The Centre for Policy Research (CPR) has been one of India’s leading public policy think tanks since 1973. The Centre is a non-profit, independent institution dedicated to conducting research that contributes to a more robust public discourse about the structures and processes that shape life in India.

CPR’s community of distinguished academics and practitioners represents views from many disciplines and across the political spectrum. Senior faculty collaborate with more than 50 young professionals and academics at CPR and with partners around the globe to investigate topics critical to India’s future. CPR engages around five broad themes: economic policy; environmental law and governance; international relations and security; law, regulation, and the state; and urbanisation.

The Scaling City Institutions for India: Water & Sanitation (SCI-FI: Water and Sanitation) at CPR is a multidisciplinary research, outreach and policy support initiative. It has two key thematic focus in areas of Land, Housing and Planning, and Water and Sanitation. The SCI-FI initiative is nested at CPR since 2013.

SCI-FI programme at CPR aims at cross-sectoral and policy-relevant research on urban sanitation. It seeks to understand the reasons for poor sanitation, and to examine how these might be related to technology, service delivery, institutions, governance, finance, and socio-economic dimensions. It also seeks to support national, state and city authorities in developing policies and programmes for intervention with the goal of increasing access to safe and sustainable sanitation in urban areas.

SCI-FI programme on Water and Sanitation has been supporting the Housing and Urban Development Department (H&UDD) of Odisha since 2013 and has also supported Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water (PR&DW) Department on developing Odisha Rural Sanitation policy. In the last one year, SCI-FI programme supported H&UDD and PR&DW on Urban Rural Convergence on FSM and PWM.

This position, located at H&UDD is for a project on extending Technical Assistance to the State of Odisha to scale up Faecal Sludge Management (FSM) and Plastic Waste Management (PWM) in Odisha through urban-rural convergence. It aims to mainstream Urban-Rural FSM convergence across the State of Odisha; support Urban-Rural convergence of Material Recovery Facilities (MRF) for Plastic Waste Management (PWM) across the State; to inform state-level policy and legislative frameworks based on bottom-up learning.

Description of Roles and Responsibilities

• Undertake assessments, analysis, and preparation of project reports and plans, covering the entire gamut of water and sanitation (e.g., policy and legislation, planning and finance, technology selection, monitoring and evaluation)
• Undertake collection and collation of qualitative and quantitative data related to sanitation planning for Urban –rural convergence, WASH service delivery, water quality and health risk assessment, among others
• Support the team in analysing existing sanitation sector policies and policy environment, governance and institutional bottlenecks, systems of management and coordination systems around sanitation sector programmes from an inclusion lens relevant for inter-departmental convergence on FSM and PWM in the state
• Recommend corrective actions to be taken by the State govt. to improve efficiency and effectiveness of FSM and PWM convergent services
• Work in close coordination with district, ULBs , PRIs and the State government
• Any other responsibilities as may be assigned

Essential Qualification and Skills

• Post Graduate degree in Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, or allied fields of engineering is mandatory
• At least 2 years of relevant experience on WASH. Prior experience of working with the Government will be an added advantage
• Knowledge of MS office (MS Excel and MS PowerPoint)
• Good oral and written skills in English and Odiya
• Excellent interpersonal and networking skills
• A team player, should have sensitivity towards interdisciplinary differences, and orientation to manage government expectations

Selection Criteria/Application process

This is a full-time contractual position in Bhubaneswar, Odisha for two years and requires extensive travelling to project locations.

We are an equal opportunity organization and encourage diversity within the organization. If you are a committed and creative professional who is looking for a stimulating and excellent working experience then we look forward to receiving your application.

How to apply

If you are interested to explore this opportunity with us, please send an updated resume and cover letter to sci-fi@cprindia.org by 9th December 2022 explicitly mentioning “RA-Engineer/URC” [Your Name]” in the subject line. Kindly also mention your current and expected remuneration. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for further consideration.