Fellowship Opportunity – State Climate Fellow at Climate Group in Kolkata

About Climate Group and TCCO India

Climate Group drives climate action. Fast. Our goal is a world of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, with greater prosperity for all.

We focus on systems with the highest emissions and where our networks have the greatest opportunity to drive change. We do this by building large and influential networks and holding organisations accountable, turning their commitments into action.

We share what we achieve together to show more organisations what they could do. We are an international non-profit organisation, founded in 2004, with offices in London, Amsterdam, Beijing, New Delhi and New York. Climate Group is also the Secretariat to the Under2 Coalition.

TCCO India is a wholly owned subsidiary company of The Climate Change Organisation known and trading as the Climate Group (CG) and part of a group of companies, collectively referred to as Climate Group.

Assignment/Project Background

Goal:

To engage young and dynamic professionals in relevant departments in Indian states.

Objective:

To strengthen state climate leadership by supporting activities and climate strategies of select Indian states (in this case West Bengal) via state climate fellowship.

Description:

Climate Group, in partnership with Swaniti Initiative, launched Phase I of the State Climate Fellows initiative in 2022, through which multiple Indian states are being facilitated for their climate action and planning. Following the success of Phase I, we propose to create another cohort of “climate fellows” in selected new Indian states/ UTs as a part of the ‘State Climate Fellows Phase II’ initiative. These fellows will be pivotal in championing the climate strategies in these states/ UTs and support in aligning the state/ UT climate goals with the revised national ambition. The Fellows will be coming in with prior experience of working in the climate space and will be engaged on 12-month consultancy contracts working in respective states/ UTs, to ensure that the appropriate levers for climate are being pushed.

The selected Consultant’s main point of contact at TCCO India Projects Pvt Ltd (a wholly owned subsidiary of Climate Group UK) will be the Senior Project Officer – Government Engagement, India.

Project Activities:

Technical and policy advisory support: Working with the relevant stakeholders supporting Ministers in states, fellows will offer technical and policy advisory support across key themes under climate mitigation and adaptation/resilience. While the support provided to senior bureaucracy in Phase I ensured effective climate action at the state level, facilitating Ministers will ensure more effective coordination between states.

Global leadership profiling: Actively identifying opportunities for the Ministers and other state officials for high-level representation in national, regional and global forums and platforms. Few suggestive ones are-Climate Week NYC, Under2 General Assembly, COP, Clean Energy Ministerial, G20 convenings, Climate Group’s global level summits in India, etc.

Facilitate climate change efforts through inter-departmental coordination: Working with various departments to facilitate the integration of climate action into planning. Provide support through knowledge exchange, research or technical assistance. Based on the demand from Phase I state governments, these areas could include: clean energy transition, just transition, sustainable transportation, climate-smart agriculture, supporting low carbon development roadmaps and pathways, climate resilience, climate finance and climate leadership. Relevant departments to be firmed up during 1st six months via outreach and consultations based on states’ political economy.

Engage and collaborate with other Indian states: Through monthly briefs and policy papers created with Swaniti Initiative and Climate Group, support political leadership in other states on areas of urgent climate action.

Enable global knowledge exchange: Best practices from target states and the region will be disseminated globally via case studies, convening platforms, interaction with experts, climate fellows in other states, civil society, academic institutions.

Consultant Role

Brief Description of Consultant Activities:

• Policy and research inputs to support West Bengal’s climate action planning esp. focusing on revision of the State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC)
• Conduct primary assessments of the region through primary and secondary studies, and high-level stakeholder consultations in order to develop an understanding of the state and identify opportunities and challenges.
• Facilitate climate change efforts at the state level: Work through the Nodal or relevant department to facilitate the integration of climate change into planning processes, identify departments where there is a strong demand to address issues of climate change and provide requisite support for the revision of West Bengal’s State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) through knowledge exchange, research support or technical connect. This would also include connecting departments with key climate initiatives including but not limited to clean energy transition across the heavy emitting sectors, state adaptation plans, sustainable transportation, climate-smart agriculture, etc.
• Carry out secondary research in climate change issues
• Support the state’s Environmental Plan and Policies (ideally engage with the environment Department and other key departments) via regular knowledge dissemination and policy inputs on strategically important initiatives of the state through a multi-stakeholder platform. Support the State Environment Dept. to maintain a close liaison with the stakeholder Departments for obtaining all relevant information and help in analyzing and structuring the available information from Departments as well as research materials available in various academic, social and key organizations for the revision of the SAPCC.

Project development support and regular reporting

• Assist the state department in developing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Request for Proposals (RFPs) for identified interventions.
• Provide regular updates to the Senior Project Officer – Government Engagement, India about the progress on the various ongoing workstreams.
• Ensure timely delivery of the tasks under the assigned workstreams in coordination with the state environment department and Climate Group/Swaniti Initiative.
• Support the State Dept. of Environment in all matters pertaining to the Climate Change as well as environment related issues like Sundarbans, Wetlands, forests, Carbon trading etc.

Communications and events

• Enable knowledge exchange through case studies, convening platforms and interacting with experts, civil society, academic institutions and think tanks. These will be periodic knowledge consortiums that will be pre-decided with partners. Keep the State Dept. of Environment informed of the national as well as international best practices and research studies in environmental issues of concern through adequate documentation to strengthen informed policy decisions.
• Inform senior policy leaders about opportunities in the climate space through monthly briefs and policy papers on relevant thematic area that will jointly be created with the Climate Group.
• Represent the organization (both TCCO India and the concerned state department) when required, in both internal and external stakeholder meetings and other events in the region.
• Support in all environment related matters at the Department.

Deliverables

Please see the post on our Careers Page for details of the deliverables.

Travel

Travel by the Consultant, if any, for the assignment is not covered by the above amount. The same shall be reimbursed on submission of Claims. All travels must be pre-approved by Reporting Manager.

Main TCCO India touchpoint/s

• Consultant’s main touchpoints at TCCO India will be the Senior Project Officer, Government Engagement, India
• Consultant will also have a direct liaison with a government officer in the concerned department for day-to-day activities and coordination 

Payment of Fee

Payments shall be made on submission of undisputed invoice and submission of activity report.
Payment shall be made within 30 days from receipt of these documents.

How to apply

Use the ‘Apply for this job’ button to apply for this consultancy assignment. You will be directed to Climate Group’s job board where you can submit your application.

Applications for this consultancy assignment should come in the form of a CV (not more than 2 pages) and cover letter (not more than 1 page). We request that you adhere strictly to page limits. The expected closing date for submitting your application is 7 February 2023.