Principal Renewable Energy Specialist at the African Development Bank Group (AfDB)

African Development Bank Group (AfDB) – Established in 1964, the African Development Bank is the premier pan-African development institution, promoting economic growth and social progress across the continent. There are 80 member states, including 54 in Africa (Regional Member Countries). The Bank’s development agenda is delivering the financial and technical support for transformative projects that will significantly reduce poverty through inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

We are recruiting to fill the position of:

Job Title: Principal Renewable Energy Specialist

Position Number: 50104474
Location: Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Position Grade: PL4

The Complex

The Vice Presidency for ‘Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth’ is a Sector Complex focusing on the Bank’s Ten Years Strategy, High 5s priorities of “Light up and Power Africa”.

The complex’s objectives are:

To develop policy and strategy;
To provide deep sector technical expertise to the Regions by gathering pool of experienced individuals who can be consulted for their expertise on complicated transactions;
To develop new financing instruments;
To act as spokesperson to represent the Bank with external stakeholders on all aspects of “Light Up and Power Africa”. The Complex will focus on areas of Power systems, policy and regulation, renewable energy; and, Climate and Green Growth.

The Department / Division

The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Department has the broad objective of promoting the development of renewable energy – both large and small scale – and promoting energy efficiency along with clean cooking. More specifically, the department is mandated to:
- Function as a one-stop source / hub for renewables programs/projects, energy efficiency and clean cooking
- Focus on “enabling market development” with an emphasis on developing new approaches / areas (e.g. mini-grid programs, thematic or country focused funds) and play a lead role in establishing region- or country-specific programs
- Mobilize concessional resources as part of the structuring of blended finance solutions for projects and programs. The Department also hosts the Desert to Power (DtP) Taskforce.
The DtP initiative aims to accelerate economic development in the Sahel region through the deployment of solar technologies at scale. Specifically, DtP proposes to deliver electricity to 160 million people on-grid and 90 million off-grid and to add solar energy generation capacity of up to 10 GW through a combination of public and private interventions.
The initiative covers 11 countries (Burkina Faso, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan). The initial rollout will focus on the G5 Sahel countries (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger). It aims to develop and implement electrification program based on solar power generation including grid based, mini-grid and off-grid access scale up for households, social and economic infrastructure including energy for productive uses.

The Position

The Energy Specialist (Desert to Power) will play a lead role across a range of activities linked to the development, financing, and deployment of renewable energy projects, including a coordinating role in the context of the Desert to Power Taskforce.
The job holder will focus on:
- The identification, preparation and implementation of bankable renewable energy generation projects, including both grid-connected and decentralized technologies
- Support the design and implementation of both public and private sector initiatives, including investment facilities;
- Support Regional Member Countries (RMCs) in particular in the Sahel with designing investment scale-up programs to attract private sector players, along with the mobilization of concessional resources and implementation of innovative blended finance solutions; and
- More broadly coordinate the various activities undertaken in the context of the Desert to Power initiative.

Key Functions
Under the overall supervision and guidance of the Division Manager – Renewable Energy, the Principal Renewable Energy Specialist (Desert to Power) will perform the following:

Coordinate the various activities of the Desert to Power Taskforce in mainly in Burkina Faso and in the subregion, ensure regular engagement and communication with internal and external partners including the country focal points, project implementation units and prepare regular updates on the implementation of the initiative.
Prepare, appraise, negotiate, and supervise Desert to Power projects in Burkina Faso and the subregion. These include solar generation plants, transmission and distribution, regional transmission interconnections, public-private partnership projects, and electricity access projects. S/he will actively participate in overseeing implementation of energy operations with the aim to enhance quality and accelerate implementation.
Assist Burkina Faso, and regional member countries in structuring renewable energy and energy access scale-up programs, including Independent Power Producer (IPP), green mini-grids and solar home systems scale-up programs, engaging with relevant stakeholders on aspects of enabling policy and regulatory environment.
Lead project origination and business development activities in Burkina Faso and the subregion, with a view to developing a pipeline of sustainable energy investments to which AfDB’s full range of financial instruments, including concessional finance could be applied.
Contribute to the preparation of knowledge and analytical work for to inform country-focused strategy work as well as new operations in renewable energy.
Undertake any other task that the Division Manager or Director may assign.

Competencies (Skills, Experience and Knowledge)

Hold at least a Master’s Degree in Energy, Renewable Energy, Engineering, Business Administration or related subjects;
Have a minimum of six (6) years professional experience at project level, broad knowledge of all energy sub-sectors, including renewable energy technologies and business models.
Proven ability to interact competently with, as well as to assess and provide technical advisory services to, both public and private sector stakeholders in the renewable energy space;
Experience in Multilateral or Development Bank / Development Financial Institutions operations, preferably in an African context, not mandatory but desirable;
Good understanding of public and private sector financing, experience in resource mobilization and structuring of blended finance solutions.
Experience in forging and managing relationships with a variety of stakeholders – local organizations, governments, and financing institutions.
Demonstrated track record in the management of energy projects
Full knowledge of the principles of project cycle and project implementation.
Strong interpersonal and client orientation skills, with proven experience in coordinating various activities and diverse teams.
Communicate and write effectively in French and English, with a good working knowledge of the other language.
Competence in the use of Bank standard software (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint); Knowledge of SAP.