Head -Blue Economy & Blue Food Specialist
remote type: Office Flex
time type: Full time
job requisition id: 2026-JR100226
This position is open to candidates across New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.
About us
WRI India, an independent knowledge organisation registered as 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/ .
Overview of the CEO Office:
The Executive Office anchors the strategic direction of the WRI India office, coordinating the development of the India strategy, and incubating new strategic and operational priorities. This unit supports teams to think about ambition and scale. The team also works with the executive leadership on organisational development and culture and provides dedicated support to the CEO for his external engagements.
About the role:
We are looking for a strategic blue economy specialist to build and lead our work in this space in India. This role will shape the organization’s approach to advancing sustainable aquatic (blue) food systems and the broader blue economy, through a combination of research, on-ground pilots, partnerships, and informing policy with a 2-3 year timeline for the outlined roles and responsibilities. It will be guided by a focus on linking India’s sustainable blue economy to governance reform, climate resilience and science-based decision-making.
The ideal candidate will be comfortable working across the ocean-climate nexus, livelihoods and ocean systems disciplines and associated stakeholders, translating ideas into action, aligning diverse actors, and driving initiatives from concept to scale.
What you will do:
1. Strategy & Thought Leadership
• Hold consultations with key blue food and blue economy stakeholders and conduct extensive literature review to identify priority themes such as sustainable and climate-smart fisheries, aquaculture, coastal livelihoods, eco-tourism, value chains, and nutrition.
• Track global and national developments to inform strategic direction and positioning at national and subnational levels.
• Utilise findings to develop and refine a multi-year strategy for blue food and blue economy in India that focuses on sustainable growth and expansion of resilient coastal livelihoods that promote and strengthen environmental stewardship.
• Produce high-quality research, insights, and knowledge products (e.g., reports, briefs, concept notes, white papers, frameworks).
• Engage with policymakers to provide technical inputs to national and state-level policies on blue economy and blue food based on robust research.
• Contribute to shaping an enabling environment for the sustainable growth of the blue economy and sustainable blue food systems.
2. Program Design & Execution
• Conceptualize and build out an integrated blue economy and blue food program that will combine research, field engagement, science-based solutions to enhance marine resource management and policy influence, and work in collaboration with other relevant program teams in WRI India.
• Design and implement policy-focused pilots (e.g. climate-smart fisheries management models or integrated coastal planning approaches) that generate evidence for national and subnational scale-up.
• Translate insights into practical, scalable interventions and program models.
3. Partnerships & Stakeholder Engagement
• Build and manage relationships with: Government agencies (national, state, and local)Philanthropic and multilateral organizationsPrivate sector actors (fisheries, aquaculture, supply chains)Research and academic institutionsImplementing partners.
• Bring together diverse stakeholders to address systemic challenges in the blue economy
• Identify emerging opportunities to unlock funding to accelerate the blue food and blue economy ecosystem across initiatives and partners.
• Support the formation of coalitions / working groups / networks where relevant.
• Support fundraising through active proposal development and donor engagement.
4. Team & Project Management
• Build and manage a cross-functional and lean team with sharp expertise that works across research, programs, and external partners.
• Ensure high-quality and timely delivery of outputs.
• Build internal knowledge and capabilities in blue economy and blue food systems.
What You will need:
• Master’s degree or higher in relevant fields (e.g., environmental studies, marine science, public policy, development studies, economics)
• 10–15 years of relevant experience in: Blue economy, fisheries, aquaculture, or coastal development, climate, livelihoodsConsulting, think tanks, NGOs, or multilateral organizations
• Demonstrated experience in strategy development and program leadership.
• Strong technical knowledge and evidence of published content in the blue food/blue economy or allied spaces.
• Exceptional project management skills, including the ability to manage multiple projects concurrently.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
Core Competencies
Domain & Technical Understanding
• Blue economy
• Fisheries and aquaculture value chains
• Coastal ecosystems and livelihoods
• Sustainability and ocean-climate linkages
• Basic knowledge and familiarity with regional coastal zone regulations and planning (including integrated coastal zone management and marine spatial planning), blue and green finance and related investment vehicles, and potential finance streams and conservation goals.
Strategic & Analytical Thinking
• Ability to connect insights across sectors and translate them into actionable strategies
• Strong research, synthesis, and problem-solving skills
Execution & Delivery
• Proven ability to manage complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives
• Experience in designing and implementing pilots or innovation programs
• Strong project management skills
• Culturally competent and able to execute projects in different cultural contexts.
Stakeholder Engagement
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
• Prior experience engaging with government and senior stakeholders on blue economy or allied topics
• Ability to advocate thoughtfully and effectively on sensitive issues.
Preferred Attributes
• Entrepreneurial mindset; comfortable building new initiatives from the ground up.
• Experience working in coastal regions of India.
• Familiarity with blue economy, blue food, climate resilience, or livelihoods.
• Ability to operate at the intersection of research, policy, and implementation.
Salary and Benefits: INR 35,00,000 to 46,50,000 CTC
Salary shall be commensurate with experience and skills. WRI India offers a generous and comprehensive benefits package.
Duration: 1 year (extendable based on performance and project requirements)
Location: New Delhi/Bangalore/Mumbai
Start Date: At the earliest
List of Documents to be attached:
· Resume
Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for an interview.
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: https://www.linkedin.com/redir/redirect/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwri-india%2Eorg%2Fabout%2Fdiversity-equity-and-inclusion&urlhash=zKwB&isSdui=true
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)
https://www.linkedin.com/redir/redirect/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwri-india%2Eorg%2Fcareers&urlhash=8RLP&isSdui=true
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.
Apply Here: https://wri.wd501.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/WRI_India/details/Head--Blue-Economy---Blue-Food-Specialist_2026-JR100226?source=LinkedIn