Closing Date: 19 September 11:59pm UTC
Tight Deadline: Apply for the Senior Energy Specialist Role at World Bank
The World Bank is looking for a Senior Energy Specialist (based in Washington DC) to support the Africa Energy unit’s work on energy access and clean energy transition initiatives across West and Central Africa. The selected candidate would work on country-level energy engagements in Nigeria, Cameroon and Ghana and on developing regional programs for the scale-up of private sector-driven Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) solutions.
Description
Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank Group provides a unique opportunity for you to help its clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank Group 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, World Bank 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.
The Western and Central Africa (AFW) Region
Western and Central Africa is a region with diverse cultures, beliefs, languages, and lifestyles – marked by contrasts of stability and conflict, affluence, and poverty. Home to about half a billion people, it encompasses 22 countries stretching from the westernmost point of Africa across the equator and partly along the Atlantic Ocean to the Republic of Congo in the South. The sub-region is rich in resources and brimming with opportunities. It made impressive progress in regional cooperation and includes two monetary unions – the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) which cover 13 countries between them.
Yet these vast opportunities are tempered by persistent gaps in education, health, and skills, which have Africa only reaching forty percent of its estimated potential. Moreover, conflict, food insecurity, population growth, and the disruptive forces of climate change threaten to curtail or even reverse the progress that has been made over the past decades. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought back to the forefront the risks posed by weak health systems and poor surveillance. AFW countries are disproportionately dependent on natural capital. With climate change and a degrading and depleting natural resource base, vulnerability is increasing, and food insecurity is rising. Fast-growing urbanization with little planning, has also led to unproductive cities that do not generate growth.
The World Bank Western and Central Africa Region, comprised of approximately 1,139 staff mostly based in about 22 country offices, is committed to helping countries realize their considerable development potential and become more competitive in the global economy by focusing on the following priorities – Creating Jobs and Transforming Economies, Building up the Digital Economy, Institutions more Efficient and Accountable, Investing in People, Supporting Climate Change Mitigation and Adaption, Addressing the Drivers of Fragility, Conflict, and Violence, and Building Partnerships and Working across the African Continent: World Bank is scaling up its work on regional integration, taking a holistic view of the continent that covers both North and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Unit Context:
The Energy & Extractives Global Practice of the World Bank Group is made up of more than 300 professionals, a 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. 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 extractive 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.
The Africa energy sector grouping consists of four Units across two regions of East and Southern Africa and newly created VPU of West and Central Africa. The position is based at World Bank HQ in Washington DC supporting the West and Central East Africa unit (IAWE4). The Bank is engaged in all aspects of the electricity sector – generation, transmission, distribution, rural electrification and off-grid– through development policy financing, program for results, investment financing support, technical assistance and guarantee operations. Assisting the government with policy reforms to attract investments in generation and renewable energy along with the promotion of the regional energy trade, undertaking sector reforms on tariffs and regulations, analytical work on energy subsidies, modernizing the electricity network for the needs of a modern economy and increasing energy access are among the key areas of the Bank’s deepening engagement in the sector.
Duties and Responsibilities
IAWE4 seeks a Senior Energy Specialist based in Washington DC to support the Africa Energy unit’s work in energy access and clean energy transition initiatives in West and Central Africa as well as supporting instruments to enable private investment for decentralized renewable energy access to electricity and clean energy transition. The Senior Energy Specialist will specifically work with country teams of Energy GP engagement in Nigeria, Cameroon and Ghana CMUs with particular focus on the development of both regional and country-level engagements for the scale up of electricity access through private sector driven scale-up of Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) Solutions and the acceleration of West and Central African Energy from unsustainable fossil fuels to Cleaner Energy Solutions and Renewables.
The responsibilities of the selected candidate will include:
• Leading the development and implementation of DRE projects in West Africa, with a focus on scaling the sub-region’s mini-grid and off-grid solar markets;
• Leading the dialogue with governments, private sector, and development partners (including development finance institutions, NGOs, foundations, philanthropies) and financial institutions (incl. commercial banks and financial service providers, private equity, pension funds) to accelerate DRE investment and deployment and leverage private sector financing in the region;
• Collaborate with teams across the WBG (including from IFC and MIGA) and other global private sector funds, new sources of finance like pension funds to develop and provide technical expertise and strategic guidance on innovative financial and de-risking instruments for DRE projects;
• Work with private sector developers on decentralized energy solutions in inter-connected mini-grid, isolated mini-grids, solar rooftops and solar home systems on essential scale up needed to meet energy access targets SDG 7.
• Advise Governments on overcoming regulatory, financial, and political challenges in implementing DRE solutions in West African countries;
• Drive innovation in DRE business models, particularly in areas such as solar irrigation, cold chain for farmers, and electrification for schools and health facilities;
• Contribute to the development of least-cost national electrification plans that integrate both grid and off-grid solutions;
• Support the implementation of the Distributed Access with Renewable Energy Scale Up (DARES) Platform in West Africa; and
• Be part of central core team on implementing projects and reporting on World Bank Group Mission 300 of providing energy access to 300 million people in Sub Saharan Africa;
Collaborate with other World Bank Group entities and Global Practices to leverage cross-sectoral expertise and financial instruments for DRE projects. This requisition is for WBG staff and external candidates.
Selection Criteria
• Advanced degree in a relevant field (e.g., renewable energy, electrical engineering, energy economics);
• Minimum 8 years of experience in the energy access sector, with substantial private sector and operational management experience in the DRE subsector;
• Demonstrated expertise in DRE technologies, business models, and financing mechanisms;
• Strong understanding of the regulatory, financial, and political landscape affecting DRE deployment in West Africa;
• Proven track record in driving innovation and developing successful DRE projects in challenging environments;
• Experience in working with governments, international organizations, and private sector stakeholders;
• Excellent analytical, communication, and team leadership skills;
• Fluency in English with knowledge of French as desirable.
The ideal candidate will bring a combination of technical expertise, private sector experience, and strategic thinking to accelerate DRE deployment in West Africa. They will play a crucial role in advancing the World Bank’s commitment to universal energy access in Africa by 2030, meeting Mission 300 of proving energy access to 300 million Africans by leveraging DRE solutions to provide affordable, reliable, and sustainable electricity to underserved communities.
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