Programme Associate- Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE)

Purpose

At CEEW, we envision a decarbonised electricity sector in India that provides reliable and affordable electricity services to all. To pursue this vision, we undertake interventions that can lead to accelerated and diversified deployment of renewable energy, socially and environmentally responsible deployment of RE and facilitate a just transition away from fossil fuel-based generation. We generate evidence for change, engage with policymakers to devise and implement policies and programmes, and evaluate the impact of initiatives on the ground.

CEEW seeks to hire a suitable candidate for the Programme Associate position to shape the team’s research efforts to increase the share of distributed renewables (DRE) and its integration in the grid. To accelerate the deployment, the candidate needs to build expertise on three fronts – nudging the consumer to adopt new technologies, identifying solutions with equitable incentives for stakeholders and facilitating the process with conducive policies and regulations. We are looking for candidates with an understanding of India’s energy market (specially DRE) and its policy and regulatory environment. The candidate will be expected to travel frequently to priority states to support the research effort of the team, plan and organize meetings/workshops at the state level.

Job Duties and Accountabilities

Research

• Review reports, journal papers, and other relevant research publications on DRE and its grid integration at the national and sub-national level
• Collect DRE related data to create comprehensive state-level databases for further analyses and assessment
• Regularly track DRE related important policy and regulatory developments in the sector and conduct rigorous literature review to inform the team.
• Analyse data pertaining to existing and emerging challenges DRE and its integration with the grid
• Conceptualise and implement projects related to the assessment of increasing the share of grid-connected distributed renewable energy technologies
• Conceptualise and implement new research methods, innovative ideas on market solutions, policy interventions and market design that can support the scale-up and integration of DRE technologies
• Identify distributed renewable energy deployment issues and opportunities from the state’s perspective to co-conceptualise and execute research that can aid policy, regulatory and market-related changes
• Develop trust-based relationships with key stakeholders, especially with discoms, regulators, state nodal agencies, developers and other research organisations and interact regularly to understand the challenges and opportunities in the DRE sector
• Evaluate the quality of draft data analyses and reports prepared by direct reports as well as all research products under the distributed renewable energy verticals

Programme Assistance

• Assist in project execution by contributing towards preparing detailed activity plans and timelines, resource planning, stakeholder management, cross-team interactions, and donor engagement.
• Contribute to the team’s outreach efforts including organising webinars/physical events, representing CEEW in industry events.
• Develop memos, briefs, presentations, op-eds/blogs, and other forms of outputs which could be circulated among internal and external stakeholders.
• Contribute towards consultations and briefings with government, industry and institutional partners.
• Contribute toward building and deepening relationship with international organisations for scaling up large and distributed renewable energy in India and other countries
• Assist in exchanging best practices between India and global partners

Selection Criteria

Qualification

• Bachelors degree (Preferable Master’s) with a specialisation in renewable energy technologies, economics, public policy or related field
• Basic understanding of India’s energy markets (specifically grid-connected DRE markets) and policy and regulatory environment
• Previous work/internships in any related fields would be an advantage.

Work experience

• Upto 4- 7 years for PA of relevant work experience in the field of research, policy/industry engagement and project management in the area of electricity policy, electricity distribution, energy modelling and renewable energy; Candidates with strong research skills but with lesser experience may also be considered
• Prior experience in writing white papers, articles, policy briefs, research reports and undertaking surveys

Key skills

• Strong ability to organise, process, and analyse large data sets that are used and derived through power/energy models.
• Ability to learn new tools to manage, process and drive insights from datasets.
• Ability to effectively work in a team while taking initiative to identify problem statements and use relevant research methods to find answers.
• Ability to work in an interdisciplinary and multicultural environment.
• Strong interpersonal and influencing skills
• Proficiency in MS-Excel is a must. Understanding of STATA/R/Python and other data visualisation tools would be an added advantage
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Ability to summarise and communicate the insights/findings in written and oral formats
• Proficiency in Hindi and English language

If you are passionate about supporting India’s Energy transition, this is the place for you! CEEW operates in a dynamic environment and the candidate will be required to show flexibility in undertaking a variety of tasks.

Compensation

Competitive compensation – commensurate to the experience and matching the best of standards adopted by industry or other similar organisations for similar roles.