Job Opportunity for Program Manager- Special projects at Selco Foundation in Bengaluru

Position: Program Manager- Special projects (full time, 6 months’ probation period)
Location: Bangalore
Reports to: Associate Director, SELCO Foundation
Starting date: Immediately

About SELCO Foundation:

SELCO Foundation is an open source, not for profit organization that engages in field-based R&D and ecosystem building for deployment of clean energy solutions that alleviate poverty in tribal, rural and urban poor areas. The organization works in collaboration with practitioners in the social sector, energy entrepreneurs, NGOs from various developmental sectors and educational institutions to link the benefits of sustainable energy to poverty eradication. The organization works across verticals such as energy access, health, water purification, livelihoods, education with practitioners in the social sector, energy entrepreneurs and partners from various developmental sectors. www.selcofoundation.org

The Role:

We are looking for a highly motivated individual who is passionate about working on solar energy project implementation and deployment particularly in areas that are off grid or unreliably connected to the grid, including high risk institutions, public health and education facilities, livelihood centres and other last mile communities. The broader goal is to use decentralised solar energy to improve well-being, livelihoods and healthcare.

The ideal candidate should have strong skills in coordinating operations and communications (written and verbal). He/she must be able to lead projects and work in teams, while being able to collaborate with partners and key stakeholders (including internal project teams, on-ground partners, and external entities- CSR departments of companies and foundations). The role requires individuals who are skilled in coordination, estimation and budget management and project execution. The projects require an approach which challenges the set paradigms and come up with end to end solutions- employing resourcefulness in project design, implementation and monitoring project problems. We seek individuals who are able to work very hands-on on the site while also being able to extract key learnings for the sector as a whole.

Job Description:

Operations and project management:

• Coordinate with key teams and stakeholders (internal and external) to ensure smooth operations of special projects- from lead generation and site assessment, to procurement and implementation
• Plan project execution by engaging with field partners/ internal field teams, procurement teams, local energy enterprises in different geographies
• Manage key partnerships for CSR and special projects of decentralised solar energy solutions implementation and deployment
• Travel periodically to ensure smooth implementation of projects
• Manage logistics and vendor coordination

Identification and mapping:

• Liaising with programme teams (on need)
• Mapping potential CSRs 

Tracking budgets and implementation:

• Responsible for overall planning, implementation and tracking of all special projects and CSR projects
• Track and share reports on budgets, project execution progress on a biweekly and monthly basis
• Track reporting timelines for various special projects and CSR project partners

Sharing learnings:

• Strategically track CSR and special solar project efforts across regions and focus areas (wellbeing, education, livelihoods, healthcare)
• Collate learnings from the work being done and generate monthly, quarterly and funder reports
• Coordinate with senior managers and team members to share progress
• Ensure projects are monitored and evaluated
• Coordinate with outreach team members for proper archiving and dissemination of information

Key requirements

• Bachelors or Masters in Development/ Finance and Management/ Renewable energy or related subject areas.
• 6 or more years of work experience (preferably with experience in Corporate Social Responsibility or development sector)
• Highly motivated, responsible, self-directed, resourceful and flexible; Ability to multi- task
• Willingness to work with other team members; strong engagement, leadership, operational and coordination skills
• Interest in solar energy projects implementation and deployment aimed at improving energy
• reliability and quality in areas that are not connected or unreliably connected to the grid
• Good Communication skills- on qualitative and quantitative aspects; Ability to work on budgets
• Ability to bring information together in an easily readable form for a wide range of audiences.
• Willingness to travel to rural locations for 5-10 days on a monthly basis.
• Strong working knowledge of English; Additionally, spoken knowledge of at least one regional language would be desirable (particularly Kannada/ Hindi/ Tamil/ Odiya)