Research Analyst- Powering Livelihoods

Purpose

CEEW seeks to hire a suitable candidate for the position of Research Analyst within the Powering Livelihoods (PL) vertical of the Sustainable Livelihoods theme. Lack of access to reliable energy is a barrier for households, communities, and enterprises to reach their desired potential. Powering Livelihoods, a USD 3 million joint initiative by CEEW and Villgro, aims to transform the rural economy with the penetration of clean energy-powered livelihood solutions. It supports enterprises deploying clean-energy-based livelihood solutions for undertaking large-scale commercial deployments.

With the vision that within the next ten years, Decentralised Renewable Energy (DRE) will be an integral part of all rural productive use applications, this programme seeks to ignite the transformation, a few enterprises at a time. The Powering Livelihoods programme will bridge the commercial valley of death by providing financial and capacity-building support to enterprises with field-tested technologies to undertake commercial deployment of their solutions. The scale of these deployments will be large enough to demonstrate commercial viability and make the key stakeholders take notice. Supporting commercial deployment will drive enterprise growth, enabling them to establish their business model, demonstrate a track record of operations, and build a wider pool of investible opportunities in the sector.

As part of the Powering Livelihoods team at The Council, the individual would be involved in the cross-cutting themes of energy access and rural livelihoods, with the aim of supporting entrepreneurs in commercialising their clean energy solutions for livelihood applications. The candidate's primary role would involve undertaking market research studies on field-tested DRE-powered technologies that can enable livelihoods. The role would entail engagement with multiple stakeholders of the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem, viz. entrepreneurs, investors, financiers, incubators and accelerators, and other market enablers. Candidates must possess strong analytical abilities (including logical reasoning, critical thinking, information gathering, analysing and visualising), strong communication skills, and a zeal to learn and create impact. Familiarity with start-up and social enterprise ecosystems, rural consumers and markets, rural livelihoods, and the MSME sector would be desirable. The role would involve frequent travel to smaller cities and rural areas to collect data and engage with enterprises and the rural population.

In addition to the duties and responsibilities below, the individual should be prepared to take on additional responsibilities as and when necessary.

Job Duties and Accountabilities:

Primary Responsibilities

• Undertake market research for DRE-powered livelihood solutions supported by the Powering Livelihoods programme.
• Undertake primary (includes travel to the field sites) and secondary research to estimate the market opportunity and understand prospective customers and their ecosystem.
• Engage and interact with key stakeholders to understand their roles and influence on the market characteristics.
• Prepare research outputs such as market research reports and databases, including market potential, size, etc.

Secondary Responsibilities

• Support the team in developing concept notes for consultations with government stakeholders, engagement with ministries, and capacity-building engagement with financiers; contribute to writing high-quality research reports; and regularly generate other knowledge products such as presentations, memos, blogs, and policy briefs for different audiences.
• Participate in relevant conferences, workshops, and training programs as necessary to communicate research findings and gain insights on new research in focus areas.
• Assist in building strategic partnerships and collaborations with peer organisations, industry, and government departments to ensure continued learning, growth, and impact at scale.
• As needed, support and accompany team members to internal and external meetings, prepare minutes of the meetings and assist with any new and emerging activities.

Shortlisting Criteria

Education

• Strong academic credentials, preferably a Master's degree in developmental studies, political science, environment or public policy.
• A Master's degree with a specialisation in livelihoods, market research focusing on the agri-sector, development economics or development studies.

Experience

• 1—2 years of prior experience conducting market research, focusing on the agri-sector and rural customers.
• Key skills Strong analytical skills Strong hold on statistical tools, such as STATA.
• Previous experience in market research is a must
• Exposure to research skills would be a plus
• Exposure to the productive use of energy and working principles of various DRE technologies is a plus
• Understanding of relevant ministries and departments and their scheme promoting livelihood and microenterprises in India.
• Good written and oral communication skills.

Compensation

Competitive compensation – commensurate to the experience and matching the best standards adopted by industry or other organisations for similar roles.

Application

CEEW is an equal-opportunity employer, and the selection process does not discriminate based on age, gender, caste, ethnicity, religion, or sexuality. Female candidates are encouraged to apply.