Program Associate & Urban Designer

The World Resources Institute (WRI) India is hiring a Program Associate – Urban Designer in New Delhi to support the Eco City-Regions project. Responsibilities include providing design support for climate resilience initiatives, coordinating activities, contributing to conceptual designs, and managing stakeholder relationships. Candidates should have a relevant postgraduate degree and at least 2 years of experience in urban planning or related fields, with knowledge of Indian environmental policies.
Program Associate – Urban Designer
The World Resources Institute (WRI) India is seeking a Program Associate – Urban Designer based in New Delhi, India, to support the Eco City-Regions (ECR) project. The role provides technical assistance, design support, and coordination for climate resilience and urban design initiatives within the project.


Responsibilities

Provide design support to WRI India’s initiatives on climate resilience, environmental governance and management, urban ecology, water‑sensitive planning, and landscape design.
Support coordination for the ‘Thriving Eco City‑regions’ initiative, consulting with internal teams and external stakeholders across multiple city‑regions.
Organize and manage activities such as coalitions, platforms, forums, workshops, and conferences as required by project needs.
Contribute to conceptual designs, reviews and analyses of existing and upcoming initiatives, shaping deliverables such as layout designs, summary reports, recommendations, visual analytics, and dashboards.
Communicate closely with WRI India internal team members to meet project objectives and provide progress reporting.
Provide technical design support for deliverables related to planned project activities, including design layouts, primary and secondary research, on‑site convenings, stakeholder dialogues, and technical reviews.
Support relationship management with donors, implementation partners, and other stakeholders to enhance activity execution.
Contribute to the organization and administration of technical trainings and capacity‑building sessions on government missions such as AMRUT 2.0, Jal Jeevan Mission, Swachh Bharat Mission, and Smart Cities Mission.

Qualifications

PhD, Master’s, or equivalent postgraduate degree in water‑sensitive urban planning, landscape, urban design, water resources management, urban ecology, or a related discipline (desirable).
Minimum of 2 years of relevant work experience with city, state, or regional planning initiatives; implementation and management of large‑scale action research projects related to climate resilience, water‑sensitive planning, urban ecology, or environmental governance.
Specialization or demonstrated work experience in climate resilience, ecologically driven urban planning, and regional or sub‑regional water management (preferred).
High‑level knowledge of Indian urban development, climate, and environmental policy, including current trends and innovations such as water resilience and sponge cities.
Research and design experience with network analysis, integrated catchment modelling, and sustainable water systems at watershed and neighborhood levels; proficiency in advanced GIS tools is a strong plus.
Demonstrated experience in designing climate‑resilient solutions, managing implementation projects, and conducting quantitative and qualitative data analysis.
Experience managing teams and/or stakeholder relationships and task management.
Experience working with government ministries, departments, and non‑government stakeholders, including academic institutes and civil society organizations.
Excellent facilitation, communication, organizational, and interpersonal skills for overall team coordination.
Detail‑oriented, able to manage multiple priorities with high ethical standards.
Effective and respectful collaboration in diverse teams and communities.
Strong critical‑thinking capabilities and problem‑solving skills for sustainable solutions.

Salary and Benefits
Salary: INR 9,50,000 to INR 12,50,000 CTC (commensurate with experience and skills). Colourful benefits include health insurance for you and immediate family, term insurance, employee assistance program, personalized nutrition advice, flexible work schedule, learning culture workshops, rest and recharge weeks, and a leave policy of 36 days per year plus public holidays, maternity, paternity, and adoption leaves.


Other Details
Duration: 2 years (extendable based on performance and project requirements)
Location: New Delhi, India
Start Date: At the earliest


Equal Employment Opportunity
We believe in equal employment and our policy is 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.