Ajay Kumar K.C.

Ajay brings over 14 years of professional experience in water and sanitation, environment, and climate change, having led multi-million-dollar programs focused on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), urban resilience, and environmental sustainability. Prior to joining ICIMOD, Ajay served as a Project Management Specialist (Environment and Disaster Risk Management) at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and as WASH Team Leader at Oxfam Great Britain . He has also provided technical assistance to various organisations, including Asian Development Bank, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), World Bank/Kathmandu University, The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

Ajay has contributed to or led the development of national guidelines, frameworks, and country profile, including the National Framework for Gender-Inclusive Climate-Resilient Urban Development, Step-by-Step Guideline for Climate-Resilient Municipal Planning, National Guideline for Design of Wastewater and Faecal Sludge Treatment Systems, and Environmental Country Profile of Nepal for Shelter and Settlements. He has also published peer-reviewed articles in multiple journals.

Ajay holds a PhD in Environmental Engineering and was a gold medallist in his M Tech in Civil (Environmental) Engineering, receiving the Best Graduating Student Award from the President of India for the academic year 2011–12. He has also undertaken different specialized courses on Climate and Energy Nexus; Sustainability Assessment and Policy Evaluation; Gender, Climate Change and Disaster; Water Leadership; Urban Drainage and Sewerage from institutions including Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)- Sweden, Linnaeus University, Lund University, National University of Singapore, and IHE Delft.