UNDP Jobs - 9033- Technical Advisor (Solar Energy)

Technical Advisor (Solar Energy)

Location :

Gaborone, BOTSWANA

Type of Contract :

ALD International

Starting Date :

01-May-2009

Application Deadline :

27-Mar-09 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

ALD-3

Duration of Initial Contract :

One year

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The Government of Botswana and UNDP are currently seeking motivated candidates with appropriate experience for the post of Renewable Energy (Solar PV) Technical Advisor for the Renewable Energy-based Rural Electrification Programme (RE Botswana).

The RE Botswana is a 5 year full-size project funded by the Government of Botswana and Global Environment Facility (GEF) which commenced in June 2006. The project aims at improving the quality of life in rural households and reducing local and global environmental problems related to the use of unsustainable energy sources. These aims will be addressed by promoting Solar Photo-Voltaic (PV) energy for lighting and communications and low emission technologies such as efficient stoves, LPG and ethanol-based fuels for cooking. Included in the project are activities designed to: remove barriers to the large-scale utilisation of Solar PV; help establish the Solar PV programme at Botswana Power Corporation (BPC); and encourage the development of the private sector in the provision of rural energy services.

A key output of this strategy is the establishment of a rural energy services company, called BPC Lesedi for the commercial provision of the basic energy services described above. To facilitate efficient replication, improve opportunities for investment and enhance involvement of private sector, this company will operate as a business format franchise.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Technical Advisor (TA) will report to the Chairperson of the Project Steering Committee (PSC) – the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources via the Director of Energy Affairs, the focal point for responsibility and accountability in the Government. The Technical Advisor will work closely with the Project Manager (PM) who is internally appointed by BPC and responsible for day-to-day management and successfully running the project. The TA will be based at BPC in the RE-Botswana project team. In general, the TA will provide technical expertise primarily relating to solar electricity, rural energy services, technical training and capacity building. The TA must provide guidance and advice to ensure the successful delivery of expected outputs and the technical assurance of the project. More specifically the duties of TA will include, but not limited to, the following:

Provide advice on the scientific and technical knowledge, in particular to guide the PM in project planning that will involve the implementation of monitoring and evaluation plan with indicator, baseline and target for each output, and the detailed annual work plan and budget on the basis of the logical framework.
Provide advice to ensure that the outputs which are to arise from the project are of high quality and meet the stated objectives.
Serve as a source of objective technical advice at the planning, management and implementation levels.
Liaise with global scientific and technical community and feed the latest information and data on relevant technologies and experience to the project.
Participate in Technical Advisor Group and attend the PSC meeting to provide assessment of the quality, quantity and timeliness of progress against the work plan.
Advise PM for monitoring and reporting requirements such as the preparation of Quarterly Progress Report, Annual Project Report and Project Implementation Review.
Capacity building of counterparts and other local staff to ensure effective skills and responsibility transfer. In this respect, it is expected that the TA will work closely with and support the locally recruited Project Engineer in all technical matters related to the project.

This will include direct support for the following project components:

Component 1 (Delivery Model) – the TA will be support all activities under this component. This will include support for the establishment of the franchise business model and joint venture arrangement, as well as on-going identification of technology options and product development.
Component 3 (Awareness Raising) – the TA will support those activities being executed by BPC-Lesedi which is primarily targeted at customers and franchisees.
Component 4 (Public and Private Sector Strengthening and Training) – the TA will provide support to training needs assessment and implementation of training programmes at BPC; vocational training programme development with MTTC, BOTA and DVET;
Component 5 (Financial Engineering) – the TA will support the facilitation of finance for franchisees of BPC-Lesedi; and setup of BPC-Lesedi for carbon finance.
Component 6 (Learning and Replication) – the TA will support the application of the EAD’s impact assessment framework and system to the RE-Botswana project.

Competencies

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards

Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP

Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability

Required Skills and Experience

The Technical Advisor will have the following qualifications:

An internationally recognised advanced degree in a related technical field. Additional postgraduate qualification in Renewable Energy or Energy Management will be an advantage;

The TA will have the following experience:

At least 5 years work experience in the design, specification and installation of solar photovoltaic systems for stand-alone domestic applications in developing countries;
At least 3 years work experience in international development, particularly in rural energy, micro enterprise development, technical training and capacity building;
Demonstrated understanding of the practical implementation steps required under Clean Development Mechanism and Gold Standard for carbon finance is an advantage;
Demonstrated high level technical writing and communications skills in particular in the preparation of technical reports, technical specifications, technical training materials and presentations;
Highly developed personal communication and people skills with evidence of track record in effective team work and collaboration.