MEL Specialist, Universal Energy Facility, SEforALL

Background About SEforALL

Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) is an international organization working with leaders in government, the private sector and civil society to drive further, faster action toward achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7), which calls for universal access to sustainable energy by 2030, and the Paris Agreement, which calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to limit climate warming to below 2° Celsius.

Achieving these goals will require a radical rethink of the way we produce, distribute and consume energy. SEforALL is at the heart of this foundational shift to ensure no one is left behind. Drawing on data and evidence, we identify a critical path to success in achieving SDG7.

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the Sustainable Energy for All initiative in 2011. Now an independent organization, we maintain close links with the UN, including through a relationship agreement, partnerships with UN agencies and with SEforALL’s CEO acting as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy. These roles include advising the UN Secretary General and his staff on issues relating to sustainable energy and the implementation of SDG7 and supporting the coordination of sustainable energy issues in the United Nations system.

The ambitions of SDG7 are extraordinary. Aiming to achieve them in the context of the Paris Agreement on climate change involves transformation at a scale never undertaken before. Swift action must be taken by leaders in governments, private sector companies, institutions, financiers, development banks, unions, communities, entrepreneurs and civil society. As we enter the final decade to achieve SDG7, SEforALL has strategically chosen to strengthen global agenda-setting while expanding its activities to an engagement model that prioritizes data-driven decision-making, partnerships with high-impact countries and implementation on the ground. The new SEforALL three-year business plan outlines “results offers” that scope out our planned interventions and demonstrate to our funding partners the impact of their support.

Context and Objective of Assignment

2020 marked the start of the final decade to achieve SDG7 – access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all – by 2030. The world is not on track and a renewed sense of urgency and new approaches are required. Providing finance at the speed and scale needed to achieve Providing finance at the speed and scale needed to achieve SDG7 requires a paradigm shift towards results-based financing (RBF). RBF allows governments and donors to shift risk of delivery to the private sector, provides regulatory certainty to industry about financial support to be provided, aggregates financing and scales support across multiple countries.

The Universal Energy Facility (UEF) is a multi-donor RBF facility established to support the electrification of households, businesses, public institutions, and other potential electricity consumers in sub-Saharan Africa that do not have reliable access to modern electricity services. The UEF will provide incentive payments (i.e., grants) on a ‘results-based’ approach to selected eligible organizations that develop and operate systems and provide verified electricity connections.

SEforALL, the Programme Manager, established this facility in collaboration with a number of implementing partners. A proof-of-concept pilot, Wave 1, launched in 3 countries (Sierra Leone, Madagascar, and Benin) in sub-Saharan Africa, with the goal of delivering more than 14,000 electricity connections through mini-grid developments. This will be followed, dependent on funding, of a scale up to eventually deliver more than 2 million energy access connections (electricity and clean cooking) by 2023.

Purpose/Objective of the Role

The main objectives of the role include:

Provide efficient and effective support and delivery capacity to the UEF team
Supporting Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning for the UEF
Further co-design and implement the MEL Framework for the UEF in close collaboration with the UEF Team and the SEforALL MEL Team
Analysis and reporting to donors on the Universal Energy Access’s (UEF’s) results-based financing facility on an ongoing basis

Duties and Tasks for the Role

The main duties and tasks of the role include, but are not limited to:

Lead drafting of donor reports in collaboration with the SEforALL MEL Team and UEF Core team to ensure donor reports are submitted on time, of high quality and give confidence for future funding
Lead the further implementation of the UEF’s MEL Strategy and Framework, working closely with The SEforALL MEL Team and UEF Core Team; ensuring all data required for the UEF MEL Framework and UEF Operating Manual is flowing seamlessly through all levels of UEF systems
Design and update UEF MEL Framework manuals, capturing MEL Processes through multiple systems, as well as roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders
Responsible for overall quality and accuracy of UEF MEL data and evidence across all systems and tools
Work with the UEF Team and support the UEF Programme Manager in capturing learnings throughout the programme cycle for internal discussion, course correction and donor reporting, as well as sharing these learnings with the SEforALL MEL Team and All Staff for continuous organizational learning loops
Support UEF programme staff and external partners where necessary in their data collection activities by further developing and testing monitoring tools, supporting these teams in applying these tools to collect and manage appropriate data and evidence for reporting to the UEF through Odyssey, internally, and to donors.
Support quantitative and qualitative data analysis.
Report to the SEforALL Head of MEL on all MEL related development for the UEF to ensure mutual agreement and cohesive integration with the rest of the organization
Support new projects, from a MEL perspective, within the organization relevant to the scale up of the UEF, acting as the key contact for the UEF and its business requirements such as Salesforce add-ons and new workflow management systems
Ensure knowledge management systems are kept up to date for all UEF related MEL and donor reporting documentation, including Salesforce and SharePoint
Support evaluations of the UEF in collaboration with the UEF Programme Manager, UEF Core Team, and SEforALL’s MEL Team
Guide the UEF team in incorporating the evaluation findings and recommendation (in collaboration with SEforALL MEL Team) where applicable to ensure the UEF is improving its operations and is on track to achieve its intended impact.

Specific Competencies for the Role

Master’s degree in public policy, international relations, economics, business administration, sustainable development, international development, energy, or a closely related field.
A minimum of 5 years’ experience in Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning in an international organization, specifically including quantitative and qualitative data analysis and synthesis across international programmes, or relevant equivalent experience considered
A minimum 5 year’s experience in support of Programme Management in an international organization, including support of grant management to project developers in Africa or Asia, or relevant equivalent experience considered
Demonstrated experience working within workflow management systems, including the capturing of data throughout different steps of the process from different roles participating in that system
Demonstrated experience supporting the design and implementation of MEL Strategies and Frameworks across international development programmes
Experience in the energy access sector, preferably mini-grids and solar home systems and/or experience in climate and environment is considered a strong advantage
Experience in energy financing models, including results-based financing, with particular emphasis in developing countries considered a strong asset
Experience in operating across multiple time zones and with distributed teams
Working experience in Sub-Saharan Africa is considered a strong advantage
Demonstrated experience in Project Management, having managed projects with increasing responsibility for at least 5 years, or relevant equivalent experience considered
Strong IT skills including Outlook, Word, Excel (including reports/macros/graphs, advanced formulas and pivot tables) and Power Point.
Demonstrated experience in using MS PPT to covey complex information to a general audience
Demonstrated ability to conduct research in MEL practices and tools; specific experience applying this to the energy sector an asset
Professional level command of written and spoken English in report writing for both general and executive audiences. Fluency in French is considered highly desirable
Prior experience working within the UN-system, international organizations and with broad partnerships is highly desirable as is experience working with energy sector stakeholders
Ability to perform under pressure in a fast-paced environment and demonstrated ability to prioritize in an ever-changing environment that requires high flexibility and a commitment to high quality results
Demonstrated experience in translating highly complex issues across multiple systems into straight forward and actionable plans to complete a task
It is imperative the incumbent has high emotional intelligence and is able to work well with a diverse and distributed team, and prioritizes integrity, respect and a positive team oriented environment

General Competences for the Role:

Innovation and Adaptability: Has proficient skills and commitment to search for and produce innovative and creative approaches to activities. Is flexible to evolving circumstances, as well as helps others in doing so.
Resilience and Emotional Intelligence: Has proficient knowledge in the concepts of resilience and emotional intelligence. Is able to remain calm in challenging situations, to cope with setbacks, is responsive to the emotions of others and maintains a high level of performance.
Analytical and Strategic Thinking: Has a proficient level of analytical and strategic thinking skills. Gathers and processes demanding information, develops innovative solutions and contributes by representing topics/approaches in internal working groups/teams.
Collaboration and Partnership: Demonstrates proficient initiative and abilities to collaborate and partner with others in own are, and across teams. Identifies, develops, builds and actively promotes partnerships and collaboration, maintaining long-lasting partnerships.
Displays team-oriented attitude contributing to creating a positive team spirit.
Lead and Empower: Demonstrates initiative and role model behaviour in leading and empowering others. Takes responsibility for own work activities and personal actions and carries out the commitments agreed upon
Political and diplomatic understanding: Has a proficient level of political and diplomatic understanding.
Communicating information: Has expert skills in communicating information and uses the skills effectively in own scope of work and in others’ work.
Research and Analytics: Has proficient skills in research and analytics and uses the skills effectively in own scope of work.
Project Management: Has proficient skills in project management – plans and organises their own work using project management approaches in support of achieving the team’s objectives.
Client Orientation / Striving for Excellence: Has proficient skills in client orientation and achieving excellency in work delivery.

Our Values – please refer to our core values as defined here: https://www.seforall.org/who-we-are/staff/our-values.

Additional Considerations

SEforALL offers exciting high-impact assignments, a collegial and creative work environment, and the opportunity for committed professionals to thrive and grow within flat hierarchies and in the pursuit of an inspiring mission.
SEforALL provides competitive compensation packages at its locations in Vienna, Washington DC and New York City, and flexibility and result orientated modern workplace arrangements.
Qualified female candidates and candidates from developing countries are strongly encouraged to apply.
Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
SEforALL reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a level below the advertised level of the post.

Apply Here!

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MEL Specialist, Universal Energy Facility, SEforALL

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