Project Research Scientist – III (Non-Medical) – Climate Scientist

Number of Position: 1

Project: CHARM-India – Climate and Health Adaptation for Resilience and Sustainable Healthcare Management

Duration: Five-year project. Appointment will initially be for one year, extendable based on performance and project requirement

Institution: Centre for Chronic Disease Control (CCDC), New Delhi

Location: Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Medical College and Hospital, Jaipur, Rajasthan. The post holder will be based full-time at this hospital site, with visits to the other participating hospitals for climate work as per project requirement.

Reporting to: Principal Investigator / Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI)

Age Limit: 45 Years

Overall Purpose

To provide scientific and technical leadership in climate hazard characterization, environmental exposure assessment, and climate risk modelling to support hospital climate resilience planning. The incumbent will lead the analysis and integration of climate and environmental datasets with health system information to generate evidence for climate vulnerability assessments, adaptation planning, and decision-support systems. The post holder will be based at Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Medical College and Hospital, Jaipur. About 50% of the role will cover climate science work for all five participating hospitals (Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi; PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Coimbatore; Capital Hospital, Bhubaneswar; Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Medical College and Hospital, Jaipur; and ESIC Medical College and Hospital, Faridabad). The remaining 50% will cover site coordination and all CHARM-India activities at Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Medical College and Hospital, Jaipur.

Job Description

Key Responsibilities

1. Climate Hazard Assessment

• Lead characterization of climate hazards affecting healthcare facilities, including extreme heat, rainfall, flooding, humidity, air quality, and other weather-related events.
• Analyse historical and projected climate trends relevant to healthcare infrastructure and service delivery.
• Develop climate hazard profiles for participating hospitals and project sites.

2. Climate Data Analysis

• Acquire, manage, and analyse meteorological, environmental, and climate datasets from national and international sources.
• Integrate multiple climate datasets to support exposure assessment and climate-health analyses.
• Conduct climate exposure modelling using appropriate statistical and computational approaches.

3. Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment

• Integrate climate indicators with hospital climate and health vulnerability assessments.
• Support development of climate-health exposure models and hotspot analyses.
• Contribute to the identification of priority risks and adaptation strategies for healthcare facilities.

4. Decision Support Systems

• Support development of climate-informed decision-support tools, early warning thresholds, and risk visualization platforms.
• Collaborate with GIS, data science, and health systems teams to develop climate resilience dashboards.
• Generate climate intelligence products to inform hospital preparedness and response planning.

5. Research and Technical Leadership

• Provide scientific guidance on climate science methodologies across project activities.
• Develop technical protocols and standard operating procedures for climate data management and analysis.
• Contribute to research protocols, scientific publications, policy briefs, and technical reports.

6. Capacity Building and Collaboration

• Provide technical support and training on climate data interpretation and climate risk assessment methodologies.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams including epidemiologists, GIS specialists, environmental scientists, engineers, and hospital stakeholders.
• Participate in technical meetings, workshops, and stakeholder consultations.

7. Monitoring and Reporting

• Prepare periodic technical reports on climate analyses and project progress.
• Ensure timely delivery of climate datasets, analytical outputs, and project milestones.
• Support reporting requirements of the funding agency and collaborating institutions.

8. Site Coordination at SMS Hospital, Jaipur (about 50% of the role)

• Serve as the senior project scientist at Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Medical College and Hospital, Jaipur, leading all CHARM-India activities at the site in coordination with the central project team at the Centre for Chronic Disease Control (CCDC).
• Lead site-level work across all project components, including the hospital Climate and Health Vulnerability Assessment (CHVA), Hospital Climate Action Plan (H-CAP), hospital climate footprint and energy assessments, capacity building, and implementation research.
• Liaise with hospital leadership, the site lead, clinical, engineering and administrative departments, and the Institutional Ethics Committee.
• Supervise site project staff, and ensure data quality, adherence to study protocols, and timely site reporting.
• Represent the site in project review meetings, and support site visits, monitoring missions, and evaluations.

Essential Qualification

• Postgraduate Degree, including integrated postgraduate degrees, in Climate Science, Environmental Science, Earth Sciences, Atmospheric Science, Meteorology, Environmental Engineering, Geography, or a related discipline, with five (5) years of post-qualification experience, OR
• PhD in the above disciplines with two (2) years of post-qualification experience.
• For Engineering / Information Technology (IT) / Computer Science (CS): Four-year Graduate Degree with five (5) years of post-qualification experience, OR Postgraduate Degree with three (3) years of post-qualification experience, OR PhD.
• Must have handled a minimum of five (5) projects relevant to the requirement.

(As per ICMR guidelines on Non-Institutional Project Human Resource Positions, as amended on 18 October 2024. Experience is counted from the date of completion of the minimum essential qualification, preferably in a Government organisation.)

Responsibilities and Requirements

Essential Experience

• Experience in climate data analysis, climate modelling, environmental exposure assessment, or climate risk assessment.
• Experience working with meteorological, environmental, or remote sensing datasets.
• Proficiency in statistical and analytical software such as R, Python, MATLAB, or equivalent.
• Experience interpreting climate datasets for public health, environmental, or infrastructure applications.

Desirable Experience

• Experience in climate change and health, environmental epidemiology, disaster risk reduction, or climate adaptation.
• Familiarity with GIS and spatial analysis platforms (ArcGIS, QGIS, Google Earth Engine, etc.).
• Experience with climate projection datasets, remote sensing products, and early warning systems.
• Scientific publications in climate science, environmental health, or related disciplines.
• Working knowledge of Hindi (spoken and written), to communicate with hospital staff and patients.
• Preference will be given to candidates residing in, or willing to relocate to, Jaipur, Rajasthan.

Key Deliverables

• Hospital-specific climate hazard profiles and exposure assessments.
• Climate risk maps and hotspot analyses for participating healthcare facilities.
• Climate-health analytical outputs to support Hospital Climate Action Plans (H-CAPs).
• Technical reports, policy briefs, and scientific publications.
• Climate-informed decision-support tools and early warning inputs.
• Capacity-building materials and technical guidance on climate risk assessment.
• Site-specific outputs for SMS Medical College and Hospital, Jaipur: completed Climate and Health Vulnerability Assessment (CHVA) and Hospital Climate Action Plan (H-CAP) for the hospital, site trainings and simulation exercises conducted, and timely site progress reports and data submissions.

Compensation: As per ICMR pay structure

Application Process Information

How to Apply: Kindly submit your application by mentioning your details and attaching your CV in this form. The last date for sending your application is 10th November 2026. [Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for the interview.]