Recruitment of expert in off-grid renewable energy and renewable energy skills certification

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in the context of the project “Improving the governance of the RE and EE sector in West Africa” is looking for an

Advisor / expert in off-grid renewable energy and renewable energy skills certification

for the duty station Praia, Cabo Verde.

Background

An important factor for economic development in the ECOWAS region that consists of 15 countries is a supply of electricity at affordable prices; however, there are considerable gaps in the electricity supply in the region due to a lack of generation capacity and insufficient infrastructure for transmission and distribution of electricity. These problems could be partly addressed through a better integration of the West African power market, by developing the region’s renewable energy (RE) potential and by promoting energy efficiency (EE). It is against this background that the West African Power Pool (WAPP), the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) and the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority were created. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) with funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is supporting all three regional organizations in the framework of the programme “Promotion of a climate-friendly power market in the ECOWAS region”. The Component of ProMERC support to ECREEE is cofinanced by the European Union (EU) in the framework of the project “Improving the governance of the RE and EE sector in West Africa” which is known by its French acronym AGoSEREE-AO. The EU contribution to this project is financed  by the Regional Indicative Programme of the 11^th European Development Fund (EDF).

Duties

Under supervision of the head of the renewable energy component of the programme, the selected candidate will assist ECREEE and the ECOWAS member states in implementing activities in the areas of rural electrification and RE skills certification. He/she will perform the following tasks among others:

• Work with the ECREEE team and national stakeholders (such as the Ministries of Energy, rural electrification agencies and local companies) to improve the enabling environment for the use of RE in rural electrification by supporting relevant institutions to a) develop changes in the legal and regulatory framework, b) conduct rural electrification planning and c) improve procedures and developing tools for national programmes promoting off-grid RE solutions such as Clean Energy Mini-Grids (CEMG) and solar home systems;
• Work with the ECREEE team and national stakeholders to analyse experiences with different institutional approaches, business models etc. for the use of off-grid RE solutions in rural electrification and formulate lessons learned; this analytical work, which will also cover the use of off-grid RE solutions for productive use of energy, should form the basis for trainings and the development of dissemination materials;
• Assist the ECREEE team in designing and implementing a dedicated support window for (potential) developers and operators of CEMG under the ECOWAS Renewable Energy Entrepreneurship Support Facility;
• Work with the ECREEE team, other development partners such as IRENA and national stakeholders to operationalize the regional certification scheme for solar PV installers (which will initially be piloted in eight ECOWAS countries) and roll it out to the remaining member states;
• Procure and manage consultancy contracts for the above-mentioned tasks;
• Organize events in the context of the above-mentioned tasks;
• Implement communication activities in the context of the above-mentioned tasks;
• Contribute to monitoring & evaluation activities as well as reporting to ECREEE, BMZ and the EU.

The selected candidate may also be required to participate in other activities of the programme.

The position will involve frequent travel to ECOWAS member states and Mauritania as well as other destinations if necessary.

Qualification

You are from ECOWAS member’s countries and Hold a master’s degree or its equivalent in energy engineering, renewable energy and energy efficiency or any related field. He or she should have a minimum of five years’ work experience in the energy sector incl. experience with off-grid RE and solar PV training and/or skills certification. He or she should have proven project management experience and relevant work experience in at least two ECOWAS countries. He or she should be able to work in multi-cultural environment and be fluent in English and French. Portuguese skills would be an advantage.

Intervention period

1.3.2018 to 31.12.2020

Required documents

The application should include the following documents:

• a motivation letter including a phone number and / or email address;
• an updated CV with a picture (no more than 4 pages) and contacts of three (03) referees;
• copies of relevant diplomas (university degrees etc.);
• reference letters from previous employers.

Deadline for submitting applications

Interested candidates should send their application by email to recrutement-sn@giz.de indicating the position or the job ID number no later than 31 January 2018. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted with more information about the next steps in the selection process.