Programme Description

The USAID West Africa Energy Program (WAEP) works to expand supply of and access to affordable and reliable grid-connected electricity services in West Africa through a range of technical assistance, capacity building, and transactional support to advance Power Africa’s objective in the West Africa region.

WAEP will implement targeted interventions to achieve the following three outcomes:

• Increase the supply of power in Ghana/West Africa
• Enable expanded end-user connection to the grid
• Improve the technical and institutional capacity and performance of select national utilities, and other relevant national power sector entities

Job Description

The Geospatial Modelling Specialist will work with OC 2 Lead to use the USAID Southern Africa Energy Program’s (SAEP) geospatial model or any other suitable model to develop a least-cost geo-referenced strategy for reaching universal access to electricity in Ghana.

General Functions of the Position

The Employee shall perform the following general functions:

• Effectively inspire, lead, manage, and ensure the day-to-day personal performance of all staff under the Employee’s supervision in compliance with the Project Work Plan and the Project administrative and policy manual;
• Lead the development and implementation of the Project’s technical efforts on CLIN 2 (Ghana) Programs.
• Effectively liaise with the CLIN 2 technical teams, cross-cutting team and divisions of USAID on all aspects of the Project Work Plan implementation;
• Conduct all business in a manner that respects local culture;
• Maintain high ethical standards at all times, avoiding any actual or perceived conflicts of interest;
• Abide by all local laws, USAID regulations, and US Embassy/USAID project directives, whether written or verbal; and
• Perform all tasks as may be assigned by the Chief of Party or his/her designee as may be required to contribute to the achievement of Project goals and objectives.

Specific Tasks Applicable to the Position

As directed by the Chief of Party or his/her designee, the Employee shall perform, oversee, and support the performance of the following specific tasks:

• Review and select the USAID SAEP Geospatial model or any other suitable model for the development of a least-cost investment plan for two Service Centres of NEDCo
• Work with OC 2 Lead and NEDCo to identify and select unelectrified communities and obtain the relevant GIS maps of the distribution infrastructure within the two Service Centres.
• Lead efforts to define the unelectrified communities and associated characteristics for the electrification planning with the geospatial model.
• Review data collection template and gather the relevant geospatial and socio – economic data for the geospatial model.
• Identify PUE opportunities in the unelectrified communities and assess PUE impact on least-cost electrification planning using the geospatial model.
• Perform test runs with stakeholders (MoEn, NEDCo, ECG and other relevant stakeholders) to identify data inaccuracies and make the necessary enhancements.
• Lead efforts in the development of the Least-Cost Investment plan for the selected unelectrified communities within the two Service Areas of NEDCo as a pilot.
• Provide capacity building to MoEn, NEDCo, ECG and selected stakeholders in the use of the selected geospatial model for electrification planning
• Work with the OC 2 Lead and MoEn to develop a least-cost geo-referenced investment plan to achieve universal energy access in Ghana through extension of the national electricity grid and distinct technologies for off-grid energy system.

Qualification Required & Experience

• Possess a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Engineering, IT, Geography or related program
• Minimum of 6 years’ cognate experience in electrification planning using any geospatial-modelling tool.
• Prior experience in working within Sub - Sahara Africa
• Previous experience with USAID and Power Africa preferred, and/or with donor agency programs
• Strong data analytic skills in MS Excel
• Excellent attention to details

Location: Accra

How To Apply For The Job

To submit your application, click on the link below and complete all relevant fields on the online application form.

Click Here To Apply Online

Closing Date: 22 October, 2020