Website Oorja
Base Location: Remote work-from-home (India based)
Reporting Line: Project Manager
Earliest Start Date: 1 October 2022
About Oorja
Oorja (www.oorjasolutions.org) is an award-winning social enterprise based in New Delhi. We are on a mission to empower 10 million farmers globally by 2030 with the agricultural solutions they need to sustainably increase their income and quality of life.
Oorja is a Farming-as-a-Service company working at the intersection of sustainable agriculture and renewable energy. Our focus is on powering beneficial appliances that help users to generate stable incomes, create jobs, and mitigate carbon emissions. Despite urgent need, around 90% of marginal farmers cannot afford to invest in solar technology for their farms. Oorja wants to close this gap. We finance decentralised solar energy systems for community use. Oorja sells irrigation, milling and cooling as affordable services on a pay-per-use basis to smallholder farmers, without any upfront cost to them.
We operate in rural areas of northern India where farmers are currently reliant on polluting and expensive diesel motors for their energy needs. Our core strengths are our inclusive, farmer-centric business model and a diverse and driven team with shared passion for sustainable development. Some of our funders and partners in this mission are:
Role Background
Are you a committed development sector professionalwith a passion for the agriculture, energy or livelihood sectors and are you excited about Oorja’s work? If so, this multidisciplinary role may be for you! Oorja is seeking a Project Officer with 1 to 3 years of relevant experience to join its Head Office team. Your focus will be on writing funding applications and proposals, leading organisational communications, and conducting desk research and data analysis to support the expansion of Oorja’s farming services. You must have immaculate written English skills and working knowledge of Hindi, be a creative and enthusiastic communicator, and be proficient with Excel. In this position, you will have the opportunity to develop the strategy and create content to build the company’s profile externally. You should have a proven track record of achievement of targets and be comfortable working independently in a mission-driven start-up environment. We strongly encourage women candidates to apply for this role.
Key Duties
• Research potential funders and write fundraising applications and proposals
• Create, schedule and publish content for social media, website, newsletters, blogs, media publications, and other organisational communications
• Help shape the communications strategy to build recognition of Oorja’s model and impact among investors, partners, talent pool and other stakeholders
• Use impact data to prepare impact and investor reports
• Conduct desk research for expansion into new geographies and development of new services/products to benefit smallholder farmers and other low-income customers
• Collect, digitise, clean, analyse, present and manage qualitative and quantitative data on projects, customers and sitesfor demand assessment, site selection and internal records
• Support with fostering ground partnerships.
Roles and Responsibilities
The Project Officer’s responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
Writing and Communications
• Identify funding opportunities and research potential funders
• Write fundraising applications and proposals to foundations, DFIs, business plans competitions, awards and grant and equity investors
• Produce written, graphic and audio-visual material to showcase Oorja’s projects and impact
• Curate, produce and publish content to raise the organisation’s profile among potential funders and collaborators, and talent pool.: social media posts, quarterly newsletters, blogs, articles, website updates, etc.
• Develop, manage and schedule social media content and other communications
• Represent the organisation at webinars/conferences; respond to input requests for publications and media contributions
• Post job openings within the company to attract qualified candidates
• Help to design and implement the communications strategy to align with business goals
• Use quantitative and qualitative impact data, stories from the field and other insights to prepare impact and investor reports
• Write reports for internal and external audiences: project reports; performance and impact reports; quarterly project reports; reporting to investors and donors in designated format
Desk Research & Partnerships
• Desk research to inform the development of new agricultural services and products for smallholder farmers, including energy-based services, farming advisory, equipment rental, input procurement, etc.
• Desk research to identify target geographies for expansion of services; support with development of market entry strategy and pilot project implementation in new states and countries (Nepal, Cambodia, and others)
• Design surveys and support with collection, digitisation, presentation and analysis of primary data in coordination with Oorja’s ground teams
• Research, identify and assess new partner organisations and assist with due diligence
• Maintain regular communication with existing or potential on ground, value chain, implementation partners via phone, email, or in person meetings
Data Management & Presentation
• Supervise the regular updating of internal databases for project, equipment and customer data
• Coordinate with field teams to ensure project and customer data is up to date, accurate and complete
• Conduct research, assess, recommend and implement new digital technology and tools, including for customer relationship management (CRM), billing, payments, surveying, routine maintenance and project monitoring
• Clean, store, visualize, present and manage other types of data in Excel, Google Drive, Google Data Studio and other central databases
• Digitise in KoboToolbox, clean, analyse and present data collected by Business Development field teams for demand assessment and site selection prior to implementation of solar projects
• Assist with preparing reports on site pipeline for discussion with ground teams and approval from the management
Other
• Run the weekly team meeting, including organizing fun activities, introducing new team members, coordinating updates from representatives of each team, and arranging presentations during the weekly ‘Learning Forum’.
• Perform any other task assigned from time to time by supervisor or management.
Qualifications, Skill & Experience
• At least 1 year of relevant professional experience, with a strong interest in and understanding of agriculture, livelihoods and energy issues in rural India
• Postgraduate degree in a relevant discipline (preferred, but not essential)
• High degree of computer literacy with an excellent command of data analysis tools (MS Excel); graphic design and photo editing skills (Canva, Adobe Creative Suite, Prezi) would be a plus
• Excellent spoken and written communication skills in English and Hindi
• Strong storytelling skills and creative writing flair
• Demonstrated organisational skills and attention to detail
• Ability to work independently to meet deadlines and adhere to high quality standards
• Ability to work within a multidisciplinary, international team with sensitivity and respect for diversity
• Curiosity, team spirit, commitment and passion about the social and environmental challenge that drive Oorja’s work
• Ability and willingness to travel to rural areas of India for fieldwork from time to time.
What We Offer
• A highly enthusiastic, self-driven international team
• A melting pot of diverse talents – development professionals, researchers, engineers, farmers, scientists and community mobilisers
• Competitive remuneration package
• Comprehensive health and accident insurance
• Interesting field of work where you will build your understanding of solar technology and the development sector
• Close mentorship for career development
• A flat and open work culture and friendly work environment
• Experience and responsibility at an award-winning company in the renewable energy and agri-tech industries, among the fastest-growing segments of the global economy
• The change to make a difference and to help improve people’s lives.
How to Apply
If this exciting opportunity appeals to you, please send your application by filling the online application form by Sunday 25th September, 2022
Note: Even if you do not meet all of the qualifications, skills or experience requirements set out above, we encourage you to apply for this role anyway if you meet most of the criteria, are strongly motivated and feel that you are a good fit.
Application Process
For this role, Oorja will conduct a two-stage evaluation process. First, a short preliminary interview (45 min) about your background, experience and motivation. Second, a longer interview (2-3 hours) is arranged including assignments to further assess your skills and adequacy for the role, interactions with the team and fit within the organisational culture, and learn more about your long-term aspirations and alignment with the company’s growth plan. Both assessments will be conducted remotely over video call at this time.
We regret that due to high applicant volume, we will be able to reach out only to successful applicants. Successful candidates in each stage will be notified by email.
To apply for this job please visit www.oorjasolutions.org.
