Senior Specialist Energy & Climate

About the role

Function of Department: To build and deliver an Energy and Climate portfolio of programs for Crown Agents, positioning the business as a trusted partner supporting low and middle income countries as they look to overcome key practical challenges in the implementation of their green energy and climate commitments.

Deploy Crown Agents’ existing capabilities in supply chain, government systems strengthening and program/fund management to the energy and climate challenges governments face enabling us to win and deliver work which will make a critical difference in countries’ abilities to achieve their energy and climate related SDG & Paris goals.

To build-out from our existing energy and climate delivery work and position Crown Agents as an established player and implementer of choice for:

• Decentralized renewable energy (DRE) programs, including building a consortium and raising funding to deliver a substantial, multi-country, solar for health program covering core CA geographies and establishing CA as key player in this space.
• Climate finance and energy sector procurement capacity building
• Energy and climate fund management.

Main Job Purpose: The Senior Specialist Energy & Climate (SS-EC) will initiate and support new business capture efforts in the thematic areas of energy and climate and manage the delivery of projects won through these efforts. The primary function of the role is to lead business development on energy and climate in the US market, and to hold overall responsibility of this key component of the company’s recently approved Energy & Climate strategy. In addition, the SS-EC will play a wider technical leadership role in support of Crown Agents’ (CA) growing focus on Energy & Climate related programming, supporting overall strategy development and providing technical input into growth and delivery across the global portfolio.

About you

Required Experience & Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree and six (6) years of relevant experience required; or a master’s degree in an international development-related field or an MBA and at least four (4) years of relevant work experience required.
• Proven technical knowledge and expertise in Energy and/or Climate related fields essential, ideally acquired through practical experience of program implementation (delivery).
• High levels of knowledge and awareness of the broader policy and programmatic landscape around USG funded Energy & Climate work plus a good understanding of the broader international development landscape in the Energy and Climate technical areas.
• Must have at least one year of experience working in the field on donor-funded projects
• Previous direct business development/proposal management experience required, such as managing and contributing substantively to successful USAID proposals (technical and cost)
• Prior experience working on business development related to USAID, MCC, and/or USTDA projects supporting Energy & Climate, economic growth, governance, government systems strengthening, and/or trade is required.
• Project backstopping experience on USAID and other donor-funded projects is required.
• Demonstrated network of contacts in the international development community is required, especially in the areas of Energy & Climate.
• Excellent analytical, conceptual, verbal, and written communication skills are required.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to multi-task; ability to work efficiently and independently in a fast-paced environment and under stress required.
• Strong interpersonal and troubleshooting skills required as well as proven flexibility and agility to adapt to changing circumstances and priorities.
• Advanced ability to use all Microsoft Office and other Microsoft applications.
• Proven experience to work effectively as part of a multi-site team that spans CA group offices and includes remotely managed personnel and projects.
• Knowledge of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, USAID Assistance Regulation (AIDAR) and Automated Directives System (ADS), and other donor regulations related to the management of field staff and human resources, project accounting and finance, and solicitation and negotiation for project procurements and grant subawards required.
• Willingness to travel up to 30% and make trips to CA group headquarters in London as well as overseas destinations including to politically unstable countries and regions, countries and regions where serious security threats exist, and travel to remote areas where basic services including water and electricity may be limited and/or frequently interrupted.
• US work authorization required, dual US and EU or UK work authorization preferred.

Preferred Experience & Qualifications:

• Prior experience leading or supporting project start up and close down strongly preferred.
• Foreign language ability preferred, especially in French, Spanish, Portuguese, and/or Arabic.
• Prior experience on USAID projects and experience in low-income countries are strongly preferred.

About us

You’ll be working with Crown Agents which is a high impact social enterprise passionate about transforming the future for millions of people. Since our creation in 1833 we have worked across the globe to improve public services and drive economic growth. Our expertise is finding new solutions to difficult problems for clients in the areas of health, governance, economic growth, humanitarian action, and supply chain services. We work with and train leaders at local, national, and international level to achieve lasting change drawing on our insight and experience.

Crown Agents is committed to diversity and will promote diversity for all candidates at all times as well as a business culture that reflects that belief. Crown Agents will treat everyone equally irrespective of race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, disability, or sexual orientation, and places an obligation upon all staff to respect and act in accordance with the policy. Crown Agents shall not discriminate unlawfully when deciding which candidates are selected for interview, or in any terms of employment, and will ensure that each candidate is assessed only in accordance with their merits, qualifications, and abilities to perform the role. Crown Agents is committed to being an organization enhanced by diversity and encourages applications from anyone who shares our values and commitment to improving the lives of communities affected by poverty or conflict.

About what’s on offer

Crown Agents offers a competitive benefits package.