Program Associate- Climate CoE

Who we are

• The N.S. Raghavan Centre for
• Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL) is IIM Bangalore's startup hub and incubation
• centre, structured as a Section 8 not-for-profit. Its mission is to support
• ventures that can create significant economic and societal impact. This
• financial year alone, NSRCEL has engaged with 1,106 ventures through 13 program
• tracks across 82 towns in India.
• NSRCEL is supported by the
• Department of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Electronics and
• Information Technology, and partners with corporates and foundations to support
• idea-stage and early-revenue entrepreneurs in climate-tech, women entrepreneurship
• and social impact.

About the Climate Centre of

Excellence

• The Climate Centre of Excellence
• (Climate CoE) is NSRCEL's climate vertical. It runs a five-pillar platform
• (Incubation, Capital, Research, Policy and Global Innovation) and works with
• 100+ climate startups every year across multiple corporate-sponsored programs,
• backed by a network of 250+ mentors.
• The CoE works with corporate
• partners such as Maruti Suzuki, Hindustan Unilever and Pernod Ricard India
• Foundation, and with institutional partners such as KREDL, IISc and UNSW.
• Through its Sunrise Sectors work, it also tracks emerging sectors to shape where
• NSRCEL incubates next.

The role

You will run the day-to-day

• operations of one or more climate programs. Your work keeps a cohort moving:
• founders know what is next, mentors turn up prepared, data is current and every
• rupee is accounted for. It is a hands-on role and a good way into climate-tech
• and the Indian startup ecosystem.

What you will do

·Cohort

• operations: Run the
• program calendar end to end, including application intake, screening logistics,
• selection panels, workshops, mentor sessions, field visits and demo days.

·Founder

• engagement: Be the
• first point of contact for startups in the cohort. Run regular check-ins, log
• what they need and route it to the right person.

·Mentor

• coordination: Match
• founders with mentors from the 250+ network, schedule sessions and record
• feedback and outcomes.

·Venture

• data and M&E: Keep
• venture metrics trackers current, run monitoring and evaluation surveys, and
• turn the data into clear insights for internal reviews and partner reports.

·Budgets

• and compliance: Track
• program spend against budget, raise purchase orders, process vendor payments
• and keep the documentation that utilisation certificates and audits need.

·Reporting

• and communications: Draft
• first versions of partner updates, impact stories, case studies and social
• media content.
• ·Research: Support desk research for climate
• sector briefs and the Sunrise Sectors initiative, including market maps,
• startup landscapes and policy scans.

·Outreach

• and events: Help
• bring in strong applicants through ecosystem outreach, info sessions, campus
• and community events.

·Better

• ways of working: Use AI
• and no-code tools to automate trackers, reports and repetitive tasks, and
• document what works as SOPs.

What success looks like in your

• first year
• ·At least one program cycle run end to end
• with no missed partner milestones.
• ·Venture data and financial records that are
• current, accurate and ready for audit at any time.
• ·Founders and mentors who would describe the
• program as well run.
• ·Ownership of at least one workstream of your
• own, such as mentor operations, an event series or a reporting process.

Requirements

• What you will need to bring to
• the table
• ·1–3 years of experience at an incubator or
• accelerator, VC, CSR team, consulting firm, climate or sustainability
• organisation, or a startup.
• ·A graduate degree in any discipline. A
• postgraduate degree in management, sustainability, engineering or a related
• field is a plus.
• ·Clear, careful writing and confident verbal
• communication.
• ·Strong command of spreadsheets and attention
• to detail with numbers.
• ·Hands-on familiarity with AI productivity
• tools (this is a must).
• ·The discipline to run many small moving parts
• without dropping any, and the maturity to work with senior leaders, corporate
• partners and founders.

What will set you apart

• ·Real interest in climate-tech, whether
• energy, mobility, agriculture, circularity, water or climate finance.
• ·Experience running events or communities, or
• having worked at or founded a startup.
• ·Comfort with travel to meet founders and
• partners.