Regional Energy Policy Advisor at Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)

The Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (German Agency for International Cooperation) is an international enterprise owned by the German Federal government, operating in many fields across more than 130 countries.

In Nigeria, GIZ's portfolio includes among others, a programme to support the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in its regional integration goals. The programme aims to strengthen sector-specific capacities in the areas of Peace and Security, Customs and Trade as weir as Strategic Management and Organizational Development in the ECOWAS Commission.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Regional Energy Policy Advisor

Vacancy Announcement: 014
Location: Abuja (FCT)

Background
GIZ. Solutions that work.

• As a service provider in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development and international education work, we are dedicated to shaping a future worth living around the world. GIZ has over 50 years of experience in a wide variety of areas, including economic development and employment promotion, energy and the environment, and peace and security.
• The diverse expertise of our federal enterprise is in demand around the globe – from the German Government, European Union institutions, the United Nations, the private sector, and governments of other countries. We work with businesses, civil society actors and research institutions, fostering successful interaction between development policy and other policy fields and areas of activity. Our main commissioning party is the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
• The registered offices of GIZ are in Bonn and Eschborn. Our approximately 23,500 employees, almost 70 percent of whom are national personnel, work in around 120 countries (July 2020) GIZ has worked in Nigeria since 1974. Since 2004, GIZ has maintained a country office in the capital city Abuja. Currently 466 national and 63 international employees, 37 regional staff, 4 integrated specialists and 3 development workers are working in the country (January 2025).

The Project
Promoting a climate-friendly electricity market in West Africa (ProCEM):

• The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) aims tooperationalise a regional electricity market and promote renewable energies. A common electricity market allows cross-border electricity trading. This improves the quality of the energy supply, reduces costs and lowers investment risks.
• Despite significant improvements, only limited amounts of electricity have so far been traded across borders. The energy sector is poorly equipped for electricity trading due to structural deficits, economic weaknesses, and a lack of operational performance capacity. The institutional, technical, legal and regulatory conditions for a climate friendly regional electricity market are still insufficient.
• The institutional, technical, legal and regulatory conditions for the energy sector in the ECOWAS member states have improved and facilitate a functioning, climate-friendly regional electricity market.
• The project supports the partners in operationalising the regional electricity market. The aim is to improve the operational performance capacity of the electricity utilities to facilitate participation in theelectricity market.
• Moreover, the project is developing tools – based on internationalstandards – that optimise the technical, legal and regulatoryconditions for the expansion of regenerative power plants and grid connected battery energy storage systems.
• The project enables experts from regional training providers todevelop practical and solution-oriented training courses for energystakeholders through systematic capacity development. A particularemphasis is on digital and gender-responsive implementation.
• The project is run in cooperation with the consulting firms EstudiosEnergeticos Consultores S.A., ARGE GFA Consulting Group GmbHand ARGE INTEGRATION Umwelt and Energie GmbH.

Responsibilities and Tasks
You support the implementation of Output 1:

• The national actionplans of ECOWAS countries for implementing regional energy policy are being effectively developed, implemented and monitored.

In this capacity, you are responsible for carrying out the following tasks:

• Draw up the national action plans and support theirimplementation.
• Organize a consultation workshop on energy policy withECOWAS member states.
• Support activities related to transposition and adaptation of regional energy policy into national action plans.
• Prepare a monitoring and evaluation framework that can assistECOWAS for implementation monitoring of the energy policy.
• Provide guidance on methodology and technical support toECOWAS Commission.
• Contribute to project monitoring and evaluation and to thepreparation of project reports and gather useful information for activities, missions, study trips, meetings, etc.Vacancy 
• Ensure the integration of gender aspects into the variousproject activities.
• Support the capitalisation of experiences and ensure that theproject's achievements are considered in sectoral policies and strategies.

Required qualifications, Competences and Experience
Qualifications:

• Master's in Public Policy, Energy Economics, Energy Law, International Relations or any related field.

Professional Experience:

• At least 15 years of professional experience in the field of theEnergy information System.
• At least 10 years of professional experience support to anECOWAS institution.
• At least 5 years in the development and implementation ofenergy policy.
• Proven experience in supporting public and private institutionsin ECOWAS member states.
• Very good understanding of the institutional framework ofpolicies, strategies and plans in the energy sector within theECOWAS region.
• Relevant experience in capitalisation and knowledgemanagement.
• Very good knowledge of the Internet, Microsoft Office (Word,Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, Access, Outlook), MS Teams.
• Fluency in spoken and written French is mandatory(international level C2). Independent and proficient use ofEnglish (at least international level C1).
• Experience working with international development cooperation organisations (experience with GIZ would be anadvantage).

Salary
According to GIZ salary scale for Band 4.

Application Closing Date
27th February, 2026.