Technical Advisor, CoM SSA at GIZ Nigeria

Job Description

• The Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa (CoM SSA) initiative supports Sub-Saharan African cities in their fight against climate change and in their efforts to ensure access to clean energy. Under the CoM SSA, local authorities are invited to make a voluntary political commitment to implement climate and energy actions in their communities and agree on a long-term vision to tackle access to energy, climate mitigation and climate adaptation.
• The support to the CoM SSA initiative in its first phases has been instrumental in setting up a network of over 300 signatory cities and forming a group of early movers. The support (under CoM SSA Phase III) aims at scaling-up the initiative's impact by enhancing the network of beneficiaries and bridging the gap to finance for local administrations through 3 pillars:
  • Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SEACAP) development, integration and monitoring.
  • Support urban sustainable energy and climate related investments; and
  • Promoting regional cooperation and enhancing learning from good practice.

Organizational set-up

•  The Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa is an initiative co-financed by the European Commission, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECID).
• The support to CoM SSA Phase III is implemented by GIZ in cooperation with Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Expertise France (EF) and AECID.
• GIZ is currently supporting the implementation of the CoM SSA Phase III in 4 focal countries (Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria). The main project office is in Brussels, Belgium.

CoM SSA in Nigeria

Since 2021, CoM SSA Phase III activities in Nigeria have supported the development of SEACAP, capacity building and climate related investments through:

• Supporting the process of developing sustainable energy and climate action plans for identified local governments in line with national mandates and CoM SSA guidelines
• Providing tailored technical assistance to local administrations to develop bankable projects in the areas of climate mitigation, adaptation and energy access
• Implementing capacity building measures for local administrations through topical workshops, seminars and trainings on project preparation and financing, SEACAP development, etc.

In Nigeria, local governments (cities, municipal areas, states) sign up to the CoM SSA. Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) has been supported by CoM SSA to develop their SEACAP launched in 2022. CoM SSA activities in Nigeria are currently focusing on supporting 2 processes with AMAC in direct relation with their SEACAP implementation:

Urban Smart Energy (USE) 

As part of its USE product, CoM SSA aims to build decentral energy systems in an urban environment on city-owned sites. CoM SSA does so by technically supporting the development of urban solar projects from its initial evaluation to setting up cooperation between the city administration and private sector actors for their realization. CoM SSA is specifically targeting city owned public buildings (city hall, schools) and public spaces (e.g., markets) to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of solar powered energy provision.

Key activities include: 

• Technical and Economic Assessment of potential solar projects
• Tendering Process to identify a qualified private sector actor
• Setting up cooperation with private sector actor

Urban Lab

Although cities in Sub-Saharan Africa place high importance on climate adaptation projects (e.g. flood risk protection, access to water, river restoration, waste management, integrated coastal management), these projects suffer from a lack of comprehension of their underlying economic dynamics and business models. Adaptation projects are therefore often subsidy financed and cannot be brought up to scale.  

With the Urban Lab, CoM SSA facilitates a structured participatory process, fostering the engagement of a wide range of stakeholders (local government, academia, civil society, private sector actors, etc.), to co-develop and implement climate adaptation measures. The Urban Lab process addresses the intersection between urban infrastructure development, adaptation to climate change, and local government responsibilities. It develops and implements concrete solutions ​to the city’s most complex climate adaptation challenges. The process starts with a rapid assessment to identify the most pressing adaptation issues to be addressed before bringing together key stakeholders (local government, civil society, academia, private sector) to identify and develop appropriate climate solutions. 

Roles & Responsibilities

• The Advisor, based in Abuja, will support the day-to-day implementation of the CoM SSA activities in Nigeria, especially on Urban Smart Energy (USE) process. The Advisor is expected to actively contribute to the standardization of the support process for beneficiaries, the team, and external experts. 
• The Advisor will work closely with the other CoM SSA technical advisor in the country and shall operate under the supervision of the Team Leader of CoM SSA III with close coordination with the GIZ Nigeria Energy cluster team and the responsible country manager in the CoM SSA team in Brussels.

Tasks

The advisor will coordinate and support the implementation of all relevant activities in Nigeria, focusing mainly on the USE process.

This will entail tasks such as:

• Identifying and assessing infrastructure projects on their economic viability and documenting them so that they can be presented to potential investors, financiers, and partners.
• Reviewing and providing technical inputs on areas relevant to the project such as energy/climate planning, or developing infrastructure projects for financing
• Independent field visits to local administrations and projects in Abuja and possibly in different regions in Nigeria in accordance with the requirements of the project;
• Organizing measures for tailor-made capacity development and peer exchange of experience between partner cities, with the aim to build adequate local institutional structures and policy frameworks for financing in the context of CoM SSA;
• Support the identification of data sources, local consultants, potential partners for collaboration, programs or funding options through research and, where possible, through interviews and networking.
• Compiling information about CoM SSA projects, including activities and their results, and knowledge transfer through reports and presentation materials
• Maintaining appropriate contact and good working relationships with stakeholders relevant for the CoM SSA activities (this could include national ministries, CSOs, project developers, financiers, etc.)
• Support the establishment and logistical preparations of mission programs and organise meetings with partners in the country in close coordination with the consultants and / or country managers of GIZ.
• Selection, steering and professional backstopping of national (and international) consultants as well as quality assurance of the work results in the field of urban sustainable energy and climate related investments.

Required qualifications, competences, and experience

Qualifications:

• University degree in a relevant field (e.g. urban planning, engineering, economics, finance, natural or environmental sciences, geography or equivalent);

Professional Experience (field and minimum duration):

• Significant professional experience (at least 5 years) in advising on urban planning, financing of infrastructure projects and/or climate change and governance issues.
• Significant experience in project preparation – for example financing models, studies, planning documents, technical advisory, ideally related to renewable energy/climate change
• Significant experience in working with relevant stakeholders in Nigeria such as local administrations, national urban authorities, bilateral and multilateral donors, as well as consultants, academic institutions, and private sector actors in the country.
• Knowledge of decentralisation and governance at the local and national level, national climate and energy planning and development strategies would be an advantage.
• Strong networks in the climate and infrastructure financing ecosystem would be an advantage.
• Experience in working with GIZ's processes and instruments would be an advantage.

 Other experiences and skills (e.g., language, IT-skills, social and personal skills, etc.)

• Excellent working knowledge of ICT technologies and computer applications such as MS Office and MS Teams
• An interdisciplinary mindset, the ability to cooperate and work in a team, a high degree of initiative and a willingness to take responsibility.
• Excellent communication, writing and presentation skills in English
• Excellent project management skills
• Willingness to upskill competences as required by the tasks to be performed – corresponding measures are agreed with management