Energy Transaction Advisor - Côte d’Ivoire

Tetra Tech is Leading with Science® to implement clean energy projects and policies that advance global climate and decarbonization goals. We advise national energy transition initiatives and structure finance to deploy clean energy solutions. We help create sustainable utilities and modern power grids. We promote equality and inclusivity in the global energy sector. We improve lives and livelihoods in the biggest cities and smallest villages, and at the intersection of energy-health and energy-water-food.

Project Summary 

Tetra Tech is implementing the five-year, USAID-funded Power Africa Empower West Africa Program. Building on a decade of Power Africa success, Empower West Africa aims to close the energy poverty gap in the region by increasing supply of and access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable electricity. By 2029, Empower West Africa aims to establish six million new electricity connections; reach financial close for 2,500 megawatts of new generation capacity; construct 1,500 kilometers of new power lines; and achieve sales of 40,000 productive use of energy (PUE) devices.

Position Summary 

Tetra Tech is seeking to recruit an Energy Transaction Advisor to be embedded within the African Development Bank (AfDB). The candidate will provide transaction advisory support services to AfDB and strengthen the relationship between AfDB and the Power Africa team. The position will report directly to the AfDB but will be a seconded hire of USAID Power Africa. 

The Energy Transaction Advisor will play a pivotal role in project development and implementation under the Desert-to-Power (DtP) initiative, the Mission 300 (M300) initiative, and other activities addressing West Africa's energy poverty. (S)he will work closely with the DtP/M300 task force within AfDB’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Department and will be based at the AfDB headquarters in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, with travel as required.

Position Responsibilities

The scope of the assignment will include BUT not be limited to the following:

• Project and financial structuring for independent power producers and public-private-partnership arrangements in DtP and M300 countries.
• Support the regional member countries (RMCs) and task managers in identifying and developing opportunities for sovereign and non-sovereign operations: assist in preparing and participating in appraisal missions to collect and analyze all necessary economic, financial, legal, market, and technical information/data required to evaluate potential energy projects for Sahel G5 countries, M300, and other DtP beneficiary countries across the Sahel region.
• Liaise with other development partners to identify opportunities for co-financing and other partnerships.
• Participate in developing strategies, policies, procedures, papers, briefs, and reports on financing energy projects.
• Provide transaction advisory support services to increase investment and mitigate project risk in the DtP target countries.
• Conduct investor outreach and education, identifying strategic new private sector (and other) potential partners to contribute to DtP and M300 objectives.
• Enhance overall collaboration with the AfDB in furtherance of Power Africa’s energy generation and access goals.
• Collaborate with Empower West Africa’s leads and advisors to provide targeted transaction advisory assistance to relevant private sector actors (including but not limited to developers, sponsors, suppliers, and investors) to help enable and/or accelerate projects deemed priorities for DtP or M300 to advance them toward financial close. 
• Provide technical assistance to African governments to advance key transactions in areas such as project finance, legal and/or regulatory services, tariff reform, utility viability, energy sector planning, and institutional capacity building. 
• Lead upstream works such as the preparation (draft) terms of reference, requests for proposals, and tender documents to procure goods and/or services in line with the Bank’s procurement rules.
• Review the various proposals and communications sent to the Bank by its partners, clients, and RMCs, and take appropriate action, including issuing technical opinions on government submissions to the Bank, drafting responses and/or reports/presentations, and carrying out internal or external follow-up.
• Assist RMCs in negotiating power purchase agreements, concession agreements, and any other contractual arrangement between the RMCs and independent power producers.
• Assist the Bank to coordinate M300 projects led by the World Bank or other partners.
• Develop and submit monthly, quarterly, and annual reports and maintain project records in the Power Africa Tracking Tool.
• Undertake any other technical tasks the task force management or Bank management may assign.