1.Energy Specialist at World Bank

JOB DESCRIPTION

Description

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank Group provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty, increasing shared prosperity and promoting sustainable development. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org

Eastern and Southern Africa

Home to about half a billion of Africa’s people, Eastern and Southern Africa is a geographically, culturally and economically diverse region of 26 countries stretching from the Red Sea in the North to the Cape of Good Hope in the South. Children under 18 make up almost half of the total population. The subregion boasts of some of the world’s richest human and natural resources and, apart from South Africa, the countries are predominantly raw material exporters.

The subregion harbors some of Africa’s protracted conflicts, rendering many of its countries fragile, while significant gaps in education, health, and skills development continues to keep people from reaching their full potential. This creates a huge development challenge, impacts heavily on the lives and livelihoods of people, and hinders regional integration and trade. But it also creates an opportunity to work closely with country leaders, civil society, development partners, and young people to chart a brighter course for the future.

The World Bank’s Eastern and Southern Africa Region, comprised of approximately 1,207 staff, mostly based in 26 country offices, has been helping countries realize their considerable development potential by focusing on the following priorities:

• Creating Jobs and Transforming Economies: We are working with countries across Africa to stimulate job creation and economic transformation by leveraging all sources of finance, expertise, and solutions to promote investment.
• Building up the Digital Economy: We are supporting Africa’s vision to ensure that every African individual, business, and government is connected by 2030 – a vision that, if realized, can boost growth by up to 2 percentage points per year, and reduce poverty by 1 percentage point per year in Sub-Saharan Africa alone.
• Institutions more Efficient and Accountable: Our support is helping governments strengthen public policy processes, manage resources effectively, and reinforce fair and reliable delivery of public services.
• Investing in People: We are at the forefront of helping African countries accelerate human capital gains and empower women by improving their access to education and skills acquisition, sexual and reproductive health services, and employment opportunities. With the influx COVID-19, we are mobilizing financial support and timely analysis and advice to countries across the subregion deal with the pandemic.
• Supporting Climate Change Mitigation and Adaption: In the face of increasing climate-related risks, we are working with African countries to advance efforts to adopt renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, and green infrastructure. A number of East African countries are currently facing a debilitating Desert Locust infestation, threatening the already precarious food security situation. The Bank has put together a program to help affected countries deal with the scourge.
• Addressing the Drivers of , Conflict, and Violence: Given the cross-border nature of conflicts in Africa, we are employing an approach that simultaneously focuses on the drivers of fragility while also supporting well-targeted regional initiatives to create opportunities for peace and shared prosperity.
• Building Partnerships and Working across the African Continent: We are scaling up our work on regional integration, taking a holistic view of the continent that covers both North and Sub-Saharan Africa.

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The World Bank is a dedicated partner for Eastern and Southern African countries, helping them deliver strong development outcomes for their people. A brighter future for Africa is a better future for the world.

UNIT CONTEXT

The Energy & Extractives Global Practice of the World Bank Group is made up of more than 300 professionals, a lending program in the order of US$5-7 billion a year, an active portfolio of some $40 billion, and a rich program of Advisory and Analytical Work. The EEX GP focuses on: providing affordable, reliable and sustainable energy to meet the needs of fast growing economies and to ensure universal access to modern energy services for people in client countries; and, strengthening policy and institutional frameworks to promote transparent and equitable growth of the extractive sectors for public benefit. There is a strong emphasis on private sector resource mobilization and catalyzing financing from commercial and other sources of development and climate finance.

The Africa energy sector grouping consists of four Units across two regions of East and Southern Africa and newly created VPU of West and Central Africa. The position is based in Kigali, Rwanda supporting the East Africa unit (IAEE1).

The Bank is engaged in all aspects of the electricity sector – generation, transmission, distribution, rural electrification and off-grid– through development policy financing, program for results, investment financing support, technical assistance and guarantee operations. Assisting the government with policy reforms to attract investments in generation and renewable energy along with the promotion of the regional energy trade in the Central, Eastern, Southern and Western Africa power pool, modernizing the electricity network for the needs of a modern economy and increasing energy access are among the key areas of the Bank’s deepening engagement in the sector.

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This position is based in Kigali, Rwanda. World Bank on-going portfolio in Rwanda energy includes support for grid distribution including last mile electrification; support for off-grid stand-alone solar systems for households and communities, improved cookstoves, solar mini-grids and solar water pumping in the underserved counties; technical assistance and capacity building of sector institutions; and interconnection with neighboring countries as part of the efforts to bring Rwanda connected to the regional electricity network. As a member of the Rwanda energy team, the selected candidate is expected to play a key role in design and implementation of the on-going and future World Bank support in energy in East Africa in general and in Rwanda in particular.

Duties & Accountabilities

The East Africa unit (IAFE1) of the World Bank seeks an Energy Specialist to be a key member of the Rwanda Energy Team to support the Government of Rwanda in its efforts towards provisioning of clean, affordable, and sustainable electricity to the people of Rwanda. The work entails strategic, advisory, and operational work. As part of the Rwanda energy team, the main responsibility of the candidate will be to support the ongoing sector dialogue, implementation of the investment lending operations, preparation of pipeline, as well as analytical work in Rwanda’s energy sector. The candidate will also be required to provide support to other country and regional teams in East Africa.

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The responsibilities of the selected candidate will include:
The Energy Specialist will work on investment projects, analytical work and policy guidance across a range of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa with a particular focus on Rwanda. The selected candidate will have the following key responsibilities:

• As part of project teams, prepare, appraise, negotiate and supervise energy projects;
• Remain up-to-date with relevant developments in the country and analytical work in the sector;
• Initiate/participate in analytical and strategic work pertaining to energy sector in East Africa in general and Rwanda in particular including work led by IAFE1 and those that are led by other practice groups but requiring input from energy staff;
• Support the unit’s analytical agenda on improving energy services in Sub-Saharan Africa;
• Coordinate and follow up with government counterparts, energy sector stakeholders and consultants, provide high-quality research and analytical support, including drafting policy notes related to energy;
• Contribute to policy dialogue on energy issues and interactions with the client and partners, and alert management (both country and sector) to issues requiring attention;
• Assume an active role in the Rwanda energy team with the aim to ensure adequate and appropriate integration of relevant aspects of the energy development agenda in core Bank products, including the country partnership framework, strategic country diagnostic, country economic memorandum etc;
• Participate in collaborative and coordination efforts with other donors and partners to optimize complementarities with Bank supported projects and program.
• Participate in the dialogue with relevant representatives of the private sector in order to keep abreast with issues related to the business investment climate and identify possible areas of collaboration through public-private-partnerships.
• Draft and provide timely contributions to project documents, project implementation and project completion reports;
• Support the preparation, completion and follow-up of official missions including the drafting of aide memoires and official correspondence;
• Draft and provide timely inputs to sector briefings and policy notes.

Selection Criteria

• Master’s degree in engineering, energy planning/economics, sustainable energy, business administration, or equivalent areas relevant for energy sector development;
• At least 5 years of experience in the energy sector in the World Bank, other international institutions and/or companies, government agencies, and/or power sector utilities with track record of strong performance;
• Understanding of energy policies, regulations, technologies or strategies, private sector participation, and institutional development needed to support development and for the success of project and analytic work;
• Experience in energy access and sector reforms and experience working in Sub-Saharan Africa;
• Experience in working in the off-grid energy in Sub-Saharan Africa will be considered an added advantage;
• Experience in working in World Bank or other International Financial Institutions (IFIs) lending and non-lending operations is desirable;
• Ability to think strategically, work independently, and multi-task complex projects effectively;
• Ability to develop, analyze and articulate project issues and to diagnose problems and propose reliable solutions;
• Interest and experience in preparing and organizing high-level technical workshops and meetings;
• High level of excitement, ability to work independently, taking initiative, and flexibility in quickly adjusting to changing work program requirements;
• Active listening skills, excellent interpersonal skills, able to influence the audience and build positive relationships with clients, different partners and colleagues across units and departmental boundaries in a multi-cultural environment with disperse teams located in different countries;
• Excellent oral and written communications skills, including demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with clients and colleagues at different levels of the organization and in a multi-cultural environment;

Technical competencies

• Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena – Translate technical and cross-country knowledge into practical applications and contributions to country and sector strategies; interacts with clients at the policy level;
• Policy Dialogue Skills – Anticipate needs and requests in the field and conduct independent policy discussions with representatives of the government and non-government partners;
• Integrative Skills – Understand relevant cross-sectoral areas how they are interrelated; able to undertake cross-sectoral work in lending and non-lending operations;
• Energy Sector Technologies – Deep experience applying knowledge (hydrocarbon, power generation, transmission and distribution, renewables, and energy efficiency) to policy-related decisions and advice;
• Energy Policy, Strategy and Institutions – Proven understanding of energy policies, strategies, institutions, and regulations.

The WBG Core Competencies

• Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena – Translates technical and cross-country knowledge into practical applications and contributions to country and sector strategies; interacts with clients at the policy level.
• Policy Dialogue Skills – Anticipates needs and requests in the field and conducts independent policy discussions with representatives of the government and non-government partners.
• Integrative Skills – Understands relevant cross-sectoral areas how they are interrelated; able to undertake cross-sectoral work in lending and non-lending operations.
• Sector/Network Representation – Demonstrates ability to coordinate, participate in, and act as a catalyst for, strategic cross-sector dialogues within the network, across the country, among Bank colleagues and other development institutions, government, and other organizations.
• Project Design for Impact and Sustainability – Contributes to the design of projects and programs, based on an understanding of the country and sector context.

World Bank Group Core Competencies

The World Bank Group offers comprehensive benefits, including a retirement plan; medical, life and disability insurance; and paid leave, including parental leave, as well as reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity and inclusive employer with a dedicated and committed workforce, and do not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.

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