About the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA)

Established in 1976, the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA, is a premier Institute of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India for research and capacity building for urban sector in India. NIUA’s broad objective is to bridge the gap between research and practice on issues related to urbanization. For more than 40 years now, NIUA has been the vanguard for contributing to and building the urban narrative for a fast-evolving Urban India. The Institution has been actively working on bringing forth key areas of concern for urban India in order to build the urban discourse at various urban scales. It has utilized its competencies in research, knowledge management, policy advocacy and capacity building to address urban challenges and continuously striving to develop sustainable, inclusive, and productive urban ecosystems in the country. It has emerged as a thought leader and knowledge hub for urban development in India and is sought out by both Indian and International organizations for collaborations and partnerships in India’s urban transforming journey. NIUA is committed towards aligning its efforts towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through all its initiatives and programs.

About CITIIS

In 2018, the City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain (CITIIS) program was launched jointly by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), the French Development Agency (AFD), the European Union, and the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA).

In order to leverage and scale up the learnings and successes of CITIIS 1.0, the second phase of the program (CITIIS 2.0) has been conceived by MoHUA in partnership with AFD, KfW, EU and NIUA. The program envisages to support competitively selected projects with a focus on integrated waste management at the city level, climate-oriented reform actions at the State level, and institutional strengthening and knowledge dissemination at the National level.

The National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) hosts the Integrated Program Management Unit (PMU) to operate the CITIIS 2.0 program, supervise the program activities at the City and State levels, and also coordinate activities at the National level.

The objective for CITIIS 2.0 is to Foster climate-sensitive planning, Drive investments into urban climate action, and Build institutional, leverage partnership and anchor capacity building.

The program envisages to support competitively selected projects with a focus on integrated waste management at the city level, climate-oriented reform actions at the State level, and institutional strengthening and knowledge dissemination at the National level.

The major components of the program are:

1. Component 1 – Financial and technical support for up to 18 smart cities through the competitive selection of projects promoting a circular economy with a focus on integrated waste management.
2. Component 2 – All States and UTs will be eligible for support on a demand basis. The States will be provided support to (a) set up/strengthen their existing State climate centres/climate cells/equivalents, (b) create State- and City-level Climate Data Observatories, (c) facilitate data-driven planning and implementation of climate action plans, and (d) build the capacities of municipal functionaries.
3. Component 3 – Interventions at all three levels (Centre, State and City) to further climate governance in urban India through institutional strengthening, knowledge dissemination, partnerships, capacity building, and research and development to support scaling up across all States and Cities.

Responsibilities

The selected candidate will work closely with the Program Coordinator / Team Lead- CITIIS at NIUA, senior officials at the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and other thematic experts to support conceptualization of innovative approaches, operations, coordination, stakeholder engagement, reporting, knowledge product formulation and knowledge dissemination activities.

The responsibilities of the circular economy specialist will include, but will not be limited to:

1. Program Management: facilitate ULBs and State UDD in development, execution and monitoring of projects on ISWM with a strong emphasis on Circular economy, and environmental safeguards.

• Support the strategic thinking of Circular Economy principles in policy and Management System design of State Governments, Urban Local Bodies and Smart City SPVs.
• Support the elaboration of feasibility studies, E&S studies mandatory document and other related studies, compliantly with IFIs standard, and CITIIS 2.0 guidelines.
• Help cities and states on circular economy interventions that can help leverage schemes like EPR on plastic packaging, BWG EPR, etc.

2. Stakeholder Engagement: ensure collaboration of all the stakeholders including MoHUA, AFD, KfW, EU, State governments, ULBs, SPVs, domestic experts, International mentors and Transversal experts under the CITIIS 2.0 program. Facilitate stakeholder meetings, workshops, and consultations to gather inputs and foster collaboration and co-creation to achieve program goals as defined in program logical framework (PLF).

• Support the day-to-day planning, implementation, and monitoring of CITIIS 2.0 activities with Central and State Governments, Urban Local Bodies and Smart City SPVs.
• Coordinate with internal teams and program partners (MoHUA, AFD, KfW, EU, State Governments, and ULBs) for smooth implementation of program deliverables.
• Support the preparation of meeting agendas, minutes, briefing notes, and synthesis reports
• from consultations and field visits.
• Support the planning and execution of program events such as workshops, roundtables, review missions, field visits, and training sessions at national, state, and city levels.
• Assist in managing logistics, stakeholder coordination, and on-site support for program events, especially focused on behavior change communication.

3. Knowledge Capitalization and reporting: Work closely with the knowledge officer/specialist to capture, organize, and disseminate the knowledge on integrated waste management and urban climate action, respectively. It shall also include drafting interim/biannual/annual reports, and other documentation, as needed.

• Liaise with other team members as well as the city and state levels team to ensure effective knowledge transfer, continuity of learning, and integration of best practices into the projects.
• Provide analytical and research support related to integrated Circular Economy, GHG emission evaluation and climate resilience.
• Draft technical and policy documents, including consultation papers, technical memos, project summaries, and background notes.
• Assist in the review and collation of feedback on program documents from national and international partners.
• Work closely and coordinate with domestic and transversal experts under the project to smoothly execute stipulated tasks under different components of CITIIS 2.0.
• Help in development of update reports, Monitoring evaluation and learning plans and other reports required by partner agencies.

4. Technology integration: There are three key technology components under the CITIIS program (i) CITIIS website, (ii) CITIIS management platform, (iii) Proposed- National Climate Data observatory (NCDO). The program Manager will support the technology integration into the program activities.
5. Partnership Development: Maintain existing relations and develop new partnerships with academic institutions, administrative training institutes, research agencies, scientific laboratories and industry bodies for facilitating the effective implementation of the program, and exchange of knowledge. The program manager will also be responsible for organizing industry workshops and climate investment summits.

Reporting

The Circular economy specialist shall report to the Program Coordinator/ Team Lead - CITIIS at NIUA, New Delhi.

Skills and Qualifications

• Post Graduate (master degree) in Environmental Science / Urban Planning / Environmental Engineering / Sustainable Development or equivalent from a reputed institute.
• Minimum 10 years of relevant work experience in the Circular Economy sector. Preference shall be given to candidates having experience of working with Industries or Think Tanks (in sectors like policy / recycling / EPR / Water management etc).
• Demonstrated experience in supporting large scale, multi-stakeholder, donor-funded projects or government programs in India.
• Familiarity with government programs related to urban development such as the Swachh Bharat Mission, AMRUT and Smart Cities Mission. Having worked on bilateral / multilateral agency projects shall be an added advantage,
• Knowledge of environmental science and circular economy in solid waste / wastewater sector / urban climate resilience.
• Demonstrated experience of developing project reports, consultation papers, policy papers, research articles etc.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.

References:

Please provide name and contact information of three references.

Remuneration: As par with the industry standards, depending on experience and skills and fitment with NIUA remuneration structures. Proof of past remuneration (last received salary/monthly contract payment) would be required.

Application process: Submit CV and cover letter through the NIUA portal. Applications through any other mode shall not be accepted. Only eligible applicants meeting the minimum criteria may apply.

Last Date of Application: 13^th April, 2026