Associate Director, Human Centered Weather Forecast Initiative

About the Trust

The University of Chicago Trust (the Trust) is a charitable trust in India, established in 2008 by an alumnus of The University of Chicago. The Trust’s objectives are to provide opportunities for grants to support educational programs, research programs, and activities for the betterment of India.

The Development Innovation Lab – India (DIL-India)

DIL-India, based at the Trust in India, is dedicated to using the tools of economics to develop innovations with the potential to benefit millions of people. We have work in health, education, agriculture, climate change, road safety, and others. We do so by collaborating with government agencies, firms, and non-profits in India to identify, test, and scale evidence-based solutions. 

DIL-India has a fast-growing portfolio of policy relevant research. For example, in 2025, DIL-India supported the Government of India to deliver cutting-edge AI monsoon onset forecasts to 40 million farmers across the country. DIL-India plans to build on this work, aiming to reach more people and expand to other types of weather forecasts that have the potential to improve livelihoods and impact well-being.

Human Centered Weather Forecast Initiative

Collaborating with HCWF, DIL-India brings together climate scientists, artificial intelligence (AI) experts and economists to build and evaluate weather forecasts that can target what citizens need to know, leveraging novel technologies, including AI, and scientific understanding. This interdisciplinary team then works with low- and middle-income countries to test forecast dissemination strategies, refine those strategies based on user response, and scale forecast dissemination to improve inform data-driven decision-making. 

For example: The Indian Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare distributed AI forecasts to 38 million farmers accurately predicting the start of the monsoon in 2025, becoming a model for using advanced in AI and atmospheric science to help vulnerable populations adapt to climate change. Hundreds of millions of smallholder farmers across the tropics depend on information about when the rainy season, known as the monsoon, will come each year. This advanced knowledge allows farmers to make more informed decisions about when to plant seeds, irrigate, and hire labor. However, accurate forecasting of when the monsoon will begin, especially at long lead teams and local scales, has remained a century-old challenge. AI has revolutionized global weather forecasting, promising new tools for predicting phenomena as complex as the monsoon. DIL-India researchers lead local HCWF research that supports an international, multidisciplinary collaboration to harness advances in AI to better predict the beginning of the monsoon in India.

Forecasting the Onset of the Indian Monsoon

Low- and middle-income countries have historically not had access to the type of accurate, real-time forecasting available in other parts of the world. As climate change makes the weather more unpredictable, this information is needed more than ever. At the same time, a revolution in weather forecasting, largely driven by AI, has found ways to generate high-quality forecasts at a fraction of the cost and time, and has even opened the door to tailoring forecasts for specific users.

Position Description

The Associate Director (AD) will lead and support research and policy engagements for DIL-India in weather forecasting, working closely to support the Executive Director (ED), DIL-India. This role involves close collaboration with Nobel Laureate Michael Kremer and other Lead Researchers based at the Development Innovation Lab (DIL) at the University of Chicago. Candidates need familiarity with development economics research, research, and evidence-based policy, and using findings to inform decision-making. Experience working in agriculture or meteorology is preferred, but not essential. 

The AD will be self-motivated and can build relationships, engage with multicultural teams, execute on organizational goals, and collaborate with diverse stakeholders. We are seeking a high-agency policy expert with deep understanding of political economy and understanding of how public systems function at the national and sub-national level, can navigate stakeholder relationships, translate evidence into policy and implementation, and drive complex initiatives from concept to scale through strong execution, stakeholder management, and institutional partnerships. 

Responsibilities

  • Support DIL India’s strategic vision, maintain, cultivate, and, when necessary, initiate relationships with key partners in governments, NGOs, firms, foundations, and multilateral aid agencies. Relationship building with collaborators and partners.
  • Ensure research findings relating to weather forecasting are disseminated and targeted at relevant stakeholders. Facilitate better evidence-based decision-making through events, and interpersonal relationships, and close engagement with partners throughout the research process.
  • Support the ED with programmatic recruiting for weather forecasting and programmatic staff in accordance with UChicago Trust policies and applicable law.
  • Create and support informed, accurate, and compelling proposals and project plans for both resource mobilization (grants, awards, gifts, etc.) and implementation that align with organizational goals and objectives.
  • Responsible for ensuring efficient allocation, monitoring and reporting of project resources, includes contributing to annual project related budget development and accountability for the disbursement and appropriate use of approved expenditures.
  • Establish and enforce safeguards for monitoring, accountability, and compliance of operations, in accordance with research directives, policy guidance, IRB protocols, Trust policies (including and especially the code of conduct) and applicable law.
  • Perform other related work as assigned by the Executive Director and in support of organizational missions and objectives.

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

  • Master’s degree in management, economics, public policy, international development, or related fields to the job description.

Experience:

  • Minimum of ten or more years of relevant work experience required; 15 years preferred; including implementation of development economics research and informing decision-making in India. PhD can count for up to 3 years of experience.

Competencies

  • Strong knowledge and understanding of the economic, political, social, and cultural context in India including deep familiarity with relevant academic research especially in the field of economics.
  • Demonstrated ability to manage and maintain high-level relationships with governments, international development practitioners, and/or academic researchers.
  • Experience with evidence-based public policy in South Asia low- or middle-income countries (LMICs)
  • Productive collaboration skills for successfully coordinating multiple stakeholders in achieving shared goals.
  • Collaboration, and a track record of successfully implementing change, Organizing policy events as well as producing policy resources and publications.
  • Implementing large-scale programs in coordination with diverse stakeholders.
  • Entrepreneurial and a hands-on, execution-driven leader with strong ownership, capable of building and scaling functions from the ground up
  • Ability to take on full portfolio accountability - end-to-end ownership of strategy, compliance, financials, and team guidance, with a proven ability to translate research into policy and implementation.
  • Demonstrated programmatic leadership skills and experience; ability to motivate high performing programmatic teams.
  • Excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills in English.  
  • Fluency in spoken Hindi and other Indian languages is preferred.
  • Effective project management skills, including collaborating work across teams, budgeting, attention to programmatic operations and research details, and ability to manage multiple projects efficiently.
  • Ability to work independently and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
  • Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
  • Expert problem-solving and analytical skills.
  • Work in weather and/or water, health, education, and agriculture sectors in LMICs is desirable. 
  • Familiarity with microeconomics and econometrics; candidates from a policy background or related academic background who can demonstrate similar knowledge, and competencies will also be considered. 
  • The ideal candidate should bring deep, hands-on experience working within or closely alongside government systems; with a strong understanding of how government institutions function, how decisions and approvals move, and how to navigate complex public systems. 
  • They should have a proven ability to translate evidence into policy and implementation, and build trusted partnerships across ministries, agencies, and the broader government ecosystem to drive initiatives at scale

Working Conditions

  • Based in Delhi with regular travel throughout India to project locations, including rural India.
  • Occasional travel to the United States

Applicant must be legally authorized to work in India.

Application Documents

  • Resume/CV (required)
  • Cover Letter (required)
  • References’ Contact Information (3 required)
  • Writing sample (required)

How to Apply

The search is being led by the Taplow Group. Interested applicants may submit their resume via email toapply@taplowgroupindia.com.

Please include “Application for the role of Associate Director- Human Centered Weather Forecast Initiative” in the subject line.