Senior Associate, Interconnected Minigrids at Husk Power Energy Systems Nigeria Limited

Husk Power Energy Systems Nigeria Limited is an alternative energy provider that strives to bring electric power to underserved rural villages and create self-sustaining ecosystems that spur further growth and economic development. HPS’s innovative bio-energy and solar solutions have reached over 200,000 consumers across North India and Africa, and HPS has an ambition to touch more than 10 million lives over the next five years. They want you to be part of this growth story.

We are recruiting suitable candidates to fill the position below:

Job Title: Senior Associate, Interconnected Minigrids

Location: Abuja
Job type: Full time

Role Summary

• We are seeking a Senior Associate, Interconnected Minigrids to join the Stakeholder Engagement team in Nigeria towards achieving its targets. This individual will play an integral role in coordinating all engagement towards the deployment of Husk’s Interconnected Minigrids (IMG) portfolio and directly support this across many levels of stakeholders including Distribution Companies (DisCos), regulatory agencies, representatives of underserved communities as well as other relevant industry related stakeholders.
• You will also be responsible for internal stakeholder management including coordinating the technical design review and energy audit processes and documentation. We are looking for someone with experience in engineering system design, community energy audit, stakeholder management and engagement, preparation of proposals, on-ground business development and liaison affairs.
• We require someone who is dexterous in multitasking with an astute ability to pay attention to detail. The individual must have a measure of technical competency in using a range of design and planning software relevant to the renewable energy sector and must be passionate about contributing to solving one of Nigeria’s most critical challenges – the energy access deficit. This position provides the opportunity to join a growing team that is changing the face of rural electrification in India and Nigeria. 

Key Responsibilities
General:

• Play a key part as a member of the Stakeholder Engagement Team and contribute to the building of robust and critical relationships pertinent to the successful rollout of interconnected mini-grids in the country.
• Work with internal cross-functional teams towards the IMG site deployment phase and relevant program submission engagements.
• Support information and data gathering for market intelligence insights within and around proposed IMG deployment locations.
• Other duties may be assigned from time to time.

DisCo Engagement:

• Assist with managing relevant industry relationships with DisCos and other relevant partners to ensure Husk Nigeria attains a leadership position in IMG deployment within Nigeria.
• Assist with managing all DisCo-related conversations across structuring blended tariffs using the MYTO tool, assessment of the integrity of Disco infrastructure, tripartite agreement signing as well as onboarding of previous customer records from the relevant DisCo.
• Maintain a repository of data across all DisCo engagements and related community engagement as well as business proposals and presentations made to DisCos and relevant authorities. 
• Maintain active relationships with key technical and commercial staff of the prospected Discos.

Stakeholder Management:

• Coordinate, maintain regular communication, and develop positive and productive relationships with various community groups/stakeholders, regulatory stakeholders, customer/client groups etc.
• Maintain effective relationships with all regulatory stakeholders – NERC, NEMSA, REA, NEP, Ministry of Power, Ministry of Environment & other principal actors across several states where Husk operates.
• Maintain an active database of all public sector stakeholders (including political appointees and key civil servants).

Program Management:

• Coordinate with internal stakeholders on system design review and energy audit requirements for proposed IMG deployments.
• Coordinate with all internal stakeholders for the collation of documents etc for relevant program submissions.
• Provide requisite support for engagements with external program teams including qualitative analysis, collecting and analyzing survey data, and conducting program-related research.

Community Engagement:

• Drive active community engagements within selected IMG communities during the pre-development phase.
• Maintain an active database of the minutes and pictures of all community engagement meetings during the pre-development phase. 
• Ensure community reports are properly captured and documented.
• Maintain an active database of all key community stakeholders including the host communities’’ chiefs, graded traditional rulers, key palace functionaries, religious leaders etc

Performance Management:

• Maintain the performance monitoring dashboard for IMG status deployment and program submissions/engagements.
• Provide monthly status update reports using data visualization tools. 

Requirements
Does this sound like you? 

• Graduate from a leading institution with a Degree in Engineering preferably Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Engineering Physics or a related science degree. Relevant training or certifications; a plus.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in a similar role within the power or telecommunications sectors, supporting project delivery, program management and stakeholder engagement.
• Ability to ensure closure for tasks and engagements, based on business requirements.
• Excellent skills with MS Office.
• Proficiency in Power System Design software (Homer Pro, Pvsyst etc).
• Proficiency in Data Visualization tools (Power BI, Tableau).
• Superb interpersonal skills, including the ability to quickly build rapport relevant to internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, multi-diverse environment coordinating with multiple stakeholders.

Also;

• You are driven to support the delivery of business growth in a new market.
• You have a robust industry network and understand effective stakeholder engagement practices.
• You are an effective planner and have a strong orientation to process.
• You building strong relationships built on trust and are a strong verbal communicator.
• You pride your communication skills.
• Most importantly, the candidate must fit a company spirit where people work smart, play hard, have fun and are dedicated to success.

General Skills & Attributes:

• Excellent knowledge of MS Office, Google Suite and other relevant tools
• Highly motivated and target driven with a proven track record in delivering tasks in a timely and effective manner.
• Excellent communication skills
• Highly numerate and analytical with an ability to make strategic inputs for driving and achieving business goals.
• Responsive with great time management and organizational skills
• Ability to create and deliver presentations tailored to the audience's needs.
• Relationship management skills and openness to feedback
• A Can-Do attitude with a knack for taking ownership of deliverables.

Physical Demands:

• Have a full range of mobility in the upper and lower body
• Could work in outdoor weather conditions at certain times
• Have adequate visual and hearing acuity to follow instructions, and determine the accuracy of the work assigned.
• Ability to work in rural, peri-urban locations as required.

Location and Travel

• This role is based in Abuja. Occasional travel to Husk’s Mini Grids in the rural areas of Nasarawa is required.
• The number of travelling days could be 2-3 days in 3 months. If a female employee is required to travel, she will be accompanied by another senior colleague and the Travel policy that highlights safety for female travellers will be strictly followed with zero tolerance to any security flags.

Application Closing Date
3rd June, 2023.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online