Chemonics | Clean Energy Procurement Specialist | Pretoria, South Africa | 2023 | South Africa

Chemonics seeks a Clean Energy Procurement Specialist for the USAID Empower Southern Africa (ESA) project. ESA is a 5-year regional program that covers South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Madagascar, Comoros and Sao Tome and Principe. The primary purpose of ESA is to increase the availability of, access to, and use of affordable, reliable, sustainable and clean energy in Southern Africa in order to reach measurable development outcomes. Measurable development outcomes include economic growth, reducing poverty, improving livelihoods, and increasing inclusive access to electricity-enabled services in such areas as health, education, sanitation and food security. This position will be based in Pretoria, South Africa. We are looking for individuals who have a passion for making a difference in the lives of people and communities around the world.

Responsibilities include:

• Support procurement process reform in priority countries
• Provide technical assistance to strengthen procurement mechanisms in accordance with international best practice
• Provide advisory support in Mozambique to streamline relevant policies, ensuring transparency and competitiveness in power planning and procurement processes
• Maintain communications with investment advisory team and subcontractors to stay abreast of progress and challenges facing investors in the clean energy sector across the region to inform ESA’s policy advisory work with governments
• Optimize institutional coordination for effective power planning and procurement, assisting the government in establishing a new integrated electrification and coordination unit
• Work in conjunction with Eskom to promote an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) culture, proposing contracting strategies that distribute risk and financial obligations between the utility and EPC contractors
• Devise strategies to transfer more construction responsibilities onto Independent Power Producers (IPPs)
• Provide technical assistance on industry frameworks that promote localization
• Advocate for diverse technical expertise and leadership representation, ensuring policies support the rollout of critical infrastructure while reflecting diverse demands within the energy sector
• Supervise short-term consultants
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Decarbonization Lead

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, logistics, engineering, economics, sustainability, policy, or a related field, Master’s degree preferred
• Minimum five years of experience in sourcing and procuring renewable energy resources
• Ability to conduct financial analysis, assess cost-benefit scenarios, and evaluate the economic viability of clean energy procurement options
• Innovative thinking to explore new procurement approaches or emerging clean energy solutions
• Familiarity promoting gender equality and social inclusion in the energy sector
• Prior experience with managing a team of subject matter experts across multiple countries
• Familiarity with design and implementation
• Demonstrated leadership, versatility and integrity
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English, with command of French or Portuguese a plus