About the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA)

Established in 1976, NIUA, is a premier Institute of the 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 the project

Developing Urban River Management Plans for cities in the Ganga Basin: Since 2020, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and NIUA have been working on a programme to improve the state of urban rivers in India. One of the notable outputs of this programme is a national framework for managing urban rivers that river cities in the Ganga Basin and beyond can adopt for developing city-specific river management plans. The framework, called the Urban River Management Plan (URMP) framework requires cities to take concrete actions against a ten-point agenda. The URMP framework goes beyond mere pollution control to also include aspects related to the river economy and connecting citizens with the river. The actions that cities need to take against the 10-point agenda of the URMP framework include tangible projects, regulatory measures, planning interventions, and citizen engagement programmes. The objective of this project is to support sixty cities from Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal in preparing their URMPs. 

Core Responsibilities:

1.     Develop and implement strategies to promote the urban river management activities, particularly in the Ganga Basin States

2.     Draft, edit, and distribute a variety of communication materials including press releases, newsletters, blog posts, reports, and internal memos.

3.     Coordinate media relations efforts, including writing media pitches, maintaining press lists, and organizing interviews or press events.

4.     Support branding and messaging consistency across all digital and print materials.

5.     Monitor media coverage, track KPIs, and prepare communication performance reports.

6.     Carry out any other tasks assigned by the Head: Water and Environment

Education Qualifications & Experience

1.     Degree in Communications/Journalism/Social Science or a related discipline

2.     At least ten years of experience, out of which at least 5 in the water/environment sector.

3.     Experience in designing and implementing programmatic communication strategies for national programmes is highly desirable

4.     Experience engaging with communities and general citizens to present compelling stories is highly desirable

5.     Experience in liasoning with print and visual media

6.     Excellent communication skills (both written and verbal) in English and Hindi

7.     Strong inter personnel and co-ordination skills, working independently, and flexibly.

8.     Willingness to travel to the project locations across India as required.

Last Date of Application: 8^th August, 2025

Note: Due to the urgent nature of the assignment, we will be reviewing applications every week to interview suitable applicants.