Recrutement de 01 Senior Energy Specialist / Infrastructure Practice Leader

La Banque Mondiale
Abidjan,Cote d'Ivoire
Banque et Assurances
Senior Energy Specialist / Infrastructure Practice Leader

Job # : req10028
Organization : World Bank
Sector : Energy
Grade : GG
Term Duration : 4 years 0 months
Recruitment Type : International Recruitment
Location : Abidjan,Cote d'Ivoire
Required Language(s) : English, French
Preferred Language(s) :
Closing Date : 11/20/2020 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

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 our 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, 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.

Western and Central Africa

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 of 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) that 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. Many countries in the region that learned difficult lessons from the West Africa Ebola outbreak in 2014 are applying some of the lessons and using all existing instruments and expertise to curb the pandemic while prioritizing the poorest and most vulnerable people.

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 to realize their considerable development potential and become more competitive in the global economy by focusing on the following priorities:

• Creating Jobs and Transforming Economies: We are working with countries across Africa to stimulate job creation and economic transformation by leveraging all sources of finance, expertise, and solutions to promote investment.
• Building up the Digital Economy: We are supporting Africa’s vision to ensure that every African individual, business, and government is connected by 2030.
• Institutions more Efficient and Accountable: Our support is helping governments strengthen public policy processes, manage resources effectively, and reinforce fair and reliable delivery of public services.
• Investing in People: We are at the forefront of helping African countries accelerate human capital gains and empower women by improving their access to education and skills acquisition, sexual and reproductive health services, and employment opportunities.
• Supporting Climate Change Mitigation and Adaption: In the face of increasing climate-related risks, we are working with African countries to advance efforts to adopt renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, and green infrastructure.
• Addressing the Drivers of Fragility, Conflict and Violence: Given the cross-border nature of conflicts in Africa, we are employing an approach that simultaneously focuses on the drivers of fragility while also supporting well-targeted regional initiatives to create opportunities for peace and shared prosperity.
• Building Partnerships and Working across the African Continent: We are scaling up our work on regional integration, taking a holistic view of the continent that covers both North and Sub-Saharan Africa.

The World Bank is a dedicated partner for Western and Central African countries, helping them deliver strong development outcomes for their people. A brighter future for the region is a better future for the world.

UNIT CONTEXT

The World Bank Group (WBG) supports the Sustainable Energy for All initiative and is committed to working towards accomplishing the initiative's three goals by 2030: i) universal access to electricity and clean cooking fuels; ii) doubling the share of the world's energy supplied by renewable sources from 18 percent to 36 percent, and iii) doubling the rate of improvement in energy efficiency.

The Infrastructure Practice Group is charged with developing sustainable solutions to help close infrastructure gaps in developing and emerging economies. As part of the Infrastructure Practice Group, the Energy & Extractives (EEX) Global Practice (GP) focuses on providing affordable, reliable and sustainable energy to meet the needs of fast-growing economies, ensure universal access to modern energy services for people in client countries, strengthen 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.

The Africa Energy Program is growing rapidly, covering reforms (sector and corporate governance, energy security and the environment, regional energy trade, public-private partnerships, energy efficiency, etc.) and investment support in power generation, power and gas transmission and distribution, rural energy services, renewable energy development, low-carbon and climate friendly initiatives. The current portfolio comprises about 50 projects with a value of over US$10 billion. New lending is approximately US$1.5 billion per annum, with a growing share of renewable energy and regional activities. The Bank’s Africa Energy Program uses a variety of instruments, including investment lending, guarantees for public private partnerships, and development policy lending. In addition, the team manages a strong knowledge agenda to inform the policy dialogue in the sector.

The Africa energy sector grouping consists of four units (East, 2 units for West/Central Africa, and Southern Africa). Each of the four units is managed by a Practice Manager. The units together have over 90 staff with over 25 in various field locations, and more than half of the operational and advisory activities are managed /led by field-based staff. The IAWE2 (West and Central Africa) unit seeks a Senior Energy Specialist to lead the policy dialogue and the energy lending and non-lending program in Cote d’Ivoire, and in selected activities across the sub region.

In Cote d’Ivoire, the Bank may engage in the following aspects all aspects of the sector –transmission, distribution and rural electrification, as well as improving the financial viability of the sector and enabling conditions to attract private sector capital– through a combination of financing and analytic work. Assisting the government with policy reforms and utility strengthening in order to attract investments in generation and renewable energy, modernizing the electricity network, and increasing energy access are among the key areas of the Bank’s deepening engagement in the sector. Engagement in cross-border and regional energy projects are areas to be developed going forward.

The Senior Energy Specialist will be expected to collaborate across the World Bank Group, and work across a number of global practices on the role of the energy sector in achieving the twin objectives. He/she will lead complex operations and analytic work, support portfolio performance, and ensure excellent coordination with other development partners.

The role will also require the selected candidate to act as practice leader for infrastructure sectors in the Cote d’Ivoire CMU (AWCF2), which includes Benin, Togo and Guinea. That program provides a wide range of financial, knowledge and convening services to help address our country’s most complex development issues. The program includes policy financing, program for results, investment financing support, technical assistance and guarantee operations.

Duties and accountabilities :

• Lead the Bank’s energy policy dialogue with the authorities and others on strategic energy issues and implementation of ongoing energy sector reforms.
• Lead the preparation and supervision of energy investment operations in the Cote d’Ivoire energy sector – including in regulatory reforms, power utilities reform, energy access, energy efficiency and renewable energy (including solar, hydro, battery storage), Public Private Partnership investments in infrastructure projects and regional integration projects. This would include intensive support to the government and power utility with regard to a key initiative on grid-connected solar PV and batteries.
• Lead and advise analytical and advisory work in the energy sector and related areas, including political economy and macro-fiscal aspects.
• Contribute to the Maximizing Finance for Development (MFD) approach. The AFR Energy team is a key contributor to the WBG strategy for MFD with the objective to help countries maximize their development resources by drawing on a range of financing sources and sustainable private sector solutions.
• Lead teams and provide guidance and mentoring to junior staff on operational, policy dialogue and analytical activities.
• Actively contribute to the dissemination of our activities, within the WBG and in external events. Provide inputs to operational products/outputs for sector and country briefings, analytical and advisory reports and studies, portfolio performance and monitoring reviews, and liaison between the energy and extractives practice and the country unit on energy issues.
• Actively engage as the primary interface between the CMU and the four GPs that fall under the INF Practice Group, including energy & extractives, transport, digital development, and infrastructure finance, PPPs and guarantees. The role requires the selected staff to serve as an effective integrator across practices, and effectively mentor more junior team members.

Selection Criteria

• Master's degree in engineering, energy planning/economics, business administration, or equivalent areas relevant for energy/extractives sector development;
• At least 8 years of combined experience in the World Bank, other international institutions and/or companies, government agencies, and/or power sector utilities with consistent record of successful engagement with complex projects;
• Understanding of energy policies, regulations, technologies or strategies, private sector participation, and institutional development needed to support development and for the success of project and analytic work; experience leading and/or playing key roles in policy dialogue with clients and partners;
• Strong experience in planning, designing, and implementing power infrastructure projects including renewable energy generation, transmission and distribution, and on-grid and off-grid electrification and access projects; Hands-on experience with infrastructure projects with power sector utilities will be a distinct advantage;
• Strong knowledge of at least one of relevant thematic business lines such as Energy Access; Economics, Markets & Institution; Energy Efficiency; Renewable Energy; Energy Finance; Hydropower; Power Systems & Technologies.
• A consistent track record in carrying out high quality and timely analytical reports and activities would be advantageous;
• Experience working on World Bank or other International Financial Institutions (IFIs) lending and non-lending operations is desirable; including knowledge and experience with fiduciary and safeguards policies and application.
• Active listening skills, excellent interpersonal skills, able to influence the audience and build positive relationships with clients, different partners and colleagues across units and departmental boundaries in a multi-cultural environment with disperse teams located in different countries.
• Experience working with large global teams, producing high-quality results and outputs with minimal supervision; Proven record of team work and ability to lead and mentor junior staff, to advise and guide senior staff in your core skills, to produce high-quality policy and project related written outputs with autonomy and in a highly-visible country profile;
• High level of excitement, ability to work independently, taking initiative, and flexibility in quickly adjusting to changing work program requirements;
• Experience in fragile and/or island states, including field assignments, in preparing and implementing projects and analytical work in areas such as energy efficiency, renewable energy and power sector reforms;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including an ability to communicate complex issues in simple terms and to engage in evidence-based dialogue with clients.
• Proficiency in spoken and written French and English.

Technical competencies :

• Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena - Translate technical and cross-country knowledge into practical applications and contributions to country and sector strategies; interacts with clients at the policy level;
• Policy Dialogue Skills - Anticipate needs and requests in the field and conduct independent policy discussions with representatives of the government and non-government partners;
• Integrative Skills - Understand relevant cross-sectoral areas how they are interrelated; able to undertake cross-sectoral work in lending and non-lending operations;
• Energy Sector Technologies - Deep experience applying knowledge (hydrocarbon, power generation, transmission and distribution, renewables, and energy efficiency) to policy-related decisions and advice;
• Energy Policy, Strategy and Institutions - Proven understanding of energy policies, strategies, institutions, and regulations;

The WBG Core Competencies:

• Lead and Innovate - Develop innovative solutions with others.
• Deliver Results for Clients - Achieve results and identify mission-driven solutions for clients
• Collaborate Within Teams and Across Boundaries - Initiate collaboration across boundaries and broadly across WBG, and bring differing ideas into the forefront;
• Create, Apply and Share Knowledge - Create, apply and share knowledge from across and outside the WBG to strengthen internal and/or external client solutions
• Make Smart Decisions – Recommend and take decisive action

Poverty has no borders, neither does excellence. We succeed because of our differences and we continuously search for qualified individuals with diverse backgrounds from around the globe.