Senior Project Development and Construction Engineer - Mini-Grids at CrossBoundary Energy (CBE)

CrossBoundary Energy (CBE) is the leading provider of clean, renewable, reliable, and affordable electricity directly to businesses. According to World Bank data, access to reliable and affordable electricity is the most significant constraint on economic growth on the continent. CBE addresses this challenge by providing corporates with fully financed renewable power. Through this approach, we are building a disruptive, distributed, renewable utility that can unlock sustainable growth.

We are already making rapid progress towards our vision. CBE is currently delivering a portfolio of over $200M of solar, wind, and storage projects for businesses across Africa. Our clients include Actis, Diageo, Heineken, Rio Tinto, Syrah Resources, Unilever, and other leading regional companies.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Senior Project Development and Construction Engineer - Mini-Grids

Location: Lagos
Employment: Type Full-Time

Job Description 

• We are recruiting a full-time Senior Project Development and Construction Engineer.
• The Senior Project Development and Construction Engineer will be a core part of CBEA’s growing in-house technical team. CBEA has contracted multiple mini-grid developers to develop and build mini-grids on its behalf in Nigeria (Developer Partners).
• The Senior Project  Engineer will provide technical oversight and supervision to CBEA’s Developer Partners as they work to bring CBEA’s projects to commissioning, and serve as CBEA’s on-the-ground representative to Developer Partners and other stakeholders in Nigeria.
• The role will include, but not be limited to, ensuring mini-grids are built in line with CBEA standards and existing project development and EPC agreements, validation of engineering designs, oversight of construction works progress, and confirmation of acceptance tests.
• The successful candidate will need to demonstrate an ability to use sound judgement to make decisions about assets being built in a challenging environment. 
• We are seeking a highly motivated candidate with previous experience in implementing and overseeing projects through engineering, procurement, and construction phases.
• Experience in developing countries and particularly Africa will be regarded extremely favorably.
• The selected candidate will report to the Senior Technical Manager.
• The role will be remote (based in Nigeria) from the rest of the team (based in Nairobi) and will require frequent travel. Qualifications in engineering are required. 
• CrossBoundary is not a development firm and is not seeking typical development skills – CBEA will look to you for practical insights on how to make discrete business decisions that will directly affect our financial outcomes.

Who You Are

• Self-starter who is passionate about creating lasting change in frontier markets
• Interest in or willingness to learn about mini-grids and the off-grid energy sector
• Belief that innovation is at the heart of finding solutions to the world’s biggest challenges
• Willingness to take on new types of work, even without prior experience or direct supervision
• Willingness to work and live in a sometimes-challenging environment
• Comfort with ambiguity and ability to make professional recommendations with limited guidance based on experience and on-site information

Primary Responsibilities
Development:

• Work closely with Developer Partners on mini-grid site selection. You will analyze site survey data for multiple sites and provide insights on productive use potential hence ensure the best sites are progressed
• Manage Developer Partners to ensure relevant permits, community commercial agreements and site exclusivities are secured on time
• Oversee project development milestones for multiple mini-grids projects, by regularly following up with the Developer Partners
• Arrange and lead stakeholder engagements and meetings to further project objectives
• Drive productive loads strategies to ensure developers have put in place measures to collect sufficient data at development phase and clear plans are in place to connect productive users.

Construction:

• Review and approve engineering designs for power generation plant and power distribution network to ensure developers comply with CBEA standards
• Track and monitor project activities and milestones at deployment phase i.e. procurement and construction and provide project management oversight
• Provide technical oversight at construction phase to ensure mini-grid sites are constructed as per CBEA standards
• Provide technical oversight on acceptance tests and start-up of operations at new mini-grid sites
• Apply CBEA’s HSES policies to development, construction operations and maintenance on our sites and help to develop safe operating practices and standards.

Qualifications
Required skills and qualifications: 

• Bachelor's Degree in a relevant Engineering field required; other advanced Degrees and project management courses will be regarded favorably
• 4+ years of experience in assessing, developing, implementing and managing energy projects or power systems engineering
• 2+ years’ work experience in solar PV mini-grids development, construction or maintenance with a top-tier firm
• Strong understanding of AC/DC Electrical Power Systems, Power Electronics, and/or Solar Energy
• Experience in quality assurance/supervision of solar PV systems and power distribution network designs, bill of materials, technical specifications, construction, testing and commissioning
• Experience in mini-grid site assessments including end-user surveys, demand assessment, productive use, etc
• Work experience or demonstrated familiarity with renewable energy systems, particularly solar PV installations or operating assets
• Proficient in data acquisition systems and monitoring systems
• Demonstrated ability to independently supervise multi-stakeholder projects 
• Clear and effective communicator across diverse audiences.

Ideal candidate will have the following skills and qualifications:

• Strong quantitative skills
• Familiar with mini-grids site assessments
• Excellent analytical ability and discipline; ability to think clearly, structure problems logically, and then design and implement solutions that focus on the core issues
• Ability to analyze large data in excel
• Ability to work with AutoCAD, GIS software, and data collection tools
• Ability to work in solar PV and microgrid design tools e.g. HOMER, PV Syst, Helioscope, etc
• Ability to build strong relationships with partners and colleagues in challenging environments
• Excellent presentation skills; ability to communicate clearly and effectively with diverse audiences
• Self-starter who is passionate about creating lasting change in frontier markets
• Comfort with ambiguity; ability to operate effectively in a changing context
• Willingness to work and live in a sometimes- challenging environment

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.