Country Director – Kenya

Renewable World (RW) is seeking a Country Director to lead our expansion in Kenya and potentially beyond. This is a 2-year fixed contract, with potential to extend and make permanent.

RW is a small and rapidly growing International NGO (INGO) helping improve lives and tackle climate change through clean energy. We have doubled in size over the last three years, with an income of over KES 3 million p/a and 30 staff. This growth has been driven largely through programme expansion in Nepal and RW’s voluntary carbon offsetting programme. We aim to continue this growth trajectory through a reinvigorated programme in Kenya and subsequent regional expansion. RW has been active in Kenya since 2013, working through local partners to install 10 microgrids in the Lake Victoria Region and supporting communities to operate microgrids for household and productive use.

Scope of work

Reporting to the Global Programmes Director, the Country Director will lead a Kenya-based team of three initially (consisting of one engineer, one community engagement expert, and one finance/admin manager). They will work closely with the RW global team (UK and Nepal), particularly the Global Programme Director (UK-based) and Global Technical Lead (Nepal-based).

The ideal candidate will be a dynamic leader and a strong team player, with an extensive and current network in the renewable energy sector, including the private sector, government and NGOs. They will have a strong track record in developing partnerships, including with the private sector; developing and delivering international development and energy projects; and, working with communities and end users – ideally in the productive use of energy and climate-smart agriculture. They will be committed to RW’s vision of “A world where renewable energy is readily accessible to all, helping to end extreme poverty and reduce climate change”, with the professional experience and passion to back that up.

The position is advertised as a full-time post, but we welcome applications on a p/t (3-4 days per week) basis, with potential to move into a full-time role once the programme scales. As a new branch, we have not yet established an office therefore remote working will be required for the initial part of the contract (estimated first 6-months) until the office is established.

Job Description

Programme Development

• Lead programme development in Kenya, working with Global Programmes Director, Global Technical Lead, CEO and others to develop innovative, transformative and sustainable projects.
• Develop an exciting pipeline of catalytic projects for RW, including in the areas of the productive use of energy (e.g., irrigation, cold storage, processing, e-mobility etc), climate-smart agriculture, clean cooking, and off-grid energy for health and education facilities.
• Develop and deliver programmes in partnership with communities, government, the private sector, (I)NGOs and relevant stakeholders.
• Identify and pursue local business development and funding opportunities and support the UK Fundraising team by providing technical and programmatic show_content for funding bids and proposals.
• Ensure all RW’s projects are gender sensitive and socially inclusive, with the aim of delivering transformative change for women, the youth and social excluded.
• Work closely with the Kenya team, UK team and new and existing partners to strengthen and build a robust partner network capable of improving the quality and quantity of RW projects and programmes.
• Work collaboratively with the global finance functions and technical staff to ensure programmes are accurately and appropriately costed.

Partnership Development

• Act as the lead RW representative in Kenya and develop its credibility, relationships, brand and influence with senior stakeholders in government, the private sector, donors, investors and civil society organisations.
• Develop effective public-donor-private-community partnerships to unlock investment in clean energy access. • Support RW Kenya staff on community engagement and technical project delivery.
• Ensure that relationships with key project and programme stakeholders are managed effectively in line with RW’s partnership management policies and processes.
• Work collaboratively with the technical team to strengthen/build capacity of partner organisations and communities to effectively manage and monitor Renewable Energy Technology systems.
• Ensure that due diligence and capacity assessments are undertaken and up to date on all RW Kenya partners.
• Support the Kenya and global technical team to manage technical suppliers, partners, policies, documentation, contracts, and assessment processes.
• Support the relevant teams to provide stakeholders and donors with timely and quality reports to enable a successful continuation of donor and partner relationships.
• Ensure the Global Programmes Director is kept informed of key partnership and programme outcomes within Kenya

Project and Programme Delivery

• Working with the RW Global team, ensure that the RW Kenya team have the right resources, tools, and support to deliver projects and programmes to a high standard, as and when funding is secured.
• Oversee the programme portfolio and to ensure new programmes meet contractual obligations
• Ensure health and safety is embedded into all projects and programmes and that risk management strategies are in place to protect staff, communities, and partners.
• Oversee all RW Kenya projects’ income and finances and deliver regular, transparent, and accurate reports to RW’s Finance team to ensure that finances are spent in alignment with donor and organisational budgets.
• Lead the RW Kenya team to deliver all aspects of project delivery including baseline research and planning; activities; Monitoring Evaluation Accountability and Learning (MEAL); timely and accurate financial and narrative donor reporting; evaluation and auditing; and dissemination of lessons learned.
• With support from the global MEAL team, provide clear requirements and guidance to the programme team on the measurement, analysis and reporting internally and externally of RW projects.
• Provide guidance and support to the team to implement project activities, hold regular project team meetings to review progress, identify and resolve challenges and course-correct where necessary.
• Ensure compliance and quality for all projects to ensure they are delivered on target, on time, on budget and that project tracking mechanisms are utilised to identify and mitigate risk.
• Organise periodic project reviews and planning meetings with partner organisations in collaboration with the RW Kenya team.
• Monitor progress against Detailed Implementation Plans and Guidance (DIP/DIG), overseeing the correlation between output delivery and project spend.

Leadership and Management of RW Kenya Branch

• Develop annual business plans in collaboration with the Global Programmes Director and relevant regional team members that are in alignment with RW’s Global strategy and Global Programmes Operational Plan
• Provide guidance and collaborative management to the Kenyan team ensuring they are supported in their day-to-day work and in their personal development resulting in the successful delivery of all RW Kenya activities, projects, and programmes.
• Problem solve as situations arise, in consultation with the Global SMT.
• When necessary, and in agreement with the business plan, recruit additional team members to support delivery of RW’s Kenya programmes.
• Through oversight of the finance/admin manager: o Ensure that local administrative, financial, HR, logistics and IT areas function in line with both RW’s global principles and with relevant local laws of Kenya.
o Ensure transparent and accurate financial management of the Kenya Branch and work in collaboration with RW Financial team to ensure monthly reporting and financial management of all funding.
o Ensure all programmes and operations adhere to Kenyan laws and statutory requirements.

Other

• Oversee the project delivery team to ensure all RW’s projects actively implement RW’s Accountability Mechanism.
• Adhere to RW’s Code of Conduct, Enhanced Code of Conduct and follow RW’s Safeguarding Policy.
• Represent RW’s values, vision, and mission in a professional, honest, transparent, and positive way to help build RW’s image and brand in Kenya as an organisation committed to poverty alleviation and collaboration.
• Travel within Kenya and potential travel within Africa and to RW countries in Asia.
• Act as a member of the Global Senior Management Team and report on Kenyan programmes and projects, ensuring clear and transparent ways of working and flagging issues for support as and when required.
• Collaborate as part of the global RW, sharing learning to refine, develop and enhance approaches to delivering effective sustainable development initiatives through renewable energy.
• Flexibility to respond and be accountable for other business as it arises

Skills and Experience:

Essential:
• Minimum of seven years of relevant work experience in renewable energy and related fields.
• Degree in Civil Engineering / Business / Development Studies / Environmental Studies / Renewable
Energy or other relevant area of study.
• Extensive and current network in the renewable energy sector in Kenya.
• Experience of developing and implementing clean energy projects, involving multiple actors, including
the private sector.
• Experience in successfully scaling a business-unit or organisation.
• Experience of developing and managing winning partnerships, including with the government, private
sector, NGOs, communities and relevant stakeholders.
• Proven leadership and management skills, including multi-disciplinary teams.
• Outstanding oral and written communication skills.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to multi-task.
• Fluent in written and spoken English.

Desirable:
• Masters in relevant area of study.
• Direct experience in energy demand activation (modelling, livelihoods, energy for productive use etc), climate-smart agriculture or carbon markets.
• Experience in contractual negotiations and agreements e.g., with EPC contractors.
• Experience of due diligence and safeguarding.
• Spoken Swahili and/or other local languages.
• Experience in overseeing Monitoring and Evaluation.

Qualities
• Treat all individuals with respect; respond sensitively to differences and encourage others to do the same.
• High level of discipline, self-motivation, and time management.
• Excellent communicator who recognises the value of transparency and accountability with all colleagues.
• Pro-active in sharing and seeking help to address challenges.
• Ability to multitask and ensure that key deliverables are not compromised.
• Upholds organizational and ethical norms. Maintains high standards of trustworthiness.
• Role model for diversity and inclusion.
• Strong leader and manager who acts as a positive role model contributing to the team spirit. Collaborates and supports the development of others