State Coordinator / Consultant – Climate Action Capacity Assessment

Purpose 

We seek to hire a State Coordinator / Consultant to expand our work in the areas of sustainable food systems and water resources management with an overall aim of making them resilient to the impacts of climate variability and change. The candidate would advance our research, policy engagement, and impact in the fields of sustainable agriculture, food systems, water resources management, climate risks and adaptation, landscape restoration, etc.

In the first year of the work, the candidate will focus on a project on Climate Change Institutional Assessment to analyse the preparedness of the government institutions in some of the Indian states, such as Rajasthan, and develop recommendations for ‘recalibrating’ them for climate action. For this, the candidate is expected to be based in the state. This project, in particular, will require

1. Solid coordination skills to facilitate meetings with the government departments, to collect data and information and be a organizations point of contact in the state 
2. Solid stakeholder engagement to manage 10s of internal and external stakeholders to be engaged in this work
3. Knowledge of institutional arrangements and governance processes at the state level in the institutions like Planning Department, State Water Resource Planning Department (RSWRP), Water Resources Department, Public Health Engineering Department, Disaster Management & Relief Department, Agriculture Department, Watershed and Soil Conservation Department, Department of Environment and Forestry, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department, Department of Urban Development, etc. 
4. Provide support for institutional capacity gap assessment and policy analysis

In addition to the above, the following are the general Job Duties and Accountabilities

Job Duties and Accountabilities

• Take complete ownership of state-level stakeholder engagement (especially with gov’t departments dealing with Agriculture, Water-resources, Rural Development, Planning, Forestry, and Environment and Climate Change) and coordination related to state-level projects of organization in Rajasthan. 
• Provide support with state-specific technical inputs to facilitate comprehensive policy, institutional, and programme analysis.
• Support coordination with the relevant stakeholders in the state including the identified departments to ensure effective implementation of the project.
• Collect relevant data and information from the identified state departments and provide relevant feedback on the same
• Plan, organise and manage meetings, consultations, and other events together with the state departments 
• Undertake targeted data analysis, prepare minutes of the various engagements, consultations, and meetings with the state, and contribute to report writing
• Coordinate technical exchanges and communication (point of contact) between the organization and the state
• Any other support or activities that may be required

Selection Criteria

Education

• Master's degree in public policy/ Governance / Climate Change / Env. Management/ Development/ agriculture /natural resource management/food systems/consumer behaviour/ sociology/ anthropology/ international relations/water resources management or any other relevant field relevant for food system transformation and/or Climate Risk and Adaptation.

Professional experience

• At least five years of relevant experience in policy engagement, and project management, preferably in the areas of ecosystem services agriculture, food systems, Climate Risk and Adaptation biodiversity, forestry, sustainable production, and climate policy
• Strongly preferred: Deep understanding of Institutional Arrangements and Governance processes and experience in institutional capacity assessment and policy analysis
• Experience in building relationships with collaborators and government stakeholders
• Experience in engaging with interdisciplinary and inter-programmatic work
• Significant field experience of working with on-ground stakeholders, including consumers, farmers, agriculture extension organisations, communities, etc.

Main skills 

• Strong coordination and stakeholder management skills 
• Strong proficiency with various quantitative and qualitative research methods
• Ability to apply technical knowledge to varied socio-cultural, ecological and political contexts
• Strong writing skills with the ability to write coherently and concisely emails, opinion pieces, policy briefs, and reports
• Strong oral communication skills as well as an interest in public speaking
• Strong interpersonal skills, and confidence to engage with political and business leaders

Personality

• Ambitious. Curious. Adaptive. Proactive.
• Leader. Comfortable with uncertainty. Strategic and deliberate.
• Striving for rigour and impact at scale
• Detail-oriented, while always keeping the larger picture in mind
• Ability to work in an interdisciplinary and multicultural environment
• Strong interest and flexibility to travel and be on the ground
• Flexibility towards long work hours when the situation demands

Solid coordination skills

Solid stakeholder engagement