Chief Regional Energy Markets Expert - PESD1 at African Development Bank - AfDB

Reference: ADB/18/220
Location: Côte d’Ivoire
Grade: PL3
Position N°: 50093517

The Complex

• The Vice Presidency for ‘Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth’ is a Sector Complex focusing on the Bank’s Ten Year Strategy High 5s priority of “Light up and Power Africa”. The complex’s objectives are (i) to develop policy and strategy; (ii) provide deep sector technical expertise to the Regions by gathering pool of experienced individuals who can be consulted for their expertise on complicated transactions; (iii) develop new financing instruments; (iv) act as spoke person 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 Hiring Department/Division

• Within this new Complex, there is a Directorate in charge of Power Systems Development.
• This Directorate includes the “National and Regional Power System” Division which supports the Bank’s Regional Member Countries, and Regional Economic Communities, Power Pools, Regulators and other stakeholders to develop and improve their power systems both for sovereign and non-sovereign.

The Position

• The Power Engineer will ensure the technical strength of the Bank’s activities in order to: (i) Support Bank effort of implementing a fast-track approach in accelerating regional project implementation; (ii) support the integration of regional energy markets through development and strengthening of power exchange, wheeling, pricing, and settlement framework, and; (ii) design technical assistance program to power pools and regional regulatory agencies to facilitate energy trading, and capacity building for regional organizations and project delivery units in the energy sector.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the overall supervision of the Manager, National and Regional Power Systems, the incumbent will perform the following:

• Support Bank effort of implementing a fast-track approach in accelerating project agreement negotiations, concluding of Power Purchase and Power Sales Agreements and wheeling agreements of large-scale regional energy infrastructure projects.
• Engage with hubs teams in developing and fast-tracking a prioritized pipeline of bankable regional energy infrastructure projects in collaboration and consultation with regional power pools and regional project delivery secretariats;
• Take a leadership role, along with Hub-based staff, in the process of identification and preparation of operations related to the development of regional projects;
• Provide deep sector expertise for quality assurance of sector studies related to the development of regional power systems: preparation of terms of reference, review and validation process of feasibility studies and power sector analysis;
• Support regional institutions in developing high quality development plans, including ensuring joint and coordinated approach to intra- and inter-regional investment planning of energy infrastructure projects;
• Support member countries and power pools with development of policies, laws and regulations that promote development of transparent, predictable and stable energy market, and play an advisory role in developing rules to detect and counter market abuse;
• Identify skills and competence gap in the regional power and energy institutions and designing appropriate technical assistance and capacity building;
• Promote the harmonization of design standards, operational and connection codes;
• Work with Energy Solutions Directorate for complex advisory work, structuring and financial analysis of projects, especially those involving private sector participation;
• Identify appropriate regional performance indicators for the energy sector to facilitate inter-regional benchmarking and expedite attainment of the overall goal of the New Deal on Energy for Africa;
• Contribute to the development of the Bank’s Regional Integration Strategic Plans and policy papers;
• Support establishment of regional project acceleration units in the regional institutions charged with project preparation and implementation;
• Participate in meetings and conferences of Regional Economic Communities and their technical secretariats to influence regional policy issues and regulatory changes in line with Bank objectives and strategies;
• Perform any other ad hoc assignments relating to development and integration of regional energy markets, as required.

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

• Hold a Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering or Business or Economics.
• Minimum seven (7) years of relevant professional experience in power sector and/or project finance;
• Broad range of responsibilities within the industry in several of the following areas: Thermal generation, hydro generation, systems planning, distribution operations, commercial operations, transmission, tariff setting, renewable generation, power plant construction and environmental compliance;
• Up-to-date knowledge of capital costs and operating parameters of diverse generation technologies and Transmission & Distribution networks;
• Experience in Africa and emerging economies;
• Significant work experience in the private sector;
• Experience with regional power pools / projects will be a plus.
• Proven ability to interact competently with the staff of project sponsors, government and donor agencies on issues relating to aid coordination, as well as with the private sector;
• Proven ability to work within a team of professional staff, and utilize talent and expertise of team members in a productive way;
• Capacity to initiate and manage innovations and change.
• Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English or French. A working knowledge of the other will be an asset.
• Competence in the use of standard Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint); knowledge of SAP is an advantage.