Job Description

• We are seeking a Chief of Party for the anticipated USAID-funded Empower Nigeria Activity. The purpose of the Empower Nigeria program is to increase the availability of and access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern electricity services in Nigeria.
• This program will connect more Nigerian homes, businesses, and institutions to electricity on the grid and beyond the grid; reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector by supporting cleaner electricity generation delivered by the grid and accelerating distributed renewable energy (DRE); and, working in partnership with the Government of Nigeria and other institutions to improve the enabling environment for energy sector investment (including climate finance) and innovation.

More concretely, Empower Nigeria will seek to advance the following objectives in Nigeria:

• On-grid Sector: To Improve the financial sustainability and flow of energy through the national electricity grid through targeted interventions in the distribution sector and to a secondary degree transmission systems. Given the binding constraint presented by the distribution sector’s insolvency and limited capacity, as well as the transmission sector’s capacity constraints, USAID/Power Africa envisages that Empower Nigeria’s on-grid interventions will focus initially on distribution and transmission, with generation interventions occurring more opportunistically in response to demand shifts.
• Off-grid: The off-grid sector expands and matures, particularly in peri-urban, rural zones and other areas with limited access to the national grid.
• The Chief of Party (COP) will supervise all programmatic activities and have overall responsibility for the successful performance of the team.
• The COP shall provide strategic leadership and bear primary responsibility for all requirements of the contract, ensuring that the key performance indicators, objectives, and deliverables are met.
• They will be responsible for ensuring compliance with USAID regulations, the contract, and Chemonics policies.
• The COP will be the official representative of the contractor and lead liaising with USAID and government officials, and forging alliances with a myriad of private sector entities, organizations, and stakeholders and as well as managing multiple offices.
• This position will be based in Nigeria. We are looking for individuals who have a passion for making a difference in the lives of people around the world.

Responsibilities

• Providing overall vision, management, and strategic leadership to the Activity.
• Identifying adjustments in scope and operations to ensure that the project adapts to changes in need and context.
• Supervising and empowering personnel.
• Establishing effective partnerships with other U.S. government agencies, African partners, development partners, non-governmental organizations, and a wide variety of other stakeholders.
• Effectively communicating in large public settings, as well as with senior government officials.
• Ensuring that managerial, administrative, and financial procedures comply with USAID policies and procedures.
• Supervise the technical leads, operations/grants managers, subcontractors, and short-term personnel.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree required, Master’s Degree preferred.
• Minimum ten (10) years of management experience implementing energy activities on- and/or beyond-the-grid. Nigeria or West Africa work experience is preferred.
• Experience with, and proven ability to form collaborative relationships with intergovernmental, government representatives and other stakeholders.
• A minimum of five (5) years of team supervisory experience, including demonstrated ability to motivate and lead a dynamic team of professionals across large geographies.
• Prior experience effectively managing large, complex activities in the energy sector and achieving performance objectives preferred.
• Prior experience leading USAID/Power Africa programs strongly preferred.