion are part of our ongoing dialogue and development.
Learn more about WRI India’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Click Here
People-centric To The Core
We keep our people at the center of everything we do - from a welcoming work environment to benefits and a culture that encourages staff to stay healthy, happy, engaged, and growing.
Some Of The Non-monetary Benefits That Our Staff Get
Health benefits: We cover health insurance for you and your loved ones for up to INR 8 lakhs
Term Insurance: Our term insurance policy covers life coverage of 50 lakhs per staff member
Employee Assistance program: Promoting mental well-being and supporting staff in achieving a satisfying work-life balance
Health & Nutrition: Personalized diet recommendation from a certified dietitian based on the physical health condition and lifestyle
Flexible work schedule: Alternative work arrangements for all who are eligible by nature of their job
Learning culture: Workshops and trainings to empower staff, encourage new learning opportunities
Rest and Recharge weeks: We encourage staff to take time off to rest, rejuvenate, upskill, and pursue their interests.
Our leave policy: Avail personal time off at 36 per year, along with public holidays, maternity, paternity, and adoption leaves.
Click here to know more about our benefits Careers | WRI INDIA (wri-india.org)
Equal employment @WRI India
We believe in equal employment, it is our policy to recruit and provide opportunities for advancement in all job classifications without regard to caste, religion, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, parental status, or disability.