Program Coordinator/ Research Assistant - Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies - CSIS 

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a non-profit, bipartisan public policy organization established in 1962 to provide strategic insights and practical policy solutions to decision makers concerned with global security and prosperity. Over the years, it has grown to be one of the largest organizations of its kind, with a staff of some 200 employees, including more than 120 analysts working to address the changing dynamics of international security across the globe.

The CSIS Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies (India Chair) aims to unlock the full potential of the U.S.-India relationship and leads the Center's work on India. The India Chair serves as an independent platform to pursue policy changes that strengthen bilateral ties, placing special emphasis on accelerating economic development in India and promoting greater business and economic engagement between the two countries. The India Chair has also become the world’s leading authority on state-level political-economic issues in India, leading multiple funded projects to expand subnational engagement with India.

Our work is very action-oriented. This is not a research-focused role, though some research is important for our work. Our team works in the office Monday-Thursday. Fridays are an optional “work from home” day, though we may shift to 5-day office weeks at some point in the future.

CSIS is currently seeking candidates for our role as Program Coordinator/Research Assistant (PCRA) The PCRA will help lead programmatic work on our range of Indian state-focused projects, along with some general administrative duties to support the program more broadly. The PCRA will lead contact management with Indian state officials, liaise with U.S. partners, coordinate workshops & events, and prepare donor-related project materials including quarterly/ annual reports, renewal documents, and new grant submissions.

The ideal candidate:

• Has experience in engaging officials in India and maintaining contacts over time—with a focus on using the phone, even during early / late hours to build and maintain connections;

• Shown initiative to reach out to new contacts in India and engage;

• Has some domain knowledge in the areas of projcts the role will support; and

• Has excellent executive writing skills (short and to the point).

This role pays between $55,000 and $65,000, depending on the candidate’s experience.

Essential functions may include, but are not limited to the following:

The PCRA will be responsible for consistent engagement, coordination, and communication with a variety of stakeholders in organizations and governments in India and the United States and across CSIS projects. Responsibilities include:

• Provide administrative support to multiple projects: Currently, the projects focus on industrial energy efficiency, electric mobility, and renewable energy, though this can evolve over time as projects begin and conclude. This administrative support includes:

o Expand & maintain our connections with related Indian state-level policymakers in these areas. This will regularly require making phone calls/ video calls/ exchanging messages with officials outside of normal office hours to accommodate the time difference with India.

o Organizing workshops, virtual and in-person, between Indian state policymakers and U.S. counterparts. A few times per year, this includes managing international travel for small (6-10 person) delegations. This includes coordinating schedules for key participants, helping the Senior Fellow frame the agenda and think about potential speakers/ participants, and for in-person workshops- Venues, catering, and sometimes coordinating travel.

o Track state-level policies and research in India related to the projects the position covers.

• Budget Management: Serve as the primary budget manager for the program. CSIS maintains a larger picture of our accounts, but our team budget manager needs to be able to present more nuance/ updates/ and project future financial scenarios.

o New project budgets: This also includes serving as our primary contact for building new project budgets, and liaising with the CSIS finance team for this purpose.

• Contracting: This role will track the status of all new and renewing contracts with partners, and ensure these contracts are uploaded into our internal system once completed.

• Invoicing: This role will handle our preparation of invoices (a handful per year) as well as paying invoices we owe (3-4 per month) for consultants, research partners, and service providers.

• Expense Reports: This role with prepare and submit expense reports for at least one fellow.

• Research: Conduct research for team projects.

• Writing: Writing occasional articles, assisting with drafting longer team reports.

• Must have strong communication, interpersonal, and analytical skills. For our work with Indian states, phone calls – often during early or late hours—are crucial to ensure engagement. Emailing will not suffice.

• Computer and mobile phone / technology sufficient to work from home.

• Strong research skills.

• Experience with administrative tasks and attention to detail in all/ most of the following: budgeting, expense reporting, scheduling, and event logistics.

• Must be eligible to work in Washington, DC and commit at least 35 hours per week.

• Must have the ability to work independently with minimal oversight.

• Must be willing to travel to India approximately two times per year for project-related work, including travel to India’s state capitals.

• Must have demonstrated experience managing competing priorities and multiple projects under tight deadlines.

• Hindi language ability not, required but highly desirable.

This position will be based out of our Washington DC headquarters and is expected to be in-office 3 days per week. The physical demands are representative of those that must be met by an employee working in an office environment. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions.

Interested applicants should submit a résumé, cover letter, and college transcript at https://careers.csis.org/.