Opportunity to work with WCT’s Resilient Futures team as an Economist.

About the Role

The Resilient Futures team is the social sciences research and implementation vertical at the Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT). We are currently working on a nationwide data collection exercise to understand psychosocial and economic aspects of climate change on households living around ecosystems. The project also involves using secondary data to understand the economic impact and ecological performance of states across India.

We are looking for someone with a solid grounding in development economics and who is comfortable with data. The individual must be able to apply their understanding to ensure smooth project implementation and impact evaluation of the on-going Water Heater project, and who will also be a part of future research planned in the landscape.

Key Responsibilities

  1. Analysis of real time socio-economic data for policy-driven interventions
  2. Working with the communities and the Forest Department
  3. Supporting the implementation team
  4. Data (both qualitative and quantitative) collection and data analysis
  5. Research paper writing

Qualification & Experience

  • Master’s Degree in Economics (from a recognised university)
  • Relevant work experience of 1-2 years is preferred

Desired Competencies

  • Candidates will be selected based on their assignment and interview. They will be required to have knowledge and experience of Quantitative Analysis and Evaluation methods, familiarity with R/Python and good writing skills. Candidates must have the ability to work independently and should be able to take initiative at work.

Location

  1. This job will be Mumbai-based
  2. It might involve travel to other field-sites

Remuneration

  • Competitive salary for this position ranges from INR 50,000 to INR 60,000 per month, commensurate to experience. Additionally, the organisation also offers comprehensive benefits package with respect to insurance and company-issues assets.

Application Requirements

  • CV
  • Research Writing Sample
  • Email should be titled ‘Application for Economist at WCT’
  • Interested individuals should e-mail their applications to aniket@wctindia.org on or before November 20, 2025.

About WCT’s Resilient Futures Vertical

The Resilient Futures vertical was set up to gain insights on conservation action through understanding of social drivers of behaviours that significantly impact the ecology. The team comprises social scientists from a variety of disciplines and adopts frameworks of economics, psychology, sociology, and anthropology to gather data-driven inputs for community-based climate action. These inputs are used to design and implement interventions which are systematically monitored for their efficiency. The aim is to evolve evidence-based policy for ecologically viable development of landscapes through empowerment of the communities.

The team is currently working on three initiatives:

A. The team has collected data from 8,000 households on economic and psychosocial parameters in the Greater Tadoba Landscape in order to understand the drivers of forest degradation. The project is focused on developing data-driven and holistic interventions to arrest forest degradation in the region. Along with the large-scale household surveys, qualitative enquiries using techniques such as Grounded Theory Analysis were carried out to ensure that the perception of the communities is captured, which is central to designing any solution for the community. As an outcome of this project, the team has initiated a pilot community-based intervention in several villages around Brahmapuri Forest Division. Introduction of the environmentally sustainable, energy-efficient and affordable biomass-fired water heater or bumbb (as it is referred to in Marathi) has been launched in these villages. Around 20,000 units have been installed in the homes of villagers so far. Additionally, the project is being adopted by the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve.

B. The team has implemented AI-based solutions for modelling and prediction across several of its initiatives. It is currently partnering with Google Research India under the AI for Social Good programme to use Artificial Intelligence to predict human-herbivore conflict in Vidharbha, Maharashtra.

C. Currently the team has finished collecting the largest household dataset for communities around ecosystems. With more than 25,000 households surveyed across India’s eight bio-geographic zones, it will help understand the most under-represented communities.