Jameel X C40 Urban Planning Climate Lab Senior Manager

Background

C40 is a network of nearly 100 mayors of the world’s leading cities, who are working to deliver the urgent action needed right now to confront the climate crisis, and create a future where everyone, everywhere can thrive. Mayors of C40 cities are committed to using a science-based and people-focused approach to help the world limit global heating to 1.5°C and build healthy, equitable and resilient communities. Through a Global Green New Deal, mayors are working alongside a broad coalition of representatives from labour, business, the youth climate movement and civil society to go further and faster than ever before.

C40’s team of 400+ staff is based in offices in London, in New York, Johannesburg, Singapore, Delhi, Rio de Janeiro, Copenhagen, Beijing and Paris, and individual staff based across 25+ different locations.

The strategic direction of the organisation is determined by an elected Steering Committee of C40 mayors, which is chaired by Mayor Sadiq Khan of London and Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr of Freetown. Three-term Mayor of New York City Michael R. Bloomberg serves as President of the C40 Board of Directors, responsible for operational oversight. A regionally diverse management team, led by Executive Director Mark Watts, leads the day-to-day management of C40. C40’s three core strategic funders are Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and Realdania.

Our international staff work with the C40 network under the leadership of city governments to deliver this mission. Using a data-driven approach, our team identifies and promotes the exchange of proven programmes and policies developed by cities; provides world-class research, technical expertise and access to key partners to deliver new programmes and policies with cities; and communicates cities’ individual achievements and collective leadership.

C40 Regions and Mayoral Engagement team:

The Regions & Mayoral Engagement Team is one of the most diverse teams in C40, with staff members located in every region of the globe, representing C40 and coordinating with local cities on the ground. One of the major roles of the Regions & Mayoral Engagement Team, and what makes us unique in C40, is promoting and utilising effective and robust communication with the mayors and their teams; meaning that the Regional Directors and Deputy Directors are often the first point of contact for any queries or concerns any of our member cities might have, and act as local Ambassadors of C40. We are involved in a wide variety of tasks throughout the year, such as: ensuring our member cities meet C40’s membership requirements (Leadership Standards); receiving feedback from our cities; supporting/ encouraging cities to commit to ambitious action and to keep active despite changing city administrations; advising on the internal preparation of fundraising proposals, programme development and events/ campaigns/ diplomacy initiatives’ design; and engaging cities on C40 programmes, initiatives, events and other activities.

Position Description:

The role will be reporting to C40’s Regional Director of South and West Asia and will be working closely with the C40 Urban Planning and Design Team.

This role has arisen due to the creation of a new initiative to support cities to mainstream climate action into their land use planning policies and regulations. Community Jameel, an independent, global organisation advancing science and learning for communities to thrive, has joined forces with C40 to implement the Jameel x C40 Urban Planning Climate Lab. The program aims to empower cities to mainstream climate action planning through urban planning. Two C40-led labs focused on integrating climate action in urban planning will be set up in Chennai, India, and Amman, Jordan.

The Senior Manager will lead the Jameel x C40 Urban Planning Climate Lab’s efforts on the integration of climate action planning with urban planning in South and West Asia. The program will support two cities in the South and West Asia region to integrate the actions identified in the city(s)’ Climate Action Plan into the Master Plan. The learning from this deep dive will be used to develop tools and methodology for mainstreaming Climate Action Plans through urban planning which will be shared with other cities in the region and globally.

The learnings from the deep support provided to the pilot cities will be used to develop a methodology and tools for mainstreaming Climate Action Plans through urban planning which will be shared with other C40 cities in the region and globally.

To deliver “proof of concept”, the programme also includes support to the two cities to implement a ‘pilot project’ in a smaller scale, specific area that the city will identify. eg. a neighbourhood to be revitalized or a new area of development.

The ideal candidate will have strong professional experience in urban planning, especially at the city-wide/metropolitan scale, and have participated in the development of city master plans/metropolitan land use plans. We also expect the successful candidate to be familiar with urban planning policies and tools for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and for enhancing climate resilience.Experience working with municipal authorities on program development and management will also be valued.

Given the current geographic focus of the program on South and West Asia, experience in this region will especially be appreciated.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the delivery of all activities of the program supported by the Project Manager and in collaboration with both the South & West Asia regions team and the Urban Planning and Design team
• Coordinate and provide technical support to selected cities on the revision of their master plan document, including capturing lessons learned to be disseminated across the C40 cities network
• Support the two leading cities namely Chennai and Amman to implement a pilot in a specific area. Eg. a neighbourhood to be revitalized, a new area of development.
• Coordinate engagement with other C40 teams and especially with the Climate Action Planning and Innovation team, the Inclusive Climate Action Team as well as with C40 Fundraising, Communication and Corporate Services teams.
• Engage with the founding partner, Community Jameel, and key global partners of the programme to build on the programme and strengthen the partnerships that C40 has already forged on the topic with leading organisations such as World Bank.
• Explore and build new partnerships to contribute to the fundraising efforts to expand the program activities in the South West Asia Region and beyond
• Manage consultants engaged under the program and ensure project deliverables are met in time
• Report to the Regional Director for South and West Asia and collaborate closely with Director of Urban Planning and Design (UPD) and the wider UPD team to plan and execute activities, including engagement with cities and preparing programme webinars and workshops
• Help in fundraising and development of partnerships
• Other duties as assigned.

Person Specification

• At least 7-15 years of experience in Urban Planning
• Knowledge in sustainable urban planning and design is required, relevant experience will also be considered
• Knowledge of urban planning policies for climate climate mitigation and resilience is required
• Experience in working with international programs or projects related to climate, urban planning and design at the city-wide scale and having additional experience at neighbourhood scale is a plus
• Experience in working with cities or other local governments is a plus
• Experience in developing, delivering and reporting on programme plans, including contract and budget management is a plus
• Ability to work collaboratively and effectively with external partners such as leading organisations, funders, and private or academic sector
• Excellent written communication skills and creativity
• Excellent problem-solving, strategic thinking and analytical capabilities
• Superior attention to detail
• Excellent organisation skills with the ability to meet a variety of deadlines
• Proactive self-starter with the ability to work independently
• Experience working across different cultures, languages and time zones is a plus
• Fluency in English and Tamil is essential

Other Requirements:

Applicants must already have the right to work in India. Moderate travel will be required as part of the role.

Reporting To: Regional Director of South and West Asia

Term: Fixed Term Contract to 31st July 2026

Location: Ahmedabad, Bengaluru ,Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai - Please note that if your right to work in one of the listed locations is not confirmed at the time of applying, C40 will be unable to proceed with your application.

Salary: (Grade 3) INR 24,11,579 gross per annum - Due to its commitment to maintain equity and fairness, C40 operates on a spot salary model. This means that our employees are paid the same salary according to their grade and location.

Application Process:

Closing date for applications is Tuesday 23rd September 2025 BST. C40 reserves the right to close this job opening before the closing date for applications so please do submit applications early.

To learn more about the work of C40 and our cities, please visit www.c40.org, follow us on Twitter @c40cities and like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/C40Cities.

For any queries about the role, please contact careers@C40.org. Kindly note that this email address is for recruitment related queries only. We are unable to accept CVs and cover letters sent to this inbox. We can only accept and process applications that are submitted via our website.

C40 is an equal opportunities employer.