Energy Specialist at World Bank Group

Duties & Accountabilities

• The Southern Africa Energy Unit (IAEE3) seeks an Extended Term Consultant (Energy Specialist) to be based in Pretoria, South Africa, to support the unit’s strategic, advisory, and operational work. Specifically, the candidate will engage in analytical work and in investment operations in South Africa and neighboring countries including the Southern Africa Power Pool. The overall work program centers on the just energy transition, coal power decommissioning, green hydrogen, sector and utility reform, and increasing regional integration.

The responsibilities of the selected candidate will include:

• As part of project teams, support Task Team Leader(s) in preparing, appraising, and supervising investment operations in the energy sector;
• Work with project teams to design and implement initiatives to finance and support energy sector decarbonization, regional trading, and utility/sector reform;
• Contribute to analytical work related to power sector sustainability, clean energy and the just energy transition, increasing energy access, and deepening of regional integration in the sub-region;
• Learn and lead the preparation and processing of grant financing requests, lending operations, analytic work, and reporting, in line with Bank systems and processes;
• Participating in overseeing World Bank-supported energy country programs in the sub-region with the aim of enhancing implementation progress and achieving results;
• Contribute to business development in selected countries (predominantly South Africa);
• Developing and maintaining close relationships with local public and private stakeholders, supporting policy dialogue, and keeping abreast of developments in the energy sectors of the sub-region.

Selection Criteria
The Energy Specialist must be a team oriented professional with proven ability to carry out complex tasks as part of a multi-disciplinary team; capacity to work under pressure and to meet strict deadlines.

• A Masters’ level degree in engineering, energy planning, finance, economics, business administration or equivalent areas;
• At least five years of relevant experience in the energy sector with demonstrated ability to engage credibly on a range of issues in the energy sector in developing countries;
• Operational experience as a technical specialist with demonstrated experience on working in investment operations is desirable;
• Experience in working in the energy sector in South Africa, and knowledge of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) would be an added advantage;
• Direct experience in at least one of the following areas: utility management; energy project management; on-grid and off-grid electrification models and their applications in a development country context; required legal and regulatory frameworks to incentivize private sector investments in the energy sector; variable renewable energy development and grid integration; approaches used in energy sector development planning; and energy efficiency and demand-side-management models applicable to electricity supply systems; 
• Hands-on project management experience, an ability to efficiently manage multiple activities simultaneously, a flair for problem-solving and an ability to self-navigate through complex bureaucratic environments;
• Excellent interpersonal skills and proven ability to build strong partnerships with clients, different stakeholders and colleagues across units and departmental boundaries in a multi-cultural environment with virtual teams located in different countries;
• Good written and oral communication skills in English, including an ability to communicate complex issues in simple terms and to engage in evidence-based dialogue with clients.