Vice President, India

The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (Global Energy Alliance) The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (Global Energy Alliance) works for a world where everyone has access to affordable, reliable, clean electricity and the means to use it to improve their lives. Our Alliance builds transformative public, private, philanthropic partnerships to end energy poverty and accelerate green economic opportunity. Founded in 2021 by The Rockefeller Foundation, IKEA Foundation, and Bezos Earth Fund, we design innovative projects/programs, unlock finance, strengthen institutions and transform markets, delivering progress anchored in deep community engagement. By uniting actors across the value chain, from households to heads of state, we go beyond individual projects to drive lasting systems change. With work in more than 30 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, our Alliance aims to reach 1 billion people with clean electricity, prevent 4 billion tons of carbon emissions and create or improve 150 million jobs. 

 

About the Role

The Vice President for India is a transformative leader responsible for advancing GEA’s mission through high-impact program delivery in one of the world’s most consequential energy markets. India sits at the forefront of the global energy transition — where rapid economic growth, rising electricity demand, distribution utility reform, and large-scale renewable integration converge. This role demands a leader who can convert global ambition into disciplined execution, delivering measurable results within India’s complex regulatory, political, and institutional landscape.

As GEA’s most senior leader in India, and as part of the GEA global leadership team, the Vice President will oversee the Country Delivery team, ensuring that programs are implemented with operational excellence, clear performance accountability, and strong alignment with national and state-level priorities. The portfolio spans grid modernization and utility transformation through Grids of the Future, alongside demand-side and livelihoods-focused initiatives under Energy & Opportunity — together advancing reliable power, renewable integration, and inclusive economic growth at scale. Collaborating closely with global solution and pillar leaders, the Vice President will ensure that global platforms translate into tangible, locally grounded outcomes across India.

Working in close partnership with the CEO and global leadership team, the Vice President will spearhead high-level engagement with central and state governments, distribution utilities, regulators, private sector leaders, multilateral institutions, and civil society organizations. The role requires shaping enabling partnerships and catalytic financing pathways — including blended finance structures — that unlock capital, strengthen institutional capacity, and accelerate India’s clean energy transition.

Key Responsibilities

      Strategic Leadership and Execution

• Develop and execute a coherent India delivery strategy aligned with GEA’s global priorities and objectives.

• Translate global initiatives — including utility modernization, storage, distributed renewable energy, and productive use programs — into executable, state-level delivery plans.
• Ensure that implementation balances ambition with operational realism in India’s regulatory and political environment.
• Identify emerging opportunities in India’s energy transition landscape and position GEA as a credible implementation partner.
• Collaborate actively with other regional leaders and global solution heads to inform global strategy, share implementation insights, and adapt leading practices for the India context.

      Program Delivery

• Oversee the execution of GEA’s India portfolio across grid modernization, storage, distributed renewable energy, and demand-side initiatives.
• Drive disciplined implementation across multiple states, adapting delivery models to varied regulatory and political environments.
• Maintain alignment with national and state-level priorities while safeguarding program integrity and measurable outcomes.
• Ensure full compliance with regulatory requirements and public-sector partnership commitments.

      Operational Oversight and Team Leadership

• Lead and develop a high-performing Country Delivery – India team, setting clear expectations and performance standards.
• Establish rigorous portfolio management, tracking progress, risks, and resource allocation across initiatives.
• Ensure effective coordination with global functional teams (finance, MEL, HR, strategy, communications, solutions), embedding global standards while enabling local flexibility.
• Strengthen internal systems, processes, and governance to support scale and execution discipline.
• Foster a culture aligned with organizational values of collaboration, growth, and integrity.

      Government and Utility Engagement

• Build and maintain senior-level relationships with state governments, central ministries, regulators, and distribution utilities.
• Represent GEA in high-level policy dialogues and sector platforms in India and globally.
• Position GEA as a trusted technical and delivery partner in India’s power sector modernization efforts.

      Partnership Development & Resource Mobilization

• Strengthen relationships with private sector actors, DFIs, multilaterals, technology providers, and ecosystem partners operating in India.
• Drive partnerships to enhance GEA’s resources and scale its impact.
• Support and advance global fundraising objectives through local intelligence, pipeline visibility, and credible stakeholder engagement.
• Secure funding for GEA’s India portfolio from multilateral donors, philanthropies, and private investors.
• Leverage global alliance resources, partnerships, and technical expertise to maximize program impact and accelerate implementation in Indi

      Advocacy and Representation

• Act as a thought leader advocating for GEA’s vision across India and globally.
• Represent GEA as a trusted partner and credible voice in energy and climate discussions, including high level forums which influence policy.
  
  

      Pillar Integration and Matrix Leadership

• Partner closely with the global Grids of the Future and Energy & Opportunity teams to co-design and deliver programs in India.
• Provide operational oversight and contextual guidance to matrixed pillar staff embedded within the India team (dotted-line reporting to global leads).
• Ensure coherence between pillar ambitions and country delivery realities.
• Facilitate feedback loops from India implementation into global learning and design refinement

Qualifications

Education
Advanced degree in energy systems, public policy, economics, finance, engineering, international development, or related field.

      Experience

• Proven leadership experience at the intersection of India’s power, energy, infrastructure and climate sectors.
• Demonstrated success managing large-scale, multi-stakeholder initiatives involving government and utilities.
• Deep understanding of India’s electricity distribution landscape, regulatory structures, and state-level dynamics.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams within complex matrixed organizations.
• Proven ability to translate strategy into disciplined execution.
• Global exposure or experience working across international markets, partnerships, or multilateral environments.

      Skills and Competencies

• Strategic thinker with pragmatic execution discipline.
• Strong political acumen and ability to navigate federal and state-level complexity.
• Exceptional stakeholder engagement and negotiation capability.
• Ability to operate effectively within a global matrix structure.
• High tolerance for ambiguity paired with delivery accountability.

Leadership Competencies

Shaping Strategy
Ability to interpret India’s rapidly evolving energy landscape and translate global ambitions into grounded, executable country strategies.

Driving for Results
Demonstrates operational rigor, sets clear performance expectations, and holds self and others accountable. Ensure programs move from concept to scalable implementation, remaining engaged in execution when needed.

Influencing Collaboratively
Builds durable trust with utilities, regulators, ministries, private sector actors, and global colleagues across reporting lines.

Leading and Developing Teams
Builds a high-performance delivery culture in India while effectively managing dotted-line relationships with global pillar teams.

Entrepreneurial and Innovative Mindset
Brings a proactive, opportunity-oriented approach to work, coupled with curiosity and a willingness to rethink established models. Remains intellectually open — seeking diverse perspectives, questioning assumptions, and adapting in response to new evidence.

Emotional Intelligence
Demonstrates strong self-awareness, sound judgment, and empathy in leadership. Builds trust across diverse teams and stakeholders, navigates complexity with composure, and fosters an inclusive and collaborative environment.

Reporting Structure

The role:

• Reports to Chief Investment & Programs Officer and works in close partnership with the CEO
• Collaborates with global leadership team, including fellow regional leads and pillar leadership for Grids of the Future and Energy & Opportunity.
• Leads the Country Delivery team while maintaining dotted-line relationships with matrixed colleagues reporting to global pillar leaders.

Role Location

Based in Delhi, India with regular travel across Indian states and periodic international engagement.

 

Global Infrastructure Pillars Overview

Grids of the Future (GoTF)

Grids of the Future is GEA’s globally coordinated initiative to modernize power distribution utilities across emerging markets, enabling them to transition from financially stressed, under-digitized systems to intelligent, flexible, renewables-ready grids. Recognizing that distribution utilities serve the vast majority of consumers and anchor national electricity systems, the initiative focuses on strengthening the distribution layer as the critical enabler of reliable power, renewable integration, storage deployment, and demand flexibility.

The initiative follows a structured model that includes co-created utility charters, phased digitalization (including digital twins and advanced grid analytics), deployment of distributed energy resources and storage use cases, and institutional strengthening within utilities. By combining digital infrastructure, AI-enabled analytics, distributed energy integration, and private capital mobilization, GoTF seeks to unlock large-scale grid modernization while improving reliability, reducing losses, strengthening utility finances, and enabling decarbonization. In India, where distribution utilities are central to the energy transition and serve over 96% of consumers

Energy & Opportunity (E&O)

Energy & Opportunity is GEA’s global portfolio focused on ensuring that clean energy investments translate into tangible economic gains — including livelihoods, enterprise growth, and inclusive development. The portfolio works to strengthen the productive use of energy ecosystem by aligning clean power investments with appliance financing, SME acceleration, demand-side innovation, and sector-specific productive use models.

Through global coordination and a Center of Excellence model, Energy & Opportunity develops scalable tools, partnerships, and coalitions that country teams can deploy in diverse markets. The objective is to ensure that energy access and grid modernization efforts unlock economic participation for households, small businesses, women, youth, and underserved communities. In India, this pillar will work alongside the Country Delivery team to embed demand-side solutions into energy programs, linking improved reliability and renewable deployment to income generation, entrepreneurship, and broader economic resilience.

 

#LI-DNI

We operate from a strong commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion in everything we do. It is not only the right thing to do – we could not make an impact without our team members' diverse perspectives and experiences. We expect all Global Energy Alliance employees to contribute by developing their unique perspectives and talent, challenging conventional wisdom through evidence and reason, and amplifying marginalized voices.  

Global Energy Alliance is committed to the principles of equal employment opportunity and compliance with all federal, state, and local laws concerning employment discrimination, including the Americans with Disabilities Act. To this end, the organization ensures equal opportunity to all employees and applicants regardless of race, color, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, lawful alien status, physical, mental, and medical disability, veteran status, or liability for service in the United States Armed Forces.  

Global Energy Alliance is an Equal Opportunity Employer.