Location: New Delhi
Start Date: December 01, 2026
Reporting to: Executive Director of the Trust
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 the Program
The Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth – India Program (ICSG India) works to advance innovative policies, strategies and technologies that foster sustained economic growth while addressing climate change, climate impacts and other high-priority environmental challenges in India. It does so through an integrated approach that combines rigorous research with strategic outreach and governmental partnership at the national and local levels. ICSG India’s work is organized around three main areas: the development of innovative new policies, including market-based instruments that can efficiently address environmental challenges; innovation in low-carbon technologies, particularly energy storage; and research and dialogue on climate systems engineering solutions to manage climate impacts.
Position Description
The Executive Director will be responsible for leading the day-to-day research, program outreach, and research collaboration activities of the ICSG India Program. This includes execution of major Program initiatives, research stakeholder engagement, and management of program staff in Delhi and other project locations throughout India across all major program functions. The incumbent will set and align strategic priorities, support the development of new projects and programs, supervise execution of existing programs, and provide institutional representation of ICSG India and its programmatic departments. The role requires deep knowledge of the Indian energy, environmental, and climate landscape across government, policy, media, and philanthropy.
Responsibilities
- Design and implement the overall vision and objectives of ICSG India, in collaboration with the faculty director, programmatic faculty leads, and other senior leadership and in alignment with donor expectations and requirements.
- Expand and strengthen through strategic research partnerships at the government, media, NGO, and academic levels.
- Work closely with collaborators across the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth to develop a diverse portfolio of research projects across the ICSG India program areas.
- Collaborate with external partners, including the Energy and Environment Lab, the Climate Impact Lab, and the Emissions Market Accelerator to develop research design, implementation, and/or scale-up for multiple research initiatives and projects.
- Identify opportunities for ICSG India to contribute research expertise to Indian energy and environmental policy issues through research, analysis, research dissemination, etc.
- Develop strategic research partnerships between ICSG India and key players in Indian energy and environmental policy, including in the government, corporate sector, and civil society.
- Serve as a primary point of contact for government, media, research, and philanthropic partners within India.
- Lead and manage program staff, providing direction, coordination, performance oversight, and support to ensure effective delivery of programs and organizational goals.
- Manage organizational project finances, handling program budgeting, project financial planning, and compliance with internal and external requirements.
- Ensure strategic execution, translating programmatic priorities into actionable plans, monitoring progress, and troubleshooting operational or resource challenges for research projects as they arise.
- Engage philanthropies, multilateral development banks, national development, climate and environment institutions to enhance existing projects and develop program opportunities in relevant areas of energy and environment, including climate.
- Lead the development program concept notes, and research dissemination communications to donors, funders, and institutional partners in India and internationally in alignment with project aims.
- Represent and participate at high-level forums, roundtables, and policy convenings meetings, discussions, and dissemination events per project aims, supporting the translation of research to action and engagement with key project stakeholders across government, academia, and philanthropy.
Qualifications
Education:
- BA Degree in Policy, Economics, Energy or Environment (Required)
- Master’s Preferred
Experience:
- Minimum of 15 years of relevant experience in public policy, international development, climate finance, sustainable development acquired through experience in private and public sector and non-profit/academic instructions
Competencies:
- Demonstrated leadership in policy engagement, donor relations, and development institutions.
- Strong familiarity with India’s environmental policy ecosystem and experience engaging with government agencies, industry, academic institutions and development partners.
- Demonstrated leadership through having led knowledge, research and project management teams.
- Legal, regulatory and commercial knowledge and experience of non-profit and for-profit entities in India.
- 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 Indian media market.
- Proven ability to multitask and successfully complete projects on a tight deadline.
- Willingness to work hard, self-motivated, and learn are 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.
- Ability to manage a heavy workload and competing priorities.
- Demonstrated sound judgment, ability to solve problems and make effective decisions.
- The roles and responsibilities outlined above are not meant to be an exhaustive list of tasks. The need for flexibility is required, and the job holder is expected to carry out any other related duties that are within the employee’s skills and abilities whenever reasonably instructed.
Working Conditions
- Travel throughout India and internationally may be required.
The applicant must be legally authorised to work in India.
Location
New Delhi, India
Application Documents
Resume
Cover Letter
Three References
Proposed starting date: December 01, 2026
To apply, please submit your documents to npremchandani@uchicagotrust.org. Last date to apply: September 11, 2026.