Energy Specialist– Energy Access

Job #: req24054

Organization: World Bank

Sector: Energy

Grade: GF

Term Duration: 4 years 0 months

Recruitment Type: International Recruitment

Location: Washington, DC,United States

Required Language(s): English

Preferred Language(s): French

Closing Date: 9/11/2023 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org.

The Infrastructure Practice Group

Globally, 840 million people live more than 2 kilometers from all-weather roads, 675 million people lack electricity, and 4 billion people lack Internet access. Access to basic infrastructure services is critical for creating economic opportunities for the poor. The Infrastructure (INF) Practice Group is charged with developing sustainable solutions to help close infrastructure gaps in developing and emerging economies. For more information: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/infrastructure INF Vice Presidential Unit (VPU) currently consists of four global practices (GPs): Energy & Extractives (EEX), Transport, Digital Development (DD) and Infrastructure Finance, PPPs and Guarantees (IPG).

Energy and Extractives Global Practice (EEX)

Energy is at the heart of development. Energy makes possible the investments, innovations and new industries that are the engines of jobs, inclusive growth and shared prosperity for entire economies. Universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy – Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 — is essential to reach other SDGs and is at the center of efforts to tackle climate change. For more information: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/energy There are around 300 staff professionally mapped to the Energy and Extractives Global Practice, of which about 90 are mapped to EEX global units. Remaining staff is within regional energy units. EEX has an annual lending program in the order of US$5-7 billion a year, an active portfolio of some $40 billion, and a rich program of Advisory and Analytical Work. Regional energy units oversee and develop lending and non-lending energy operations in different subsectors including renewable energy, energy efficiency, utility performance, grid and off-grid access, regulatory and policy reforms. The EEX GP focuses on providing affordable, reliable and sustainable energy to meet the needs of fast-growing economies and to ensure universal access to modern energy services for people in client countries; and, strengthening policy and institutional frameworks to promote transparent and equitable growth of the extractives sectors for public benefit. There is a strong emphasis on private sector resource mobilization and catalyzing financing from commercial and other sources of development and climate finance.

There are three global units for EEX: (a) the Infrastructure Energy Extractives Industry Unit (IEEXI) oversees and contributes to lending and non-lending activities in mining and hydrocarbon development with particular emphasis on transparency, governance, capacity building, and gender opportunities together with the regional units; and takes the leadership on global extractives initiatives; (b) the Infrastructure Energy Global Programs (IEEES) oversees mobilization and deployment of trust funds (Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) and the climate funds); and (c) the Infrastructure Energy Global Knowledge & Expertise (IEEGK).

Energy Global Programs Unit (IEEES)

The Energy Global Programs Unit harbors the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) and the Energy Climate Finance Team. The ESMAP is a donor-funded global knowledge and technical assistance program, administered by the World Bank. It provides analytical and advisory services to low- and middleincome countries to increase their know-how and institutional capacity to achieve environmentally sustainable energy solutions for poverty reduction and economic growth. Supporting over a hundred activities in countries around the world at any given time, ESMAP is an integral part of the Energy and Extractives Global Practice of the World Bank. The Energy Climate Finance Team coordinates and manages the demand of the Energy and Extractives Global Practice for climate funds, including the Climate Investment Funds (CIFs, such as the Clean Technology Fund), Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and others.

Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP)

The ESMAP’s Business Plan FY21-24 focuses on supporting client countries on two overarching objectives: (i) Achieving universal access of energy by 2030 (SDG7) and (ii) achieving decarbonization across the energy sector in support of international commitment on climate change. The Business Plan is structured around four pillars (clean cooking, electricity access, renewable energy and accelerating decarbonization), and two cross-cutting or foundational programs (Foundations for the Energy Transition and the Energy Data and Analytics Hub). ESMAP provides a combination of self-managed analytical work in order to further scale-up the energy access and transition agendas, monitoring of grants to regional operational units to support regional and country-specific analyses and capacity building, and operational support for country-specific projects in the seven Bank regions.

The Accelerating Decarbonization pillar consists of five programs, including the zero-carbon public sector; efficient and clean cooling; industrial decarbonization; geothermal direct use; and green hydrogen.

Duties and accountabilities:

The World Bank seeks to recruit an Energy Specialist to join the ESMAP Team in Washington, D.C. in the area of Energy Access. The Energy Specialist will be a key member of the Energy Access Team, focusing on the provision of clean, affordable, and sustainable electricity across ESMAP’s six electricity access workstreams, as well as play a key role in ESMAP’s Clean Cooking program.

The Energy Specialist will provide analytical, advisory and operational support to ESMAP with the aim of enhancing the quality and accelerating the implementation of energy access engagements in the electricity service and clean cooking space. The Energy Specialist will support ESMAP by enhancing the energy teams’ and the clients’ capacity to deliver ambitious and innovative energy access interventions. The ESMAP is a key contributor to the World Bank’s strategy for Maximizing Finance for Development (MFD) with the objective to help countries maximize their development resources by drawing on a range of financing sources and sustainable private sector solutions. The candidate is expected to actively seek opportunities to apply MFD principles in our work program and build a strong internal partnership with IFC and MIGA as well as networks with private sector stakeholders that can contribute to the achievement of our development objectives.

The Energy Specialist will report to the Practice Manager of IEEES and work alongside a group of professionals based in Washington DC and colleagues globally.

Specific responsibilities will include:

•  Coordinate teams of experts within ESMAP’s energy access workstreams. Support the relevant TTLs in the coordination of the team of energy access experts employed by the program and manage their deployment in electrification operations and in ESMAP’s own-managed work, balancing and responding to changing priorities, and ensuring that energy access operations are supported with the expertise required to deliver and implement successful and sustainable electrification within ESMAP’s six electricity access workstreams.
•  Coordinate with experts deployed in clean cooking operations and in ESMAP’s own-managed work in this space, ensuring that ESMAP’s engagements are supported by the necessary capacity.
•  Advance and lead the knowledge agenda, coordinate and contribute to the development of ESMAP’s ownmanaged knowledge products, including development of tools, methodologies and platforms; technology deployment frameworks and toolkits; comprehensive reports, briefs, and livewires; and other knowledge products as needed.
•  Promote and identify topics for new, innovative analytical work that can improve the quality, efficiency or effectiveness of energy access interventions, including by developing new tools and platforms as needed. Prepare, disseminate and supervise such analytical works as needed.
•  Liaise with partners to organize and implement capacity building and knowledge exchange activities such as training courses (virtual and in-person) and webinars. Contribute to the development of innovative collaborations, leveraging existing and building new partnerships with other development partners and stakeholders involved in the energy access space.
•  Reviewing proposals from the regions for ESMAP funding and supervise RETF grants to ensure their technical soundness and alignment with ESMAP’s objectives. This will include active interactions with the Project teams, providing guidance, resources and advice as needed to strengthen the proposals, and support their successful implementation.
•  Support ESMAP’s own-managed global work and assist with budget management, monitoring progress of ESMAP-funded grants, and preparing annual progress reports.
•  Provide operational cross-support to regions by providing expert advice, designing energy access projects, and participating in the project cycle activities including missions. Support task teams preparing or implementing electrification and clean cooking activities. Provide technical inputs, review deliverables and outputs, support with procurement or development of long-term solutions for data hosting and visualization and assisting task teams to leverage these analytics to develop electricity access and clean cooking operations.

Selection Criteria

•  Master’s degree in engineering, economics, energy, finance, business administration, international development or related field.
•  At least 5 years of relevant professional experience in energy access is required, with a clear demonstration of understanding of substantive issues in energy access; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
•  Recognized expertise in the energy access with substantive practical experience in management of energy access programs and activities, and with experience of working with governments in developing countries, development partners, financiers and private sector entities engaged in the energy access space.
•  Proven track record of delivering comprehensive research and analytical work on energy access, including by proposing innovative approaches for the measurement of energy access indicators, drafting relevant methodological notes, and presenting results to management and other development partners.
•  Experience with reviewing grant proposals, monitoring grant activities, and assessing activities’ results against performance indicators.
•  Experience with writing progress reports and conveying results to donors and clients via briefs, power point presentations, and other documents.
•  Experience with tracking energy access targets, funding and other key parameters by establishing and maintaining energy access portfolio for active and pipeline projects.
•  Experience with knowledge management and dissemination, including by disseminating energy access knowledge via newsletters, livewires, blogs, and other relevant means.
•  Deep understanding of energy access issues in the international context, and in Sub-Saharan Africa in particular, as well as familiarity and working relationship with key stakeholders (public and private).
•  Strong analytical skills and proven ability with data-driven analysis, along with the ability to translate analytical outputs into policy recommendations and support for operational work.
•  Detail-oriented with strong project and time management skills, including ability to manage multiple projects and tasks simultaneously.
•  High degree of self-motivation and proven ability to manage multidisciplinary teams, along with excellent interpersonal skills and proven ability to build strong partnerships with different stakeholders and colleagues across units and departmental boundaries.
•  Experience of working in a developing country context and ability to deal sensitively in multicultural environments.
•  Effective communication and external outreach to key partners including client governments, academia, civil society organizations, development partners, among others.
•  Excellent oral and written communications skills in English; other languages, particularly French is a plus.
•  Experience in fragile, conflict and violence (FCV) settings is a plus.

Poverty has no borders. Neither does excellence. This is why we continually search for qualified individuals with diverse backgrounds from around the globe. We are proud to be an equal opportunity and inclusive employer with a dedicated and committed workforce. Note: World Bank Group staff member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment will retain this status. All others will be offered a 4-year term appointment.

World Bank Group Core Competencies

The World Bank Group offers comprehensive benefits, including a retirement plan; medical, life and disability insurance; and paid leave, including parental leave, as well as reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity and inclusive employer with a dedicated and committed workforce, and do not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.

Learn more about working at the World Bank and IFC, including our values and inspiring stories.