Associate at CrossBoundary

Job description

CrossBoundary is recruiting a full time Associate to support the Mini-Grid Innovation Lab initiative. CrossBoundary is not a development firm and is not seeking typical development skills. We are seeking a highly motivated individual with previous exposure to, or interest in, renewable energy, retail energy markets, or off-grid energy and who has notable private sector or investment experience with strong analytical skills. Individuals with experience in designing and implementing pilots and/or managing business insight initiatives for rural consumers in Africa are also encouraged to apply. Experience in developing countries is preferred, as is an engineering degree or technical background. Associates typically are pre-MBA/Masters candidates with 2-4 years of work experience in high impact organisations, but people of all backgrounds meeting the above guidance will be considered for the role.

You will support the Lab Lead in running the Mini-Grid Innovation Lab for Africa, which has two main groups of activities. The first is working with mini-grid developers to identify and test innovative solutions to the mini-grid business model, through managing an iterative process of piloting and refining ideas. Based on the results of these experiments and the data collected, your second set of activities will focus on data analysis and promoting the results to the sector. With support from academic institutions, you will analyse the results of pilots and their impact on mini-grid business models, and support the dissemination of these results to the rest of the sector.

About The Team

CrossBoundary operates in frontier markets that also hold immense investment opportunities. The CrossBoundary team is a unique group made up of people who are genuinely excited by the opportunity to make a difference in some of the most challenging yet exciting markets in the world. Team members come from diverse backgrounds, but share a number of qualities: curiosity, humility, integrity, a drive for excellence, and a bias for action.

Compensation

CrossBoundary offers a highly competitive salary (including benefits).

Skills And Characteristics Required

• Ability to think creatively to find innovative solutions to business model gaps
• Excellent analytical ability and discipline; ability to think clearly, structure problems logically, and then design and implement solutions that focus on the core issues
• Strong quantitative skills. Ability or willingness to learn how to deploy analytical tools beyond Excel on large data sets to drive insight is essential.
• Strong communication skills. Ability to distil complex findings into convincing, compelling messages and present results in a clear and simplified manner.
• Ability to coordinate diverse range of stakeholders in challenging environments
• Self-starter who is passionate about creating lasting change in frontier markets
• Willingness to work and live in a sometimes challenging environment

Primary Responsibilities

• Support implementation of innovative business model improvements across Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, and Zambia
• Alongside Lab Lead, support mini-grid companies to design prototype innovations through ideation workshops and ongoing consultation
• Support data collection on impact and undertake quantitative analysis to evaluate success
• Support external experimentation initiatives through the Lab’s network when requested and appropriate
• Analyse results of Lab’s work and support advocacy efforts for the sector
• Maintain and update dashboards for reporting to the sector and to donors on impact
• Regularly analyse data received from mini-grid developers to evaluate experiment hypotheses and communicate findings
• Work with Lab Lead, academic institutions, and advocacy organisations to promote results of Lab’s work (successes and failures in experimentation) and publish results
• Identify and engage partners
• Meet with new partners interested in engaging in the Lab’s work (e.g. academic institutions, NGOs, donors and funders, mini-grid developers, technology companies) and identify paths forward for collaboration
• Engage Lab’s key partners on a regular basis to provide updates on the Lab, gather feedback on prototype designs, and build community among mini-grid developers
• Support Lab Lead to mobilise scale-up funding for the Lab’s efforts
• Complete regular reporting requirements for the Lab’s funders
• Support market and policy assessments and ongoing market analysis
• Conduct macroeconomic, regulatory, and operational assessments
• Provide sector analysis of priority areas for business model improvement
• Identify potential new markets and priorities for experimentation in the mini-grid sector

Location

Candidates will join our team in the CrossBoundary office in Nairobi, Kenya. There will be substantial opportunities for international travel.