Sr Program Associate- Food Waste

Job Summary

WRI India is seeking a Senior Program Associate based in Bengaluru to support the development and management of a city-level Food Waste Coalition focused on reducing food waste. The role will involve stakeholder mapping and engagement, coalition coordination, partnership development, implementation support, and knowledge generation.

The role will also involve identifying and engaging emerging technology and service providers working on food waste prevention, diversion, treatment, traceability, and circular resource recovery solutions across India. The selected candidate will help assess scalable and context-appropriate solutions for Bengaluru, facilitate knowledge exchange within the coalition, and support implementation partnerships that can strengthen the city's food waste management ecosystem.

What will you do

1. Stakeholder management and partnerships (50%):

• Map and engage stakeholders across city's food and waste ecosystem, including government agencies, MSMEs, hospitality businesses, food service providers, bulk waste generators, waste processors, technology companies, recyclers, NGOs, waste picker organizations, and informal food vendors.
• Identify, engage, and track emerging technologies, business models, and operational approaches for food waste prevention, redistribution, treatment, and landfill diversion relevant to cities.
• Support evaluation, onboarding, and coordination of implementation partners and solution providers for pilots and city-level interventions.
• Build and coordinate a city-level Food Waste Coalition to drive collaborative action on food waste reduction, diversion, and circular food systems.
• Convene meetings, workshops, roundtables, and stakeholder consultations to strengthen collaboration and knowledge sharing across the coalition.
• Manage relationships with municipal agencies, industry associations, businesses, and implementation partners to support project delivery and stakeholder alignment.
• Identify opportunities for partnerships, pilots, and collaborative initiatives that advance circular food systems and reduce food waste.

2. Research and communication (50%):

• Conduct research and analysis on food waste management, circular economy solutions, and urban waste systems to support evidence-based recommendations and program strategy.
• Analyse and compile project learnings, emerging practices and case studies, and contribute to the development of knowledge products including reports, presentations, briefing notes, and communication materials.
• Develop implementation strategy, maintain project trackers, monitor timelines, and support reporting on project milestones and deliverables.
• Development and delivery of training sessions, guidance materials, and capacity-building resources on food waste measurement, reporting, and diversion tracking for coalition members.
• External communications and stakeholder outreach through presentations, convenings, newsletters, and other dissemination activities.

What will you need

• Master's degree in environmental management, urban planning, waste management, sustainability, public policy, development studies, business administration, or related disciplines.
• 4-7 years of relevant work experience in urban sustainability, circular economy, waste management, food systems or related sectors.
• Strong understanding of urban waste management systems, food waste ecosystems, circular economy approaches, and landfill diversion strategies.
• Familiarity with food waste technologies, decentralized waste processing systems, waste treatment solutions, or circular economy innovations in India.
• Experience working with diverse stakeholders such as government agencies, MSMEs, food businesses, waste processors, technology providers, civil society organizations, or informal sector actors.
• Demonstrated stakeholder management and partnership-building experience, including the ability to convene and engage stakeholders across sectors.
• Understanding of city-specific (Pune/Bengaluru/Mumbai) waste management and food business ecosystems will be an advantage.
• Proficiency in relevant local languages will be an added advantage.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong skills in Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel, including data tracking, analysis, reporting, and presentation development.
• Ability to work independently, manage competing priorities, and take initiative in a dynamic work environment.
• Self-motivated, organized, and comfortable working in evolving and fast-paced program environments.
• Ability to work collaboratively in interdisciplinary and cross-functional teams.

Location

Location: Mumbai, India

Duration

Duration: 2 years, Extendable based on performance and project requirements

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) @WRI India

WRI India values and promotes diversity, equity and inclusion across all areas of our work and workforce. Integrating these values into our actions fosters a progressive and collaborative culture and can also enhance our impact. It is our responsibility to create a welcoming working environment for people of diverse cultures, backgrounds and experience to learn together. We are responsible for fostering a safe and inclusive workplace where questions, concerns and information about diversity, equity and inclusion are part of our ongoing dialogue and development.

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