Green Energy Analyst

Contract

This is a IPSA-8 contract. This kind of contract is known as International Personnel Services Agreement. It is normally internationally recruited only. It usually requires 1 years of experience, depending on education. More about IPSA-8 contracts.

Background

Instructions to Applicants: Click on the "Apply now" button. Input your information in the appropriate Sections: personal information, language proficiency, education, resume and motivation. Upon completion of the first page, please hit "submit application" tab at the end of the page. Please ensure that CV or P11 and the Cover letter are combined in one file.

The following documents shall be required from the applicants:

Personal CV or P11, indicating all past positions held and their main underlying functions, their durations (month/year), the qualifications, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate, and at least three (3) the most recent professional references of previous supervisors. References may also include peers.

A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page) indicating why the candidate considers him-/herself to be suitable for the position.

Managers may ask (ad hoc) for any other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns or other materials.

Travel:

UNDP will cover the cost of travel of the individual to the duty station, as well as their return to their home upon completion of their services. Travel costs are covered only in the event that the function will be undertaken physically in the duty station and excludes working from home arrangements. During the assignment travel to Country offices may be requested on an ad hoc basis related with the project`s scope listed above.

Office/Unit/Project Description

The Information Technology Management (ITM) unit plays an active role in provision of Green Energy services to UNDP Country Offices and other external partners. The green energy services on offer have seen a persistently high demand from both within the organization and external to UNDP, including other UN agencies, NGOs, and government departments in countries with UNDP presence. Lately, there has been an expansion of services to cover energy efficiency, safe disposal of equipment, IoT, and e-Mobility.

The larger chunk of the green energy projects remains as the solar PV installations. These projects are implemented following a defined process to ensure consistency and meeting of required standards. The end-to-end process entails 7 distinct steps (see 7-Step Solar Solution Process), with the bulk of the effort for ITM engineers devoted to the first three steps. The seven steps of the process are briefly elaborated below:

Step 1: Energy Audit & Assessment using IoT – covers installation of IoT sensors, mainly the grid sensor and the Power Consumption Monitoring & Measurement (PCMM) equipment, and compilation of primary data through an online self-assessment survey, including uploading pictures;

Step 2: Business Case – entails analysis of collected data, running simulations to come up with suitable solution for a given site, and, eventually, building a business case based on the recommended solution. The business case entails information on approximate payback time, annual savings, CO2 reduction, and total cost of ownership in general. The business case is then presented for decision making by Country Office management;

Step 3: Procurement and Cost Proposal – entails conducting secondary bidding through an RfQ or RfP to the LTA holders, evaluation of quotations, and selection of technically suitable solution for a given site;

Step 4: Oversee Vendor Site Survey – coordinate the site survey in liaison with focal point on site and review site survey report for possible adjustments/improvements;

Step 5: Oversee Vendor Design – review technical design to ensure compliance with expected standards, as part of quality assurance;

Step 6: Oversee the Installation and Commissioning – continuous remote assessment of progress on the ground and review of documentation that forms part of commissioning;

Step 7: Long term Operation and Maintenance with the Local Partner – monitor the system, follow up on outstanding issues, and provide second tier helpdesk services.

Project scope is envisaged to cover above 100 offices across the organization and a number of other UN agencies, project offices, and host government departments.

Institutional Arrangement

• The candidate will be working with and directly reporting to the Global ICT Specialist;
• The Global ICT Advisor has the overall responsibility to guide Green Energy projects;
• Progress reporting will be done in both weekly and monthly team meetings.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

The contractor is required to play a significant role as directed by the supervisor and under the overall guidance of the Global ICT Advisor, in achieving the following tasks:

• Solar PV Implementation: provision of technical support to premises undergoing solar PV installations, as elaborated in the 7 steps of the implementation process (see Project Description above). This includes creating business cases (covering technical, financial and environmental aspects), providing initial system design, reviewing and evaluating solution proposals from vendors, exercising technical oversight and general project management, and User Acceptance Testing (UAT);
• Operations & Maintenance: regular monitoring of operational solar PV plants and proactive resolution of problems as may be reported by focal points or as may be detected from live monitoring of the systems. Play active role in production of bi-annual report for allocated installation(s), including spearheading implementation of identified efficiency improvements;
• Promoting Adoption of Green Energy: proactively identifying opportunities for implementation of solar PV systems and engaging with Country Offices, other UN agencies, humanitarian organisations and project offices. The scope of activities includes deployment of relevant IoT sensors to collect energy related data for drafting of a business case;
• Training and Presentations: conduct training sessions to Country Office staff and other players on internally developed training materials. This covers all pertinent aspects of each step in the deployment process (7-Step process);
• Energy Efficiency: play a lead role in creating business cases for energy efficiency measures in assigned offices, including providing technical expertise in implementation of the identified measures. The contractor will also play an active role in refining processes and procedures for effective support to Country Offices, in line with ISO9001 Quality Management System.

Competencies

UN CORE VALUES AND COMPETENCIES

Professionalism: Shows pride in work and achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.

Communication:Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; Listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; Asks questions to clarify and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; Tailors language, tone, style and format to match the audience; Demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.

Client Orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be "clients " and seeks to see things from clients' point of view; Establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; Identifies clients' needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; Monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients' environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; Keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; Meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

Required Skills and Experience

Min. Academic Education

• Masters Degree in Renewable Energy, Electrical, or Environmental Management Engineering; or Bachelors degree with additional 2 years of experience can be accepted in lieu of Master’s Degree.

Min. years of relevant Work experience

• 0 - 2 years of experience within solar PV field or similar.

Required skills and competencies

• Energy Efficiency: Knowledge of energy efficiency concepts and/or technologies and the ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations.
• Sustainable and Renewable Energy Options: Knowledge of sustainable consumption and production patterns and ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations.
• Operations & Maintenance : Ability to work with different online remote monitoring platforms from major inverter manufacturers to provide effective support to operational projects.
• Capacity Building: Provide remote and onsite training to focal points and other players involved in green energy projects in order to build technical capacity for first level support.
• Data Analysis: Ability to work with simulation software, compile and analyze technical and financial data, and produce initial system design and key figures for decision making.
• Knowledge Management: Ability to efficiently handle and share information and knowledge.
• Team Player: Ability work effectively in collective tasks and rally the team together for high quality output.
• Operational Efficiency: Ability to identify and execute opportunities to improve operational efficiency.
• Knowledge of hybrid solar PV systems is required;
• Knowledge of solar PV simulation software (e.g. PV*Sol) and modelling software (e.g. HOMER) is required.
• Experience in technical oversight for solar PV projects, in person or remotely through a third party, is required.

Desired additional skills and competencies

• Knowledge of UN environment will be an added advantage.

Required Language(s) (at working level)

• Proficiency in English. Working knowledge of other UN languages are desirable.