Lead - Electric Freight Collaborative

The Opportunity

As Lead of the Freight collaborative, you will be instrumental in advancing India's transition of Heavy Motor Vehicles (HMVs) to electric freight. This includes leading the strategic push for the electrification of trucks, strengthening charging infrastructure, and influencing policy through multi-stakeholder collaboration. Your leadership will be crucial in steering cross-sector partnerships, aligning diverse interests, and ensuring the effective implementation of mobility solutions that drive progress in decarbonization.

This role requires a strong track record in translating complex challenges into actionable strategies that work on the ground and can scale across ecosystems. You will own the end-to-end strategy, partnerships, ecosystem convening, and government interface for this multi-stakeholder transformation initiative. The Lead will align diverse actors around a common vision, convert strategy into action through well-governed working groups, and create an enabling policy environment required for large-scale implementation.

• Strategic Direction
• Develop and update the overall vision, long-term goals, and success metrics for the initiative.
• Map the full ecosystem—industry, financiers, think-tanks, civil society—identify gaps, bring new perspectives, and onboard new stakeholders.
• Conduct quarterly/bi-annual strategy reviews; set priorities for thematic tracks and adjust course as evidence emerges.
• Sequence pilots, policy work, and ecosystem milestones to create a coherent delivery roadmap.
• Synthesise inputs from all working groups into actionable, initiative-level guidance.
  • Partnership Enablement
  • Build and manage senior stakeholder relationships across government, industry, and civil society. This includes Policymakers, Vehicle Manufacturers (OEMs), Logistics and Fleet Operators, Battery & Charging Providers, Civil Society and Think Tanks, Financing and Investment Bodies, and Industry Alliances.
  • Define how partners can participate, their roles, and value propositions for every partner tier (core, contributor, knowledge, funder, etc.).
  • Broker alignment when perspectives diverge; foster a culture of shared ownership.
  • Institute a cadence of updates (weekly/fortnightly/monthly) on progress, metrics, and learning—driving transparency and adaptive planning.
  • Co-develop implementation and policy roadmaps with partners.
  • Government Engagement
  • Manage trusted dialogues with national and sub-national government bodies; provide data & insights that inform policy choices.
  • Monitor the evolving regulatory landscape; flag opportunities and risks for the initiative.
  • Convene inter-departmental or inter-ministerial meetings to align public-sector actors.
  • Design PPP or demonstration models, matching government needs with private capabilities.
  • Draft evidence-based policy briefs and position papers grounded in working-group findings
  • Policy Development and Advocacy
  • Lead structured, hypotheses-based problem-solving to formulate strategic and actionable solutions for critical policy gaps in charging infrastructure, such as national and state-level roadmaps, land use and permitting processes, and interoperability standards.
  • Generate actionable policy recommendations to guide state and national strategies for freight charging infrastructure, specifically focusing on streamlining regulatory processes, ensuring technical standardisation and reliability, and enabling investments through policy.
  • Contribute to the analysis and synthesis of findings to develop insights that inform policy recommendations.
  • Drive structured, trust-based policy dialogues to advance supportive regulatory frameworks and policy adoption at the national and state levels
  • Contribution to organisational growth
  • Mentor and guide the direct team (consultants, senior consultants, and engagement managers) to ensure delivery excellence and foster their professional growth.
  • Build capability within the team on an ongoing basis and create an enabling environment for growth and embedding of the organisational culture.
  • Contribute to developing perspectives through articles, client communication, and events, enhancing Sattva's expertise and leadership in the electric freight space
  • Identify and capitalise on opportunities for growing the accounts and projects you are managing; ensure the renewal of current projects where opportunities exist.

Key qualifications and experiences

• Extensive Consulting & Leadership Experience: Brings 14–16 years of experience across consulting firms, corporates, social enterprises, and global foundations, with a strong track record in complex operations, business development, and multi-stakeholder management.
• Academic & Domain Expertise: Holds a Master's degree in one of climate change, development studies, or public policy with a deep understanding of India's development landscape and global ecosystem actors, including government, academia, non-profits, and corporates. Preference will be given to candidates with a Master's degree in electrical engineering, power infrastructure, or energy.
• Policy & Ecosystem Influence: Demonstrated ability to shape policy frameworks and lead advisory projects, particularly within the EV and e-mobility sectors, through evidence synthesis, data analysis, and strategic stakeholder engagement.
• Strategic Thinking & Innovation: Skilled in solving complex problems, designing innovative strategies, and driving initiatives aligned with organisational goals, sustainability principles, and impact-oriented outcomes.
• Relationship & Conflict Management: Adept at building and managing strategic partnerships, navigating conflict through effective communication, and fostering trust-based collaboration across diverse actors.
• Team Leadership & Organisational Development: Proven leadership in team-building, delegation, and culture-building, with a focus on enhancing organisational effectiveness and supporting long-term growth.
• Communication & Adaptability: Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English; thrives in agile, entrepreneurial environments and is willing to travel to enable participatory knowledge creation and ecosystem engagement.