Senior Program Associate – Food Loss and Waste

4 Months ago • 4-6 Years • ₹14,00,000 LPA - ₹18,00,000 LPA

Job Summary

Job Description

The Senior Program Associate will coordinate efforts under the 10x20kx30 Initiative in India, focusing on reducing food loss and waste (FLFW). The role involves engaging food businesses, facilitating partnerships, and supporting businesses in adopting strategies to track and reduce FLFW. Responsibilities include business engagement, project management, research, and communications. The associate will identify and build relationships with food businesses, support the recruitment of businesses to the initiative, facilitate collaboration, support businesses in implementing FLFW reduction strategies, develop guidance materials, track progress, and contribute to external communications.

Must have:

Master’s degree in a related field.
4-6 years of experience in sustainability or FLW reduction.
Understanding of food supply chains and business operations.
Proven ability to collaborate with businesses and stakeholders.
Strong project management and coordination skills.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office and data visualization tools.

Good to have:

Experience working with food businesses.
Familiarity with global FLW reduction initiatives.
Ability to work independently and in teams.
Experience coordinating multi-stakeholder collaborations.

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Job Details

Senior Program Associate – Food Loss and Waste

About WRI India

WRI India, an independent charity legally registered as the India Resources Trust, provides objective information and practical proposals to foster environmentally sound and socially equitable development. WRI India’s mission is to move human society to live in ways that protect Earth’s environment and its capacity to provide for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations. Through research, analysis, and recommendations, WRI India puts ideas into action to build transformative solutions to protect the earth, promote livelihoods, and enhance human well-being.

We are inspired by and associated with World Resources Institute (WRI), a global research organization. Currently over 250 researchers are working with WRI India in our offices at Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

Program Overview for Food, Land and Water:

WRI India’s Food, Land and Water program aims to inform India’s transition towards sustainable and resilient food and land use systems focusing on developing interdisciplinary nature-based solutions like landscape restoration, sustainable agriculture to mitigate climate impacts, enhance jobs and livelihoods and improve nutritional security. To catalyze systems change with a focus on circular food systems in India, we also focus on developing equitable strategies to reduce food loss and food waste and mitigate climate impacts.

With broader systems change and food systems perspective, we work with diverse stakeholders like governments, businesses, civil society partners and farmer producer organizations to inform and develop land use strategies based on robust evidence and analysis to build the resilience of local communities to mitigate climate impacts, bridge capacity gaps, monitor progress, and inform a pathway to building a restoration economy for people, nature, and climate. For more details, refer to the webpage6488- Reduce | WRI INDIA (wri-india.org)

About your role:

To accelerate private-sector action on food loss and food waste (FLFW) reduction, WRI India is seeking a Senior Program Associate to coordinate efforts under the 10x20kx30 Initiative in India. The 10x20kx30 initiative brings together 10 major farmgate-facing agriculture companies, with each engaging 20,000 (20k) of their supplying farmers to follow the “Target-Measure-Act” approach to reduce on-farm food losses by 50% by 2030. This role will focus on engaging food businesses, facilitating partnerships, and supporting businesses in adopting strategies to track and reduce FLFW. The position is ideal for an individual with experience working in the food industry, strong networks with businesses, and expertise in sustainability, food supply chains, FLFW reduction and monitoring and evaluation.

How your day will unfold:

You will play a key role in coordinating and driving action on FLFW through business engagement, knowledge sharing, and implementation support.

Business Engagement & Partnerships (40%)
• Identify, engage, and build relationships with food businesses, retailers, suppliers, and other stakeholders committed to reducing FLFW.
• Support recruitment of food businesses to the 10x20kx30 Initiative, ensuring strong private-sector participation.
• Facilitate collaboration between businesses and other partners to share best practices, tools, and resources.

Project Management & Implementation Support (30%)
• Support businesses in implementing FLFW reduction strategies, including data collection, analytics, and intervention design.
• Develop and disseminate guidance materials, training sessions, and resources to help businesses take effective action.
• Ensure timely tracking and reporting of business commitments and progress.
Coordinate with global and regional counterparts involved in the 10x20kx30 Initiative to align efforts and share insights.

Research & Communications (30%)
• Conduct research on good practices, innovations, and policy developments relevant to FLFW reduction in business supply chains.
• Develop reports, case studies, and policy briefs to showcase business-led FLFW reduction efforts and impact.
• Contribute to external communications, including webpage updates, newsletters, and social media engagement.
• Organize and participate in industry roundtables, webinars, and other convenings to engage in discussions relevant to FLFW reduction.

Qualifications and Requirements:

• Master’s degree in business administration, food sustainability, supply chain management, agribusiness, environmental studies, or related disciplines.
• 4-6 years of experience working with food businesses, retailers, suppliers, or industry associations on sustainability, supply chains, or food loss and waste reduction.
• Strong understanding of food supply chains, procurement, logistics, and business operations related to FLFW.
• Proven ability to engage and collaborate with businesses, including senior industry stakeholders.
• Strong project management and coordination skills, with the ability to handle multiple priorities.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with experience in stakeholder engagement, facilitation, and knowledge sharing.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and data visualization tools.

Preferred skills:
• Prior experience working with food businesses including retailers, processors, suppliers, or hospitality businesses on sustainability initiatives
• Familiarity with global food loss and food waste reduction initiatives
• Ability to work independently and in interdisciplinary teams.
• Experience coordinating multi-stakeholder collaborations and industry-led sustainability efforts.

Location: Delhi, India

Duration: 6 months, extendable based on performance and project requirement.