Senior Expert- Circular Economy

India’s rapid economic growth is leading to new and increased developmental opportunities and challenges at multiple levels. As one of the largest conservation organisations in the country, WWF-India seeks to leverage these opportunities and address these challenges both through enhancing biodiversity conservation, and reducing humanity’s environmental footprint.

WWF-India’s Sustainable Business programme is aimed at working with business and industry in improving environmental and social outcomes. These engagements help corporates (1) understand the impact of their business/financing and supply chains on critical natural habitats, such as deforestation, extractive, fossil fuel emissions, and (2) find solutions that mitigate business risks and enhance business opportunities that promote positive conservation outcomes, such as sustainable finance, water stewardship, climate innovation, renewable energy, plastics management.   

WWF-India envisions main streaming circular economy approach to mitigate pollution from plastic, textile and e-waste in priority landscapes/ river basins/ marine scapes. WWF-India is looking for a dynamic and motivated individual with inherent sensitivity towards conservation of nature, to contribute to our existing work on promoting sustainability with Indian businesses with a focus on ensuring circular economy by managing the flow of plastics, e-waste and textile waste across the entire value chain and eliminating the leakage into the environment.

Position: Senior Expert- Circular Economy

Location: WWF-India Secretariat, Delhi

Key Responsibilities

• Design and manage circular economy projects aligned with WWF’s conservation and policy priorities.
  
• Lead end-to-end project execution, including planning, budgeting, delivery, monitoring, and reporting.
  
• Ensure effective coordination among internal teams, external consultants, partners, and donors while leveraging opportunities for scale up and providing a regular status update on the progress to the team
  
• Conduct Life Cycle Assessments and value chain mapping to identify opportunities for circularity.
  
• Develop sector-specific circular business models and scalable interventions in plastics, textiles, and e-waste.
  
• Support the development of market-based solutions and sustainable material alternatives.
  
• Lead primary and secondary research to produce white papers, technical reports, and policy briefs.
  
• Track national and international developments in circularity, sustainability policies, and waste regulations.
  
• Generate data and insights for advocacy and stakeholder dialogues.
  
• Build and nurture relationships with industry leaders, government agencies, informal sector actors, and civil society organizations.
  
• Organize consultations, round tables, and multi-stakeholder forums to build consensus and drive action.
  
• Develop and disseminate high-quality communication and knowledge materials.
  
• Support internal training and team capacity development on circular economy themes.
  
• Develop high-quality documentation both technical/ non-technical based on primary and secondary research
  
• Support in other deliverables related to SB division
  

Requirements

Desired Qualifications & Skills:

• Master’s Degree in Material Science/ Environmental Science/ Sustainable Development/ Economics or related disciplines, from a recognized university OR MBA in Material Management/ Management OR M. Tech. in Material Engineering / Environment Engineering or related disciplines, from a recognized university
  
• 6–8 years of work experience in project implementation, policy research, or corporate engagement in circular economy or waste management.
  
• Deep understanding of material circularity, LCA, waste value chains, and circular business model design.
  
• Demonstrate knowledge of the environmental impacts of the waste-streams; technical understanding of material flow in the domestic value chain, existing regulatory frameworks and initiatives undertaken by corporate companies working in this space.
  
• Experience in cross-sector collaboration with businesses, government bodies, and informal sector actors.
  
• Strong analytical and project documentation skills.
  
• Proficiency in written and spoken English.
  
• Researching ability to develop white papers, advocacy notes etc.
  
• Ability to develop and lead projects on circularity in sectors such as e-waste, textile, and plastics.
  
• Experience of working on value-chain development between informal and formal sectors would be an added advantage.
  
• Sound knowledge and proven experience of proposal development and technical report writing
  
• Experience of working with stakeholders from the Government, industry, think tanks, financial institutions and end users.
  
• Demonstrate ability to work with and influence key stakeholders on the sustainability agenda, especially as it relates to the business world.
  
• Ability and desire to travel as needed, to attend meetings with key corporate partners in and outside India.
  
• Proven capability to steer teams toward successful outcomes and contribute to the strategic growth of projects.
  

• Prior experience working on sorting infrastructure, material traceability, or post-consumer waste systems.
  
• Familiarity with policy levers such as EPR, Green Public Procurement, carbon pricing and others.
  
• Ability to work independently and manage diverse teams or consultants.
  

WWF-India is an equal opportunities employer. Applications from qualified women are encouraged.

Remuneration will be competitive with Indian NGO pay scales and will depend upon the candidate’s experience levels and the overall WWF-India salary structure. WWF-India does not provide housing, telephone or vehicle facilities.