On-Grid Specialist (Kenya) at RTI International

Position Description

• The Kenya On-Grid Specialist will be based in the Nairobi and will work with government institutions, relevant energy sector entities, donor community, private sector, and relevant civil society groups and NGOs. This position will oversee and manage on-grid activities for the program in assigned countries. The Kenya On-Grid Specialist is expected to provide energy sector technical support and serve as coordinator and champion for project activities in close coordination with EECA technical and cross-cutting team leadership. Key to success in this role requires the ability to engage senior decision-makers (including country government counterparts) and understand the unique political economy of the countries’ energy sectors. The Specialist will support capacity building, legal, financial, and other technical assistance activities that integrate on-grid development priorities, private sector growth strategies, and U.S. government development initiatives. The specialist will report to East Africa/Kenya Technical Lead.

Responsibilities

• Support changes to energy sector planning that aligns with planned or existing energy sector strategic development, economic growth goals, and climate change adaptation and mitigation targets.
• Support planning of generation, distribution and transmission expansion, particularly those infrastructure projects essential to regional integration.
• Support implementation of potential development of overall integrated resources and resilience planning or other high-level planning deliverables (including management of consultancy teams with effective deliverable organization, scheduling, and budgeting)
• Support the government in understanding and building capacity for competitive procurement practices in energy infrastructure growth or other host-country sector identified strategic growth initiatives.
• Support the government in its dealings with the project developer community working with the EECA Community mobilization Specialist.
• Provide technical assistance to utilities as they establish IPP units, build staff capacity to evaluate bids, review project designs, build shadow financial models, and review PPAs. Provide support as they densify their grid connections and facilitate faster, cheaper utility connections.
• Strengthen the capacity of the Energy Regulator to develop and establish fair and robust regulatory processes.
• Provide technical assistance to IPPs to advance transactions towards financial close.
• Work closely with the Kenya off-grid specialist, EECA technical teams and cross-cutting teams across the project to integrate learnings in your practice area.
• Provide weekly progress reports and contribute to overall routine reporting to the client.
• Work with other development partners ensuring up-to-date knowledge of the sector and its activities to ensure harmonized support.
• Maintain and update a database of on-grid energy company transactions and provide updates on transactions to Power Africa.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 8 years of experience, master’s degree and 6 years of experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in the power sector with a focus on public policy, sector regulation, utility turnaround or improvement, and IPPs.
• Significant project management experience with excellent organizational and communication skills.
• Demonstrated strong connections with the local government energy sector institutions.
• Ability to work in a team-of-teams environment that value collaboration and integrated activity development in a multi-cultural setting.
• Good writing and communication skills in English.