Solar for Health Project officer

Contract

This is a UNV International Specialist contract. This kind of contract is known as International UN Volunteer. It is normally internationally recruited only. More about UNV International Specialist contracts.

Solar for Health Programme: Enabling the provision of sustainable low-carbon energy services to public health facilities in Sub-Saharan Africa

The proposed programme will have three interrelated outputs: (1) Design and implementation of Performance-Based Payment (PBP) models for solar PV solutions to provide clean, affordable and reliable energy services to health facilities; (2) Strengthening policy and regulatory environment to enable off-grid energy solutions for health facilities; and (3) Establishment of a Regional Knowledge Platform on Climate Change and Health.

In this context, UNDP is seeking a technical international UNV for the Solar for Health Programme. The UNV is required to (i) provide technical inputs and coordinate data collection to contribute to tailoring the regional programme design to the specific country needs, (ii) coordinate stakeholder consultations/working group to ensure the relevant stakeholders and decision-makers are kept up-to-date about the programme development and seek their inputs; and (iii) support the UNDP global and country team in the formulation of the GCF programme concept note in line with UNDP guidance. UNDP will mobilize a team to support the preparation of the concept note package, including Global Technical Advisor on Energy and Finance, Technical Specialist for Climate Change, (international) Technical Expert for Solar for Health Energy Programme Formulation, Gender Specialist, Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialist, Financial and Economic Modeling Specialist, and other consultants and UNDP staff members, with which the UNV is expected to collaborate to ensure different elements of the programme design are reflected in the concept note. S/he will report to UNDP Country Office project coordinator on the Solar for Health project in Namibia, with second reporting to the Head of Programmes.

The main objective of the assignment is to review and analyse technical and policy documents related to the deployment of solar energy solutions for health facilities in Namibia; coordinate data collection at the national level to feed into the development of the Solar for Health programme; organise and closely coordinate stakeholder engagement and ensure their validation of the programme design prior to submission of the documentation to GCF as per the Country Office guidance, and (1) produce a stakeholder engagement report and minutes from all working group sessions; and a stakeholder engagement plan for the preparation of the full funding proposal as well as the implementation of the programme in Namibia (2) provide technical inputs for the elaboration of the project preparation facility request, concept note, pre-feasibility study and/or other documents for the respective country, as per the guidance from UNDP country office. The UNV is required to work in coordination with other relevant experts to prepare all the documents that fully meet GCF investment criteria, in line with UNDP accreditation (as per UNDP guidance).

The UNVs main responsibilities are as follows:

Stakeholder engagement 1. Identify relevant stakeholders for the Solar for Health Programme and coordinate their engagement needed for the successful design and implementation of the programme in the country in a close collaboration with UNDP country office; 2. Organise, coordinate and convene working group sessions (online or in-person, as the the COVID-19nsituation allows) to enable exchange on the programme development, buy-in and validation by the stakeholders at the national level; 3. Take minutes from each working group meeting, ensuring circulation to the relevant stakeholders after each meetings; 4. Draft detailed stakeholder engagement report, summarizing all working group sessions and key decisions and outcomes; 5. Prepare stakeholder engagement plan for the preparation of the full funding proposal as well as the implementation of the programme in the country, building on the lessons learned from the initial working group sessions, including actors from the private sector, energy service providers, utility company/ies different types of public health facilities that might be targeted by this programme, civil societies (including those representing women, youth), government (ministry of health, energy, finance, rural energy agency and other as applicable) and others; 6. Initiate and manage communication with the country stakeholders on the programme matters, including with the GCF national designated authority, as per the guidance from UNDP country office or other UNDP staff; 7. Map out the roles and responsibilities of the different government and other stakeholders to manage the budget for and the provision of energy services to health facilities in the country; 8. Identification of potential donors/partners, outreach and sensitization of stakeholders/presentation of the programme to potential donors/partners under the guidance from UNDP country office and mapping out/capturing potential co-financing opportunities and other types of collaborations from the donor consultations.

Provide and coordinate technical inputs for the development of the programme 1. Conduct and coordinate technical analysis, review of existing documentation in dialogue with UNDP and experts on the topics related to the deployment of solar energy solutions for health facilities, including undertaking an options analysis, collecting and compiling country specific data and information on the existing health and solar energy activities, availability, supply and demand of the targeted populations and year-round solar energy solutions for the targeted sites as per the UNDP staff guidance; 2. Draft the implementation arrangements (in a form of a diagram) for the programme implementation specifically in the targeted country, outlining the (legal) relations between all involved relations and the fund flow; 3. Compile and refine relevant project documentation, as per the guidance from UNDP staff; 4. Ensure that the design of project concept takes into account GCF investment criteria at the country level such as impact potential; paradigm shift potential; sustainable development potential; country needs; country ownership and cost-effectiveness; 5. Ensure that all documentation prepared at the country level is evidence-based and has all the necessary references to establish proof of concept and feasibility; 6. Ensure environmental and social safeguard principles and gender mainstreaming elements are considered 7. Support organisation of missions/site visits for experts, if applicable.

Accountability Adaptability and Flexibility Building Trust Client Orientation Commitment and Motivation Commitment to Continuous Learning Communication Empowering Others Integrity Judgement and Decision-making Knowledge Sharing Leadership Planning and Organizing Professionalism Respect for Diversity Self-Management Working in Teams

Minimum 3 years of work experience in renewable energy, health sector and research activities.  Minimum 3 years of experiences in project development and technical analysis in the field of renewable energy (especially solar energy).  Proven experience working with international organizations, and/or development financial institutions in the development of renewable energy and/or health programmes (beneficial).  Proven experience in stakeholder engagement processes.  Excellent written communication skills, with analytic capacity and ability to synthesize relevant collected data and findings.  Excellent understanding of the renewable energy market and developments in the country.

The International Volunteer Officer will be based in Windhoek, the capital city of the Republic of Namibia. The city has a population of about 250 305 and is cosmopolitan in nature, consisting of people of all walks of life. It is relatively safe, very peaceful and has a good and easily accessible transport and communication network systems. There is ample access to various social amenities and the standard of living is very close to that of Europe. The climate is pleasant with a mild winter from May to August and a hot summer (high temperature but very low humidity) from September to April. Windhoek is classified as an A duty station. Support is generally provided to help find accommodation nearby the office.