Senior Associate - Renewable Energy Finance & Investment at World Resources Institute (WRI)

Job Highlight:

• In this role, you will contribute to the development of a strategy for unlocking foreign finance and investment in Sub-Saharan Africa’s clean energy sector. More specifically, you will lead a growing collaboration between WRI Africa, WRI China and the Finance Center, which focuses on unlocking foreign investment for clean energy transition and access for Africa. This involves identifying key information sharing, policy, and regulatory interventions needed to facilitate expanded foreign trade and investment; identifying tangible opportunities and viable models for investment including green manufacturing, decentralized renewables, and more; and identifying concrete actions to build lasting partnership to unlock trade and investment for energy access and transition in Africa. You will identify key topics, lead research and analytics geared towards influencing speedy flow of foreign financing, as well as investment opportunities for accelerating an inclusive and just energy transition in the continent.
• You will establish collaborations and lead engagements with strategic partner institutions, including policy makers (at the international, national, and sub-national level), private sector companies and associations (including Renewable Energy companies), think tank institutions and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), to establish a network of partnerships needed to unlock investments at scale. You will closely work with different teams across WRI sisterhood, including WRI China, WRI India, the Global Energy Program team, as well as members of the Institute's Finance Center. This position will be a hybrid model of remote and in-office.
• You will report to the Energy Director for WRI Africa.

What will you do:

Strategy & Impact (50%):

• Lead the development of a strategy for influencing finance and investment for Renewable Energy (RE) and Energy Access in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
• Lead the identification and prioritization of research topics and perform in-depth analysis, in collaboration with WRI Africa and WRI China teams, as well as the WRI Finance Center
• Lead the design of data and evidence-informed innovative models that will help unlock foreign financing to SSA’s renewable energy and energy access space
• Lead the coordination of stakeholders around tangible investment opportunities
• Provide ad hoc and ongoing support and recommendations to evolving collaborations between the Energy Access and Transition Program and other WRI Africa programs, the Finance Center, and with other country offices, including WRI China
• Provide mentorship to junior staff working under the finance and investment portfolio to promote growth and sustainability of the program

Communications, Engagement & Partnership Management (30%):

• Scoping of relevant stakeholders, including local RE entrepreneurs, private sector companies and CSOs working on renewable energy finance or investment, and maintain close collaborations with these institutions
• Facilitate consultations with targeted stakeholders to explore strategic partnerships for unlocking foreign finance and investment for clean energy
• Represent WRI in different strategic spaces and engagement fora to present the Institute’s work on finance and investment for renewable energy and energy access work in SSA
• Establish and manage lasting partnerships between international manufacturers (of clean energy technologies) and their local counterparts from priority countries from SSA (Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda and DR Congo), in coordination with WRI China team
• Work with the Africa Energy Program Director, the Energy Access Lead, the Energy Transitions team, and Africa and global communication teams to produce compelling and consistent insights, findings and messages from our work as a key strategy for impact
• Develop blogs, training materials and other knowledge products (e.g., reports, issue briefs, working papers, and technical notes) on sustainable finance

Fundraising & Programme Management (20%):

• Lead development of funding proposals to expand the growing WRI Africa energy finance and investment portfolio
• Engage with strategic partners, including donors, foundations, and other funding institutions, to position this body of work for potential financing and alliance building
• Manage projects under RE finance and investment portfolio, including development and submission of regular narrative and finance reports to the donors (in close coordination with the Energy Director as well as finance & operations team).

What will you need:

• Education: You have a completed bachelor’s degree, either in energy economics and finance, public policy, or a related field, demonstrating  mastery of analytical methods
• Experience: You have 7+ years of relevant experience working in the renewable energy finance or investment space, with a focus on African country contexts
• You bring demonstrated subject matter expertise in energy markets, with a track record of working with energy sector stakeholders in Africa
• Experience in conducting and publishing research on energy finance in Africa, or in leading engagement on energy finance
• Demonstrated expertise in structing and prioritizing a complex, multiple-faceted research work program
• Demonstrable expertise in engaging with government, academia and CSOs involved in energy research in Africa
• You have experience engaging stakeholders in the energy sector
• Experience communicating complex ideas in a concise manner through, both written and verbally
• Demonstrated knowledge of solar energy technologies and systems, financing instruments, energy policy, and energy finance challenges and opportunities
• Experience working with international organizations
• Languages: you are proficient in written and spoken English
• Requirements: you have the existing right to work in Kenya at the time of application.