Off Grid Energy Specialist, USAID, Power Africa

Position Title: Program Mgmt Specialist / Off Grid Energy Specialist

Grade-level Equivalent: ~GS 14/13

Requesting Mission/Office: Power Africa

Clearance Requirement: Secret

Period of Performance (o/a): ASAP, 2 year term

Place of Performance: Washington, DC

Telework Designation: Situational Telework

Expected Travel: 2-3 trips per year to the African continent

BACKGROUND:

Launched in 2013, Power Africa is a Presidential initiative that harnesses the collective resources of the public and private sectors to double access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa. The U.S. Government-wide initiative is charged with adding more than 30,000 megawatts (MWs) of electricity generation capacity and bringing electricity to 60 million homes and businesses on the continent by 2030. Power Africa is coordinated by the Power Africa Coordinator's Office (Coordinator's Office), where it sits within the USAID Africa Bureau, and accomplishes its objectives through promoting investment in energy projects, leveraging public and private sector financing facilities, strengthening capacity, improving management, providing critical technical assistance and supporting necessary policy and regulatory reform efforts.

Recognizing the need to support off-grid electricity access, in 2014 Power Africa launched the Beyond the Grid (BTG) sub-initiative focused exclusively on unlocking investment and growth for off-grid energy solutions on the African continent. Beyond the Grid is accelerating off-grid electricity access, focusing on two strategic priorities - household solar and mini-grids - to add 25-30 million new connections by 2030, in support of achieving the overall Power Africa goal of adding 60 million new home and business connections.

Power Africa is seeking a talented and experienced Off Grid Energy Specialist to provide expert services to its Energy/BTG team in the areas of off-grid energy program management and related activity design and implementation. The ideal candidate will have experience dealing with the energy sector in the context of both the public and private sectors.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The USAID Off-grid Energy Specialist, hereafter referred to as "the Specialist," is a critical member of the Beyond the Grid (BTG) team and provides both strategic and operational contributions that will help advance Power Africa's objective of 30 million new off-grid connections and in unlocking the off-grid energy potential in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The Specialist will collaborate with other USG energy advisors and officers in the design, procurement, and management of continent-wide off-grid energy access programs. The Specialist will possess in-depth knowledge on off-grid energy access, including solar home systems, mini-/micro-grids, and productive uses of energy and its dynamics in SSA, keeping abreast of trends and issues, reviewing and analyzing developments, and advising Energy Office members and Power Africa leadership, and, as required, other USG officials on highly specialized issues related to off-grid energy in the region, particularly those bearing on USG interests. The Specialist engages with US Embassies and USAID Missions in 20+ countries to provide information, advice, and feedback, as required. The Specialist represents Power Africa in discussions and with 50+ private sector and development partners in the off-grid sector, and may represent Power Africa in high-level external forums.

The Specialist will be expected to perform a variety of duties ranging from routine tasks such as scheduling meetings, drafting briefers, arranging travel and maintaining program files, to more complex tasks such as researching, compiling and analyzing information for various programs and designing and maintaining data in Power Africa and USAID information systems. The Specialist will be required to rank and manage tasks in order of importance and impending deadlines, and handle several tasks seamlessly and simultaneously. The individual must possess a working knowledge of USAID policies and guidelines, as well as corporate practices and procedures.

The Specialist works under the supervision of the Supervisory BTG Lead located in Pretoria, South Africa.

NOTE: The incumbent will not perform other inherently governmental functions or duties (e.g. will not serve as AOR/COR or supervise staff), but rather will advise, mentor, and facilitate as appropriate on the performance of inherently governmental functions on the part of the Office or Mission.

Specifically they will:

• Supports coordination efforts with Power Africa off-grid stakeholders to include representing Power Africa in working groups, deep-dives, and coordination sessions.

• Provides strategic and programmatic inputs related to off-grid energy activities across the Coordinator's Office including briefings and program designs, and liaises closely with the Power Africa interagency including USAID Missions and US Embassies.

• Manages the reporting, updating and maintenance of BTG information and tools, including regular data collection and verification exercises with partners and awardees.

Program Management 40%

• Monitors and evaluates progress of implementing partners toward achievement of off-grid connections results through and meetings/communications with senior leadership of the implementing partners' organization.

• Assists in the procurement of new programs and activities by preparing studies, interviews with outside experts and compiling existing research, statements of work, project and activity design documents, supporting the development of procurement documents, and assisting in award processes. This may also include supporting Technical Evaluation Committees and reviewing and responding to requests for information for planned procurements.

• Offers technical, managerial and programmatic contributions to support Power Africa and embassy efforts regarding submissions such as Congressional Budget Justifications (CBJ), Congressional Notifications (CN), Operational Plans (OP), annual Performance Plan and Reports (PPR), and other standard and ad hoc reporting documents as required.

• Contributes technical expertise to relevant program design processes and planning undertaken by other USAID missions and offices across sub-Saharan Africa, representing Power Africa.

• Maintains up-to-date records of the financial status and performance of contracts, cooperative agreements, grants and inter-agency agreements, and reports this information upon request to Power Africa, other USAID missions and offices, and USAID/Washington.

• Provides technical support in establishing performance monitoring systems and ensures appropriate accountability of resources, maintaining project pipeline information, and providing leadership in meeting audit recommendations.

Strategic Leadership 30%

• Serves as relationship manager as needed, for example for private sector and/or interagency partners.

• Identifies internal and external programmatic challenges; develop options to address them and recommend solutions.

• Drafts briefers, fact sheets, success stories, and other written materials to support strategic communications around Power Africa's partners.

• Working with the larger Power Africa team in Pretoria, Washington and at Posts, provides substantive technical input to the initiation, design and implementation of new activities, to include results frameworks, design documents, activity packages, budgets, background documentation, and performance monitoring plans.

• Remains cognizant of Power Africa priorities across the initiative and helps support that coordination with other USG agencies active in the off-grid energy sector, to include serving on sector working groups and task forces, and ensuring complementarity and integration with other USAID- and USG-funded programs including those in the health, education, and agriculture sectors.

• Translates strategies, analyses, and program concepts into functional statements of work (including budget estimates) for award of contracts, cooperative agreements, grants, and donor-to-donor and inter-agency agreements that deliver technical services to governments, companies, and investors.

• Serves as a member of, and sometimes leads, technical review teams for off-grid energy-related concept papers, solicited or unsolicited proposals, and proposed new activities under USAID-funded awards as needed in Pretoria, Washington or in other Power Africa countries.

• Responds flexibly and capably to a wide range of work-related requirements such as: 1) inquiries from the White House, USG departments/agencies, US Congress and the public; 2) ad hoc assignments as dictated by unforeseen requirements at the discretion of the Team Lead, Director, Deputy Coordinators, and/or Coordinator or his/her designee.

Sector Knowledge and Technical Leadership - 30%

• Serves as a seasoned energy professional, with a strong knowledge of the solar home system and mini grid energy sectors and their dynamics in SSA, keeping abreast of trends and issues.

• Reviews and analyzes developments and advises team members and leadership, and, as required, other USG officials on highly specialized and complex issues relating to off-grid energy development in SSA, particularly those bearing on USG interests.

• Provides expert-level input to ensure that Power Africa development assistance programming related to off-grid energy reflects best practices and state-of-the-art knowledge.

• Supports Power Africa senior leadership in all aspects of preparing for and participating in field trips, public meetings, conferences, and interactions with private-sector and donor partners.

• Conducts data, policy, and trends analyses and provides technical recommendations and leadership to inform strategic planning exercises at the country, regional, Agency, and inter-agency scale.

• At a country level, analyzes and informs on the status of solar home system and mini grid enabling environments and their economic impact. Understands existing cross-cutting development programs within the USG and other development partners in the health, education, and agriculture sectors, and incorporates this information into energy program design.

• In collaboration with other teams, communications specialists, and others, prepares documents as needed, including, but not limited to, speeches, talking points, website text, and outreach materials.

• Bachelor's degree and a minimum of ten (10) years of related professional experience OR a Master's degree and a minimum of five (5) or more years of related experience.

• Experience working in the off-grid energy sector;

• Experience building and maintaining relationships with private sector partners, other funders and donors including multilateral organizations, and other key stakeholders;

• Mastery of a wide range of methods for the assessment and improvement of complex programs, processes and systems;

• Skills to plan, organize, and implement programs, plans, and proposals involving substantial agency resources, or that require extensive changes in established procedures. The ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form.

• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment in an active office.

• Ability to work seamlessly across in-person and virtual workspaces.

• Proficiency in the use of Google Workspace, the Microsoft Office Suite and enterprise systems applications is required; experience in the use of database applications is recommended.

• U.S. Citizenship and the ability to obtain a Secret security clearance.

• Strong oral, written, and general communications skills combined with the ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals.

• The ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, and the general public.

Benefit Overview: