Technical Lead - Access at CrossBoundary

The CrossBoundary Access team is a unique group of people who are excited to make a difference in some of the world's most challenging and exciting renewable energy markets. Team members come from diverse backgrounds, but share a number of qualities: relentless curiosity, extreme ownership, a laser focus on results, and a bias for action.
Who You Are

• Self-starter who is passionate about creating lasting change in Africa
• Pioneer who is excited to work with new technologies and innovations
• Creative thinker with an ability to craft non-traditional and innovative solutions to practical problems
• Can build strong relationships with clients and colleagues in stressful environments
• Empathetic and thoughtful leader that can drive performance within a multi-disciplinary team
• Comfortable with ambiguity; ability to operate effectively in a changing, challenging context

Primary Responsibilities
 Design

• Technical evaluation of potential investments in solar mini-grids and adjacent technologies
• Review and approve engineering designs for power generation plant and power distribution network to ensure developers comply with CBA standards
• Develop innovative solutions to improve the design process (eg improve quality, lower cost, facilitate operations, etc.)
• Further develop and improve technical standards
• Conduct technical due diligence on potential development partners
• Collaborate with developers to provide strategic guidance and input in the selection process for project components (eg panels, batteries, inverters, etc.)
• Work with developers, and alongside relevant team members, to ensure relevant permits and licenses, community commercial agreements and site exclusivities are secured on time, for multiple projects at a time
• Apply CBA’s HSES policies to development operations on our sites and help to develop safe operating practices and standards

Build

• Track and monitor project activities and milestones at deployment phase i.e. procurement and construction, and provide project management oversight
• Provide technical oversight at construction phase to ensure mini-grid sites are constructed as per CBA standards, on time and within budget
• Provide technical oversight on acceptance tests and start-up of operations at new mini-grid sites;
• Apply CBA’s HSES policies to construction operations on our sites and help to develop safe operating practices and standards

Stakeholder management

• Provide technical leadership across internal and external stakeholders, ensuring consistent application of standards and performance expectations
• Support cross-functional decision-making by translating technical risks into actionable business insights
• Collaborate closely with ESG, legal, and investment teams to ensure alignment on technical considerations

Qualifications

• Robust technical background with 6+ years of experience in assessing, developing, and implementing renewable energy projects
• Experience in quality assurance/supervision of solar PV systems and power distribution network designs, bill of materials, technical specifications, construction, testing and commissioning
• Work experience or demonstrated familiarity in low voltage (LV) and medium voltage (MV) power distribution networks
• Experience in developing countries (particularly Africa) will be regarded extremely favourably
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant engineering field required; other advanced degrees and project management courses will be regarded favorably
• A registered member of a relevant engineering professional body
• Demonstrated ability to independently supervise multi-stakeholder projects
• Excellent presentation skills, ability to communicate clearly and effectively across diverse audiences

The ideal candidate will also have the following skills and qualifications:

• Previous experience in solar PV minigrids development and construction with a top-tier firm
• Strong quantitative skills
• Understanding of key technical aspects in legal contracts
• Excellent analytical ability and discipline; ability to think clearly, structure problems logically, and then design and implement solutions that focus on the core issues
• Ability to analyze large data in excel
• Ability to work with AutoCAD and in solar PV and microgrid design tools e.g. HOMER, PV Syst, Helioscope, etc
• Ability to build strong relationships with partners and colleagues in challenging environments
• Comfort with ambiguity and an ability to operate effectively in a changing context
• French speaking