Program Manager (Heat Forecast)

Title:Program Manager (Heat Forecast)

Location and Work Authorization:New Delhi, India preferred. Candidates must have existing authorization to work in India; PxD is unable to sponsor visas for this role.

Position:Full-time

Compensation:Salary will be competitive and commensurate with the candidate's skills, experience, and the local labor market in India.

Application Deadline:10 November 2026, 6 PM IST (applications may be reviewed as they are submitted)

About The Role

Precision Development (PxD) is seeking a Program Manager to lead the delivery and scale-up of PxD's heat initiative in India - bringing AI-based heat forecasts and actionable heat advisories to agriculture and livestock farmers, with a particular focus on government partnerships and coordination across delivery channels.

You will build and maintain strong relationships with relevant government institutions - including agriculture, animal husbandry, meteorological, dairy cooperatives and disaster management agencies - and coordinate closely with PxD's research, technology, program, and country teams. You will play a central role in moving the heat use case from formative research and pilot to delivery at scale, aligning partners, content, timelines, and channels so that farmers receive timely, consistent heat guidance.

This is a chance to help farmers protect their crops, animals, and livelihoods from increasingly frequent and severe heatwaves, at a moment when advances in AI forecasting make earlier and more localized heat warnings possible.

Responsibilities

These will evolve as the role develops; key initial areas are below.

Government Relations & Partnerships

• Build and maintain strong working relationships with central and state government institutions involved in heat early warning, weather and climate services, agriculture extension, and animal husbandry, serving as a key point of contact for PxD's heat initiative
• Coordinate with government stakeholders to secure approvals and support for the implementation, alignment, and scale-up of heat advisory activities, and identify opportunities to integrate heat advisories into government systems such as heat action plans, extension platforms, and existing advisory services
• Engage with forecasting and technical partners to align on the use of AI-based heat forecast products
• Represent PxD in government meetings, technical working groups, workshops, conferences, and other external forums

Use Case, Pilot & Channel Coordination

• Work with the research team to translate formative research findings into a heat advisory use case for crop and livestock farmers, and support the planning and execution of pilots
• Coordinate across the channels used to deliver heat forecasts and advisories (e.g. voice calls, IVR, SMS, WhatsApp, extension workers), working closely with program, research, technology, and content teams on channel-specific activities and deliverables
• Support the development, testing, and rollout of heat advisory content with agronomists and livestock experts, ensuring advisories are timely, actionable, and suited to local contexts
• Maintain clear implementation plans, timelines, and responsibilities, plan around the seasonal heatwave window, monitor progress, and proactively address challenges and risks

Stakeholder Engagement & Communication

• Coordinate meetings, workshops, trainings, demonstrations, and other stakeholder engagement activities with government and implementation partners
• Prepare briefing materials, presentations, updates, and reports for government and external stakeholders, and support knowledge-sharing between the India and global PxD teams
• Work closely with PxD’s senior leadership and relevant colleagues to ensure government engagement aligns with country priorities and organizational objectives

Program Learning, Monitoring & Adaptation

• Support strategies to increase the reach, use, and effectiveness of heat advisory services, incorporating farmer feedback, evidence, and pilot learning into program improvements
• Track program and channel performance indicators, support teams in using data to inform implementation decisions, and document stakeholder engagement, decisions, and lessons learned

Reporting & Organizational Contribution

• Contribute to project reports, donor updates, funding proposals, and other documentation
• Support other program activities related to PxD's weather and climate portfolio as required

What You'll Bring

The ideal candidate will have:

• A Master's degree in development studies, economics, agricultural economics, public policy, environmental or climate science, communications, or a related field
• Significant professional experience in program management, government relations, or stakeholder/partnership management, including demonstrated experience working directly with central and/or state government institutions in India
• Strong understanding of government structures, processes, and stakeholder engagement in India; familiarity with heat action plans, disaster management, agriculture extension, or animal husbandry systems is an advantage
• Experience coordinating programs involving multiple stakeholders, partners, and delivery channels; experience in agriculture, livestock, weather, climate, or digital development is an advantage
• Interest in how AI and new forecasting technologies can be applied to climate adaptation for farmers
• Strong relationship-building, negotiation, and facilitation skills, with the ability to work effectively with government officials and institutional partners
• Strong project coordination skills, including work planning, tracking deliverables, and managing timelines across multiple workstreams
• Ability to communicate complex information clearly to technical and non-technical audiences, in both English and Hindi (fluency in Hindi required; another Indian language is a plus)
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to work independently while collaborating across multidisciplinary, international teams
• Ability and willingness to travel within India as required, including to project sites during the summer months

How To Apply

To apply, please visit the PxD website and complete the online application form, including your CV, cover letter, and brief responses to the screening questions. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. The final deadline to apply is 10 November 2026, 6 pm IST.

In line with our values, we evaluate candidates on merit alone, without regard to gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religion, disability, caste, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law. We offer flexible working arrangements to support your wellbeing. Personal data provided is used for recruitment purposes only.

About Precision Development (PxD)

PxD is a rapidly scaling global nonprofit working with governments across Africa and Asia to close the last-mile gap in smallholder farming. We deliver evidence-based information and tools - from timely farming and weather guidance to climate-resilient inputs - that millions of farmers use to improve their lives. In the last 12 months alone, we reached over 60 million farmers at a cost of just $0.47 per farmer per year, with our flagship program in India delivering a benefit-cost ratio of 12:1-19:1.

Operating in Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, and beyond, the majority of our team is based in our program countries, working directly alongside government partners and farming communities toward our goal of improving the lives of 100 million farmers by 2030.