Technical Expert: Energy Transition (M/W) At Expertise France

Mission description

Reporting to the Programme Director based at EF headquarters in Paris, the Energy Transition Technical Expert will ensure the implementation of technical activities related to the Energy component of the “Thematic OCT” programme across the 25 Overseas Countries and Territories which are the focus of this programme.

To achieve this, the Technical Expert will work in conjunction with the programme team, which includes:

• A “headquarters” based coordination unit located in Paris (Programme Director, Administration and Finance Manager, Project Manager, Project Assistant, etc.)
• Three Regional “field” coordinators based in 1) the Caribbean, 2) the Pacific, and in 3) Paris.
• Other thematic experts focusing on the program’s priority themes and issues (Resilience, Monitoring & Evaluation and Communications & Visibility), all based in Paris.

The Energy Transition Technical Expert will be responsible for the successful implementation of activities related to efforts to catalyse and promote a lasting and effective transition towards a Low Carbon Energy Economy across the OCTs covered by the programme, including the following tasks (non-exhaustive list):

• Technical Expertise: Production and Consulting

The Energy Transition Technical Expert will be responsible for the Programme’s strategy(ies) related to this theme as well as for any associated technical production. In particular, she/he will:

• Promote, facilitate, and guide Energy Transition related topics, both strategic and operational, within the team and with the Programme’s external partners and beneficiaries;
• Likely to be called upon to act as an in-house Technical Advisor to the Programme Director in the field of Energy Transition;
• Participate in capacity building activities for project beneficiaries on Energy Transition related topics;
• Produce and/or supervise all of the Programme’s technical production in the field of Energy Transition and provide the appropriate quality control;
• Ensure the coherence of the Energy Transition actions with the other components of the Programme and the inter-OCT dialogue on this theme;
• Perform a dynamic monitoring of the Energy Transition components in the geographies of the programme, produce strategic sectoral and geographical analyses, identify opportunities to develop activities for the programme, carry out and systematically update the mapping of relevant stakeholders at local, regional and international levels;
• Organize and participate in bilateral and multilateral workshops on Energy Transition related topics with the OCT partners / beneficiaries of the Programme;
• Identify the support needs/requirements of partners related to these topics and co-construct an adapted, realistic, and implementable activity plan;
• Identify and supervise the relevant short-term expertise (technical experts) required for the Programme on the theme;
• Ensure the technical reporting of the Programme on the topics related to Energy Transition;
• Support the preparation and presentation of project results, capitalization and dissemination of knowledge on the Energy Transition components.
• Thematic Project Management

The OCT Programme has funds dedicated to the implementation of pilot projects to be implemented by and for the benefit of the beneficiary OCTs. In this framework, the Technical Expert Energy Transition will:

• Carry out the needs and gaps assessment(s) with the beneficiary OCTs in order to identify and develop adapted pilot projects that might be implemented as part of the Programme;
• Supervise the implementation of the pilot projects, as well as their evaluation during and after completion;
• Facilitate the sharing of best-practices and the dissemination of information among the pilot project implementers and thus the programme beneficiaries

This job description is not exhaustive. In general, the Energy Transition Technical Expert is the guarantor of the achievement of the contractual objectives of the programme related to the Energy Transition theme and will have to carry out any and all activities necessary for the proper execution and ultimate success of the programme.

Project or context description

In accordance with the commitments of the European Union with its Overseas Countries and Territories, and those of the United Kingdom, and in particular the Overseas Association Decision (OAD) and the 2015-2020 strategy of the Overseas Countries and Territories Association (OCTA), the Thematic Programme is dedicated to the 25 European and British Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs). The Programme aims to contribute to the sustainable economic, social and environmental development of these countries and territories. Two specific objectives are targeted, namely: (i) strengthening the resilience of European and British OCTs to climate change and the COVID-19 health crisis; (ii) supporting their transition towards a low-carbon energy economy. This 17.8 million euro program is implemented by Expertise France (EF) and will last 68 months.

The main beneficiaries are the 25 European and British OCTs, including their governments, national, regional and local authorities, the private sector, civil society actors and citizens.

The concerned OCTs include the following:

– Aruba, Bonaire, Curação, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten

– Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Montserrat, Pitcairn, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, St Helena, Ascension Island, Tristan da Cunha, Turks and Caicos Islands

– French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Territories, New Caledonia and Dependencies, Wallis and Futuna Islands, Saint Barthélemy and Saint Pierre and Miquelon

– and Greenland.

The expected results of the action are described below:

• Strengthen the OCTs’ capacity to respond to the COVID-19 health crisis;
• Strengthen the OCTs’ capacity to carry out climate change (CC) risk assessments and disaster risk reduction (DRR);
• Identify and implement integrated and sustainable management practices in the OCTs for land, coastal and marine resources, as well as water management and security;
• Contribute to improving the OCTs’ knowledge on energy management and storage technologies and models;
• Contribute to building capacity, tools and knowledge in the OCTs to facilitate the development, financing and deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency programmes;
• Contribute to the implementation of effective energy management strategies in the OCTs.

A consultation/cooperation phase with partners and beneficiaries is foreseen in order to identify and better define precise needs and refine the programme strategy. Particular attention will be paid to the upstream involvement of all relevant stakeholders (beneficiaries, civil society, local population, financing institutions, etc.), in order to ensure a participatory management of the programme, from its conception to its closure. In addition, encouraging ownership of the programme by the beneficiaries, through iterative and progressive learning, will also be a major indicator of the programme’s success.

Required profile

Skills required

• Master’s degree in a relevant discipline (Engineering, Economics, Environment, etc.),
• Strong ability to adapt and work in a demanding context and in a multicultural environment,
• Supervision and coordination of technical service providers,
• Ability to lead technical exchanges to develop operational solutions,
• Perfect command of office automation tools,
• Excellent command of English and French, both written and spoken, is essential.

Professional experience

• At least 10 years of experience in international cooperation in the field of Energy Transition (institutional dialogue, capacity building, workshop facilitation, consulting, technical studies…)
• Strong field experience in the energy sectors in island environments, particularly in the Overseas Countries and Territories of the European Union and the UK,
• Knowledge of international cooperation projects supported by and with EU funding is desired.