Senior Embedded Ministry Advisor & Power Africa Liaison to the Minster of Energy and Petroleum, Kenya at RTI International

The Senior Embedded Ministry Advisor will be embedded within the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum in Nairobi and will be expected to work closely with the Cabinet Secretary and senior staff in the Ministry. The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum will also provide office accommodation, phone, computer and all associated office support for the Senior Embedded Ministry Advisor.

The Senior Embedded Ministry Advisor will be recruited through, and employed by USAID’s implementing partner, RTI International, under the East Africa Energy Program (EAEP) and as such will be bound by the expressed terms and conditions of their consulting/employment agreement with RTI International. The Senior Embedded Ministry Advisor will report directly to the Chief of Party, who is also located in Nairobi, Kenya. Maintaining consistent, open, and frequent communication with the EAEP Chief of Party and the rest of the EAEP team is requisite for successful completion of this scope of work. The Senior Embedded Ministry Advisor is expected to be a neutral arbiter, ensuring Power Africa priorities and areas of intervention are dutifully communicated to the Ministry and Ministry priorities are successfully communicated to Power Africa and the EAEP team for support.

This is a full-time resident position in Nairobi, Kenya for twelve (12) months, with the possibility of an extension.

Responsibilities

The advice and expertise provided by the Senior Embedded Ministry Advisor will broadly cover the following areas, which are considered critical to accelerating growth in Kenya’s energy sector:

• Supporting implementation of the Energy Act of 2019, ensuring responsibilities are delegated appropriately, work plans are developed that correspond to individual institutions’ needs and requirements, and support requirements are identified, prioritized, and communicated.
• Strengthening enabling energy sector policy, legal and regulatory regime that attracts private sector investment for generation and transmission projects.
• Improving sector oversight, regulation, and strategy
• Enhancing the application of modern tools and practices to ensure optimal energy sector planning.
• Developing strategies to optimize geothermal development.
• Supporting technically, environmentally, and socially-sound development of the geothermal sector and special economic zones
• Creating a legal and regulatory framework to support growth in projects smaller than 1 MW and mini-grids.
• Identify and recommend sector reform and restructuring where necessary and approaches to improving utility management and operations.
• Coordination with the Eastern Africa Power Pool and other regional bodies to facilitate regional investment in the sector.

The work will very frequently require preparation of strategic memoranda, reports and presentations for the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, and participation in meetings at the request of the Minister. As part of their advisory role to the Ministry, it is also expected that the Senior Embedded Ministry Advisor will interact and engage with key local and international stakeholders in Kenya’s energy sector.
Further, as the link between the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum and the Power Africa initiative, the Senior Embedded Ministry Advisor will be required to facilitate communication, and coordination between the Ministry and Power Africa.

Reporting

Within 30 days of deployment, the Senior Embedded Ministry Advisor will develop a work plan detailing his/her activities and expected results for the period of this assignment in conjunction with Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum, Power Africa & PATRP.

In the day-to-day performance of his/her duties, the Senior Embedded Ministry Advisor will report to both the Cabinet Secretary or his designee and to the EAEP Chief of Party. In this context, the Cabinet Secretary may provide technical guidance and direction to the Senior Embedded Ministry Advisor in so far as it remains within the scope of this assignment and aligns with Power Africa’s objectives.

The Senior Embedded Ministry Advisor will submit to Power Africa and PATRP weekly reports by close of business every Thursday, describing the work performed during the week and indicating the work schedule for the next succeeding week.

At the six (6) month mark during the planned twelve (12) month period of this assignment, Power Africa & PATRP and the Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum will plan to undertake a joint review of the assistance provided to determine if it is achieving its stated objective.

Qualifications

• Masters degree or equivalent plus at least 15 years’ experience in the energy sector, in increasingly important positions requiring high trust and exceptional judgement and ability to advise
• A demonstrated record of working in Kenya
• A demonstrated record of high level contacts in the Kenyan power sector
• Excellent English writing and reporting skills
• Fluency in Swahili is considered a plus