Technical Director, Power Africa Esa

4 days ago

Pretoria, South Africa Abt Associates Full time

**Opportunity**

The anticipated five-year, USAID-funded Power Africa Empower Southern Africa (ESA) project will support and assist USAID partner countries in Southern Africa to increase the availability of and access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable electricity in the region to connect more users to electricity on the grid and beyond the grid; support cleaner electricity generation delivered by the grid and accelerate distributed renewable energy; and work with target governments to improve the enabling environment for energy sector investment and innovation. Toward these ends, it is anticipated the project will be structured to include but will not be limited to, the following objectives or tasks:

- Addressing energy poverty and access
- Promoting and linking to productive uses of off-grid power, especially SMEs
- Developing and implementing new business models for DRE
- Stimulating power demand to match supply
- Supporting an improved policy and regulatory enabling environment
- Driving the energy transition from coal and diesel to RE
- Facilitating financing for energy companies, corporations, and productive uses
- Increasing power supply and grid-based power connections
- Strengthening utilities and other power sector entities
- Increasing regional power trade

Abt Associates seeks a qualified Senior Technical Advisor for the USAID Power Africa ESA project. The position will be based in South Africa, Malawi, Zambia, or Mozambique and is contingent upon project award.

**Key Roles and Responsibilities**
- Provide technical leadership in delivery of expected results in the Southern Africa region.
- Manage, supervise, and coordinate technical services, prioritize the activities in target countries, and provide thought leadership and technical support as needed to accelerate activities.
- Regularly liaise with the Power Africa Coordinator’s Office, USAID missions in the region, and other USG agencies, as appropriate.
- Maintain strong relationships with relevant regional organizations, such as the African Development Bank, and with private sector companies and host country governments.
- Perform ad-hoc requests.

**Preferred Qualifications**
- Bachelor’s degree in economics, energy/environmental policy, engineering, or related field and minimum of 15 years of experience working with energy sector programs, particularly in the power sector OR Master’s degree and at least 12 years of relevant experience.
- Experience working in the energy sector in Southern Africa required.
- Experience supporting governments, the private sector, communities and/or NGOs to increase power supply, increase grid-based power connections, strengthen utilities and other power sector entities, increase regional power trade, and expand on and off-grid energy access, including through deploying distributed renewable power and linking to productive uses.
- Experience convening technical and management teams quickly to respond to client requests.
- Experience with gender equity and social inclusion or women's empowerment in energy focused programming.
- Knowledge of Sub-Saharan Africa renewable energy, energy efficiency, and climate change policies, laws, and capacity constraints.
- Fluency in English is required; experience in a second language is preferred.
- Southern Africa nationals are encouraged to apply.

**Minimum Qualifications**

Bachelor’s Degree + Fifteen years of relevant experience, or Master’s Degree + Twelve years of relevant experience, or PhD + Ten years of relevant experience
- # _LI-DM1

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