Senior Manager/Manager – Research & Evidence | Climate Asia

Location: New Delhi
Reports To: Associate Director, Programs
Type: Full-time
Experience: 8+ years
Joining: Immediate / Early joining preferred

About Climate Asia

Climate Asia is an ecosystem builder working to accelerate locally led climate action across Asia.

We work with frontline civil society organisations, funders, and experts to strengthen the organisations, leaders, and systems closest to the climate frontline. Our work is anchored in the belief that Asia's climate response must be built, led, and sustained by the people and institutions closest to both the risks and the solutions.

Across our portfolio, we work on three connected areas:

• Strengthening frontline civil society organisations and their leadership
• Building the workforce needed for Asia's clean energy transition
• Advancing women's leadership in climate

Across these areas, we design programs, build partnerships, convene actors, generate evidence, and support organisations to carry climate work with greater capability, confidence, and resilience.

The Opportunity

Climate Asia is looking for a Senior Manager – Research & Evidence to strengthen how we generate, use, and communicate evidence across our work.

Over the last few years, Climate Asia has built a growing portfolio across:

• Institutional strengthening
• Leadership development
• Women's leadership in climate
• Clean energy workforce development
• Ecosystem convening across India and the region

As the portfolio grows, the next question is not only whether we can deliver programs well, but whether we can learn from them rigorously, understand what is changing, and use that evidence to shape better programmes, stronger partnerships, and sharper sector conversations.

This role exists to anchor that function.

You will lead major research initiatives, strengthen our Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) systems, and ensure program evidence informs decisions, publications, funder conversations, and external engagement. You will work closely with program teams to frame the right questions, build practical methods for answering them, and translate findings into clear, actionable insights.

What You Will Anchor

1. Shape Research & Publications

Lead research that helps Climate Asia and the wider sector better understand institutional and capacity challenges shaping climate action.

This includes research on:

• Growth and sustainability of civil society organisations
• Leadership capabilities in climate-focused organisations
• Gender-responsive institutional practice
• Locally led adaptation
• Equitable clean energy transition systems

Responsibilities

• Lead the conceptualisation, design, and delivery of research studies, policy briefs, and knowledge products.
• Frame research questions useful for program teams, partners, funders, and the wider sector.
• Design qualitative and mixed-method research approaches, including interviews, landscape scans, literature reviews, and synthesis.
• Translate research and program learning into reports, evidence briefs, case studies, policy notes, and public-facing knowledge products.
• Manage research from question design through publication.
• Maintain high standards of quality, clarity, and evidence.

2. Build Evidence into Program Design & Decision-Making

Work with program teams to embed evidence into programmes from the beginning.

Responsibilities

• Define learning questions, outcomes, and indicators.
• Develop practical evidence plans aligned with programme scale and purpose.
• Interpret programme data, participant feedback, and partner insights.
• Strengthen how Climate Asia captures organisational, leadership, and ecosystem change.
• Ensure evidence informs programme improvement and future strategy—not just reporting.

3. Strengthen MEL & Learning Systems

Lead the strengthening of Climate Asia's Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning systems.

Responsibilities

• Develop common MEL standards, tools, and guidance.
• Support teams in building results frameworks, indicators, interview guides, and data collection tools.
• Oversee dashboards, reporting systems, and evidence trackers.
• Review quality of programme data and evidence.
• Build internal capacity to apply MEL consistently and effectively.

4. Turn Organisational Learning into Reusable Knowledge

Convert programme learning into reusable organisational knowledge.

Responsibilities

• Synthesise learning across Climate Asia's work on institutional strengthening, leadership, gender equity, climate resilience, and workforce development.
• Identify patterns across engagements.
• Build knowledge repositories, templates, and learning systems.
• Design reflection and learning processes.
• Translate evidence into recommendations for programme improvement.
• Support internal learning conversations across programme and leadership teams.

5. Contribute to External Engagement & Sector Conversations

Responsibilities

• Translate research into insights for funders and strategic partners.
• Contribute to proposals, concept notes, and donor-facing documents.
• Support policy briefs, advisory notes, and external presentations.
• Track relevant research, policy, and sector developments.
• Represent Climate Asia in meetings, consultations, and convenings.
• Help position Climate Asia as a thought leader in institutional strengthening, gender-responsive climate practice, leadership development, and locally led climate action.

Who You Are

Required Experience & Qualifications

• Master's or PhD in Statistics, Public Policy, Development Studies, Climate Change, or a related discipline from a reputed institution.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in research, evaluation, evidence-led programme design, policy research, development consulting, or learning roles.
• Strong experience leading research and evaluation projects end-to-end.
• Excellent report writing and knowledge product development skills.
• Experience with qualitative and mixed-method research.
• Strong understanding of Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL), including:
  • Theory of Change
  • Results frameworks
  • Indicators
  • Baseline and endline approaches
  • Outcome tracking
• Ability to translate evidence into programme decisions.
• Experience managing consultants, researchers, analysts, or cross-functional teams.
• Strong analytical judgement.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Strongly Preferred

• Published research papers, reports, or policy briefs.
• Experience in climate adaptation, environmental governance, clean energy transition, gender and inclusion, institutional strengthening, or civil society capacity building.
• Experience building MEL systems.
• Familiarity with India's development ecosystem, philanthropy, civil society, or government.
• Experience translating research into programme strategy, donor engagement, or policy work.
• Working knowledge of qualitative or quantitative analysis tools (please specify).

Core Competencies

• Strong analytical thinking with the ability to take research from concept to publication.
• Excellent stakeholder management across government, donors, academia, philanthropy, development partners, and industry.
• Leadership experience managing multidisciplinary teams and complex programmes.
• Ability to thrive in ambiguity and build structure where needed.
• Clear, direct communication and openness to feedback.

Why Join Climate Asia

You will join a small, high-performing team working across India and the region during an exciting phase of growth.

This role offers the opportunity to build a research and evidence function closely connected to live programme work. Your research will directly shape programme design, partner support, funder engagement, and Climate Asia's contribution to wider sector conversations.

You will work across institutional strengthening, leadership development, gender and climate, green jobs, ecosystem building, and locally led climate action—offering significant ownership, variety, and long-term impact.

How to Apply

Please send:

• Your CV
• A short note explaining:
  • Why this role interests you
  • What you would bring to the role
  • One example of work that demonstrates how you think, research, and write

Apply here