About the ASSURE (Accelerating Sustainable and Super-Efficient Real Estate) project
ASSURE is a joint initiative of the Indian Institute for Human Settlements, India’s premier knowledge institution working on urban transformation, and global next-generational digital services and consulting major and sustainability leader Infosys. ASSURE aims to transform India’s large, rapidly growing, and carbon and energy intensive real estate sector by promoting High Performance Buildings (HPBs) at scale.
In pursuit of its goal, ASSURE will, in the coming years, offer technical assistance to India’s largest developers for lighthouse projects spanning 100 million sq. ft., skill/ upskill 12,000 individuals, support 30 curated innovators, deliver a performance measurement and verification platform that incentivises HPB adoption and financing, and engage with policymakers and financial decisionmakers to usher enabling policies and financing arrangements for HPBs. In lighthouse projects, ASSURE works closely with developer teams to set realistic performance goals, guide technology and design choices, assist with implementation and O&M, and navigate financial and procurement pathways — ensuring successful delivery and operation of HPBs.
Job Description
We are seeking a dynamic professional who can own and operate a Real Estate Innovation Accelerator, driving the end-to-end lifecycle from strategy and blueprint to market delivery and impact measurement. The mandate is to design, run, and scale 30 high-potential real estate innovations — pilots, pilots-to-enterprise programs, and market-ready offerings. The candidate will recruit and manage cohorts, coordinate cross-functional teams, secure sponsor buy-in, grant administration, and deliver measurable value for innovators initially and eventually for the industry clients. A background with innovation cohorts or scaling real estate pilots will be beneficial.
This is a contractual engagement for an initial term of 11 months, renewable on mutual consent.
Activities and Tasks
- Real estate innovation strategy and accelerator blueprint:
- Define and implement the Innovation Accelerator’s vision, objectives, and success criteria aligned with ASSURE goals and ecosystem needs;
- Architecting the accelerator blueprint: program cadence, cohort themes, selection criteria, mentorship/ experts network, funding models, and post-accelerator pathways;
- Market shaping, go-to-market for real estate innovation:
- Analysing market demand, regulatory considerations, and stakeholder ecosystems (developers, owners, operators, lenders, regulators, tenants);
- Designing and executing the GTM for accelerator outcomes: positioning, messaging, partnerships, pilot-to-scale roadmaps, and enterprise adoption;
- Building compelling business cases and analyses to secure client engagement;
- Pilot design, execution and scale-up:
- Leading end-to-end pilot lifecycle within the accelerator: scoping, experiment designing, governance, capturing data, learning loops, and transitioning to enterprise programs;
- Curating a portfolio of real estate pilots;
- Managing pilot intake, onboarding, measurements and scale off;
- Governance, reporting and analytics:
- Establishing governance for accelerator programs, including milestones and gate reviews;
- Developing dashboards and executive summaries to monitor pilot progress, value realisation, and risk;
- Producing data-driven insights to optimise the accelerator portfolio and the informing of strategic pivots.
- Stakeholder engagement and communications:
- Building and nurturing relationships with developers, owners, investors, regulators, technology vendors, and internal stakeholders;
- Creating compelling proposals, progress reports, and executive presentations for boards, sponsors, and client executives;
- Representing the accelerator in industry events, thought leadership, and market forums;
- Network building and partnerships:
- Developing an ecosystem of partners (architecture/ design firms, IPCs, tech vendors, investors, academic partners, regulatory bodies) to source ideas and co-innovate;
- Managing partnership agreements, joint pilots, and co-innovation programs with clear value for all parties;
- Fostering communities of practice to accelerate knowledge sharing and accelerator outcomes;
- People and leadership (indirect):
- Mentoring and growing a cross-functional team supporting the accelerator:
- Hiring selectively and building the required capabilities to scale the accelerator program;
- Institutional:
- Providing support to other IIHS activities including academics, research, training, practice, operations and others;
- Participating in all activities of institution-building at IIHS; carrying out tasks as assigned by IIHS; and travelling on IIHS work within or outside the country as and when needed.
Structure and Reporting
The specialist will report to the Chief – Practice at IIHS or to any other person designated by the Chief – Practice and will be required to collaborate effectively with a diverse group of internal teams and external individuals/ organisations, and students.
Person Specification
The ideal candidate should have:
- A Masters degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Architecture, Business Management;
- 7+ years of relevant experience in Innovation Scaling / Incubation / Business Development in Real Estate, or related fields;
- Experience leading accelerator programs, pilots, or platform initiatives is desirable, with a proven ability to design and operate an innovation accelerator or similar program, including selecting cohorts, mentoring, and scaling pilots to enterprise deployment;
- Strong business acumen with ability to build ROI models, pricing concepts, and business cases for innovative real estate offerings;
- Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and manage complex stakeholder ecosystems;
- Excellent communication and presentation skills; comfortable engaging with C-suite and multi-stakeholder audiences;
- Familiarity with regulatory/compliance considerations in real estate and those related to the innovation scale-up;
This is a contractual engagement for an initial term of 11 months, renewable on mutual consent. This offer is on an exclusive basis, which implies that other professional assignments (whether compensated or not) that bear a potential conflict of interest with IIHS cannot be undertaken.
The search will remain open until the position is filled.
Location
This position is based in Bengaluru and may entail travel to other locations in India.
Review and Assessment
The role and performance of the incumbent shall be subject to normal review and assessment systems at IIHS.
Diversity Policy
IIHS is an equal opportunity employer that encourages women, people with disabilities and those from economically and socially excluded communities with the requisite skills and qualifications to apply for positions.
