Project Field Officer – Renewable Energy SNV Netherlands Development Organisation

Company Description

SNV is a not-for-profit international development organisation that applies practical knowledge to make a lasting difference in the lives of people living in poverty. We use our extensive and long-term in-country presence to apply and adapt our top-notch expertise in agriculture, energy and WASH to local contexts. SNV has over 1250 staff in more than 25 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. We are proud to be a not-for-profit organisation that uses project financing to implement our mission. This requires us to work efficiently and to invest in operational excellence.

In its current Strategic Plan period (2019 – 2022), SNV will more explicitly aim for structural change and scale in its programmes, as well as bringing knowledge and initiatives from different programmes together at country level to contribute to systems’ change. We will continue to position ourselves as a learning organisation striving for excellence and invest in making knowledge flow to and from the frontline.

For more information on SNV, visit our website: www.snv.org

 Job Description

SNV seeks an experienced and knowledgeable technical advisor who will work in the 7million EUR Increasing Climate Resilience in Energy & Agriculture Systems and Entrepreneurship (INCREASE) project, supporting the implementation of the project’s renewable energy component.

The INCREASE project’s goal is to address the major challenge of climate change that farmers, agribusinesses, and SMEs are facing. To achieve this the project strengthens the adaptive capacity of agricultural and energy systems as well as the promotion of climate smart (CS) diversification practices and productive uses of renewable energy. The project works with the larger agribusinesses in Cotton, Dairy and Horticulture and covers Eastern, Central, North Western, Lusaka and Southern provinces, initially targeting to reach 11,300 smallholder farmers in the 3 value chains. In addition, the project drives the uptake of biodigesters among smallholder farmers for biogas and bioslurry usage, in addition to other energy-focused interventions within the three value chains and the adoption of more and modern energy solutions for cooking, lighting and productive uses by 3,000 households. The project has started in January 2020 and will run till end 2022 (with a possible extension to 2023).

The project team consists of a Project Manager based in Lusaka, three Field Coordinators (FCs)  each based in a field office, CSA and RE officers, M&E and gender specialist.

The field offices are in Katete (Gender and youth)), Mazabuka (Renewable Energy), Kabwe (Inclusive Business)). Each FC is the focal point for one of the following cross-cutting topics: Inclusive Business (IB), Renewable Energy (RE), or Gender and Youth Employment. This means each FC supports the rest of the project team with his/her respective cross-cutting topic. The FC works with a team of CSA and  Renewable Energy officers, and with stakeholders from private sector and government institutions.

The position of Field Coordinator Renewable Energy will be based in Mazabuka. The FC Renewable Energy will report to the Sector Lead Energy.

Duties and Responsibilities

The selected candidate will have following key responsibilities:

• Liaise with the value chain companies and government institutions partnering with the project and coordinate activities with them;
• Plan, budget and implement monthly activities on Renewable Energy in the focus areas and alignment with the project operational plan;
• Network and synergize with regional stakeholders to promote the project’s objectives;
• Monitor and report on developments in Energy policies and advise on potential synergies with the project, including advising on scaling or leveraging project achievements.
• Provide Backstopping on Renewable Energy to the other project field offices;
• Work closely with the Technical Advisor Renewable Energy to build the capacities of sector stakeholders and institutionalizing sector functions at local level;
• Support monitoring, evaluation and learning efforts through local management of activities;
• Lead administrative day to day operations of the field office
• Coordination of all the activities in the area of the field office
• Assure the quality of implementation in the field.

Qualifications

• Masters’ level education with minimum 7 years working experience OR a Bachelors’ degree with 10 years professional experience;
• Proven track record with over 3 years of experience in renewable energy technologies and productive uses of energy in rural Zambia;
• Demonstrated managerial experience in a field office context;
• Strong communication skills and ability to negotiate and moderate with senior officials and representatives at local level;
• Strong technical expertise in the biodigester sector is desired, expertise in the dairy value chain and climate smart agricultural practices is a plus;
• ICT / computer literacy;
• Fluency in written and oral English.

The qualities that SNV is looking for are entrepreneurial drive and passion combined with strong organisational and coordination skills. A highly pro-active approach is imperative, considering this is a new project. As the project needs to jump-start a new network of companies and SMEs in the fields of climate smart products and services, the incumbent needs to thrive in a creative but complex and busy atmosphere. In a self-critical process of continuous improvement, the incumbent will be on the road 30% of the time contributing to quality control and transparent implementation of the project, while at the same time advancing knowledge on climate smart business practices.

Additional information
Terms of Appointment:

This is a full-time position with the successful candidate contracted up until and including December 31, 2022 with the possibility to extend for another one year, contingent to performance and funding.