Senior Program Associate – Food Loss and Waste Full Time

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. 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.

Know more: https://wri-india.org/

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 webpage – Reduce | WRI INDIA (wri-india.org)

Job Highlight

To accelerate private-sector action on food loss and food waste (FLFW) reduction, WRI India is seeking a Senior Program Associate to coordinate efforts to reduce postharvest losses of upstream farmers associated with food businesses 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 for their upstream farmers. The position is ideal for an individual with experience working in the food industry, knowledge of food supply chains, and expertise in monitoring and evaluation. Knowledge of estimating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will be an advantage.

What Will You Do

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

Business Engagement & Partnerships (20%)

• Identify, engage, and build relationships with food businesses, retailers, suppliers, and other stakeholders committed to reducing FLFW.
• Build and maintain a pipeline of farmgate-facing businesses that work directly with farmers.
• 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 (40%)

• Support businesses in implementing FLFW measurement, 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.
• Track progress against business commitments, maintain project trackers, and prepare regular internal and external progress updates.
• Coordinate with global and regional counterparts involved in the 10x20kx30 Initiative to align efforts and share insights.
• Support monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) processes for the initiative, including tracking partner progress, maintaining datasets and dashboards, documenting outcomes and lessons learned, and supporting reporting on FLFW reduction and associated impacts.

Research & Communications (40%)

• 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.

What Will You Need

• Master’s degree in business administration, food sustainability, rural management, 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.

Potential Salary and Benefits: INR 14,00,000 to 17,50,000 Per Annum

Salary shall be commensurate with experience and skills. WRI offers a generous and comprehensive benefits package.

Location: Delhi, India

Duration: 1 year – Extendable based on performance and project requirements

List Of Documents To Be Attached

• Cover Letter
• Resume

Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for interview purpose.

How To Apply

Qualified applicants should apply online at www.wri.org/careers. All applications must be submitted online through this career portal in order to be formally considered. Only select applicants will be contacted for interview. There will be a writing test conducted with final candidates. Please do not contact program staff directly for this position.

Kindly note that WRI India’s recruitment process does not involve any payment at any stage. Applicants will never be asked to share bank account or financial information as part of the application. All official communication and offer letters are issued only through authorised WRI India email IDs.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) @WRI India

WRI India values and promotes diversity, equity and inclusion across all areas of our work and workforce. Integrating these values into our actions fosters a progressive and collaborative culture and can also enhance our impact. It is our responsibility to create a welcoming working environment for people of diverse cultures, backgrounds and experience to learn together. We are responsible for fostering a safe and inclusive workplace where questions, concerns and information about diversity, equity and inclusion are part of our ongoing dialogue and development.

Learn more about WRI India’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Click Here

People-centric To The Core

We keep our people at the center of everything we do – from a welcoming work environment to benefits and a culture that encourages staff to stay healthy, happy, engaged, and growing.

Some Of The Non-monetary Benefits That Our Staff Get

Health benefits: We cover health insurance for you and your loved ones for up to INR 8 lakhs

Term Insurance: Our term insurance policy covers life coverage of 50 lakhs per staff member

Employee Assistance program: Promoting mental well-being and supporting staff in achieving a satisfying work-life balance

Health & Nutrition: Personalized diet recommendation from a certified dietitian based on the physical health condition and lifestyle

Flexible work schedule: Alternative work arrangements for all who are eligible by nature of their job

Learning culture: Workshops and trainings to empower staff, encourage new learning opportunities

Rest and Recharge weeks: We encourage staff to take time off to rest, rejuvenate, upskill, and pursue their interests.

Our leave policy: Avail personal time off at 36 per year, along with public holidays, maternity, paternity, and adoption leaves.

Click here to know more about our benefits Careers | WRI INDIA (wri-india.org)

Equal employment @WRI India

We believe in equal employment, it is our policy to recruit and provide opportunities for advancement in all job classifications without regard to caste, religion, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, parental status, or disability.