Job Opportunity for Principal Strategist – Energy Transition at Forum for the Future in Mumbai

Salary: Total annual package will be dependent on experience;

Range between INR 24,00,000 – 32,50,000 pro rata, per annum

Hours: 37.5 hours per week (5 days a week) excluding lunch breaks

Contract: This is a two year fixed term contract, with the possibility of renewal. The initial contract will end 24 months after its start unless already terminated by either party prior to that date.

Location: Mumbai, India with the possibility of remote work in India. Candidates must have a valid right to work in India. This is a remote role with regular office working at least once per month or as needed for priority internal and external meetings.

Benefits: various opportunities for flexible working, generous time off policies, and other sector-competitive benefits.

About Forum for the Future

Forum for the Future, one of the world’s leading international sustainability non-profits, works to create a just and regenerative future. We have a 27-year track record in influencing change on the issues that matter most. We inspire change-actors to step up their ambition, stretch their vision and find pathways that are systemic, strategic and capable of tackling the root causes of our current crises.

We focus on influencing three pivotal transitions: to renewable energy, to a sustainable food system, and in the purpose of business. We have partnerships with influential organisations in business, civil society, government and philanthropy and drive national and international multi-stakeholder projects from four offices: North America, UK/Europe, India and Southeast Asia.

About the team

We are a multicultural team of 80 people, with offices in London, Mumbai, New York, and Singapore.

As Principal Strategist – Energy Transition, you will primarily contribute to our work in India and will work closely with people based in our India and Southeast Asia teams. We expect you to have an in-depth understanding of energy transition space in India including various aspects such as clean energy finance and investment, ESG mechanisms, policy and land-use.

You will work as part of our programmatic team that is contributing to driving an ecologically safe and socially just energy transition in India and Southeast Asia.

About the role

Forum is at an exciting time in our evolution, offering opportunities for unprecedented impact. We updated our strategy during 2022, with the new strategy for 2023 – 2025 now moving into the implementation phase.

We believe that the energy system is at a pivotal crossroads. Its transition will either be deep, deliberate and urgent, tackling the root causes of the challenges we face today in producing and using energy. Or it will fall short, with ‘solutions’ addressing specific problems in isolation, going neither far enough or fast enough, while simultaneously risking unintended consequences. Forum’s ambition is to drive a socially just and ecologically safe transition to a renewable energy system that works for people and the planet.

In this role, you will be responsible for implementing, shaping and adapting Forum’s strategy for impact of energy transition in India – from development and design to implementation and monitoring major system change projects – to deeply engaging a wider range of stakeholders. To be successful in this role, you need significant programmatic experience and fabulous team-working skills, combined with the ability to form strong relationships with a range of actors (corporates, investors, public agencies).

You will also lead various functions of our flagship programme the Responsible Energy Initiative, which is working to shape a just transition to renewable energy in India and Southeast Asia.

About you

To succeed in this role you should have:

• A passion for contributing to driving an ecologically safe and socially just transition.
• A high ambition for what the energy transition needs to look like; and a transformed future that it will contribute to.
• An in-depth understanding of the renewable energy landscape in India, with expertise in one or more areas including clean energy finance and investment, market, ESG mechanisms, decision making across RE deployment and land-use.
• The ability to form deep, strong relationships with, and experience of working with a range of different actors across different levels, particularly private sector, investors, public agencies in the renewable energy sector.
• A flair for collaborative leadership and ways of working.
• Experience in and contributed to the shaping of an ambitious strategy and subsequent implementation, with a focus on impact. This will require strong analytical skills, practice in applied system thinking, design and system change tools such as Futures.
• Desired – a deep understanding of the impact of clean energy transition on communities, workforce and biodiversity. Experience in directly working with traditionally marginalised communities.
• Desired – ability to design system change interventions that center equity and justice.

And to further thrive in this role you will need to:

• Be effective at highly distributed and networked ways of working, and skilled at using digital platforms
• Enjoy working with people from different cultures and across geographies and your preferred ways of working are embodied by Forum’s values
• Be an effective communicator, writer, presenter and speaker able to engage effectively with different audiences and clearly communicate complex energy system and sustainability information to non-expert audiences in a way that compels action.

If you do not meet all of the requirements outlined in the job description but still believe you have the right mix of skills and experience to thrive in this role and further Forum’s ambitious goals for change, we encourage you to apply.

In return, we offer a unique opportunity to be at the forefront of systems thinking and change making, continually learning and experimenting to identify how we deliver the most impact working in a collaborative multi-cultural team environment.

Forum for the Future works in a space of complexity where there are no easy answers – an ideal candidate will be comfortable with uncertainty and be able to hold space for exploration and innovation. Resilience is a key personal attribute that is necessary to the role.

Our work environment

We believe in being courageous, adaptive, inquisitive, respectful, empathetic and playful. You can read more about our organisational values here. These values help build our common culture, shape our shared purpose and guide us in all actions and decisions. We are inspired by the world in which we live and those with whom we share it and seek to act justly in all we do.

We enjoy working in teams, collaborating, and learning from each other. We are a dynamic, flexible and supportive team of people who care about each other’s wellbeing and the world around us.

At Forum, we aspire to foster positive team spirit and to provide the best possible working environment for all our staff; one that is based on the highest standards of ethics, honesty, integrity, openness and transparency. We work as a close knit, dynamic, and supportive team. We offer various opportunities for flexible working to help you manage your work life balance.

If this role interests and excites you, we would love to hear from you!