Expertise France recruits 01 Senior Expert in Solar Energy Projects

Expertise France recruits 01 Senior Expert in Solar Energy Projects

Technical assistance program to support the economic reforms in Ethiopia

Overall project

Expertise France is the French public agency for international technical assistance. It aims at contributing to sustainable development based on solidarity and inclusiveness, mainly through enhancing the quality of public policies within the partner countries. Expertise France designs and implements cooperation projects addressing skills transfers between professionals. The agency also develops integrated offers, assembling public and private expertise in order to respond to the partner countries’ needs.

At the request of the Federal and Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, a technical assistance program (TA program) has been designed to support the implementation of the Ethiopian second Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II), especially regarding the public-private partnership (PPP) reforms.

The TA program is financed by Agence Française de développement (AFD), the French public development bank.

The TA Program is composed of the following three (3) components:

• Component 1 – PPP program support;
• Component 2 Capacity development program on SOE governance;
• Component 3 – Contribution to the economic reforms

Component 1 – PPP program support

The Growth and Transformation Plan highlighted an infrastructure deficit in Ethiopia. Therefore, recommendations have been made to support, encourage and incentivize the private sector to play a role in infrastructures development. Recognizing the potential of such partnerships, the government has adopted a PPP Directive, a PPP Proclamation and a pipeline of PPP projects. This PPP legal framework establishes a PPP unit at the Ministry of Finance, also referred to as “Directorate General for PPP (DG for PPP)” to manage the PPP framework in the Country.

The pipeline of PPP projects focuses mainly on energy projects that will be contracted by Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP). EEP is a state-owned electricity producer in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. It is engaged in the development, investment, construction, operation, and management of power plants, power generation and power transmission. The company is the main player in the Ethiopian energy sector.

The PPP TA Program will be conducted by Expertise France who will mobilize a team of experts, respectively based at the PPPDG (Public-private Partnership Directorate General), and at EEP (Ethiopian Electric Power) and tentatively composed of:

• Embedded to the PPPDG: a senior PPP advisor and additional on-demand experts for short period of times.
• Embedded to Ethiopian Electricity Power: a senior expert in solar energy projects and additional on-demand experts for short period of times.

This document aims at describing the objective, scope of work, and required skills and experience of the senior expert in solar energy projects embedded to EEP.

Assignment

The selected expert will be required to provide its support to EEP in order to:

• Support EEP to prepare and implement solar energy projects: Facilitate the emergence of sustainable PPPs, for the ongoing projects, and contribute to the preparation of starting new projects.

• Reinforce EEP capacity and share best practices: Provide advice and methodological support, organize training sessions

1. Reinforce EEP capacities and share best practices

Capacity building is the process of optimizing individuals’ and institutions’ qualifications/ capacities. The selected expert shall promote the reinforcement of the EEP’ capacities on a long-term basis.

As a result, the selected expert shall involve EEP in all project activities and implement a « learning by doing » method. Indeed, the appropriation of knowledge by EEP is a pillar objective of our approach and will guide the entire implementation of the project.

The selected expert will be required to undertake the following tasks:

Provide advice and methodological support: The selected expert shall provide advice and disseminate knowledge through the organization of working group or individual sessions within EEP and/or the production of notes for EEP. In this scheme of action, the structure is supported on a daily basis by the selected expert, the availability of the assistance is permanent and the transmission of knowledge is done through an active pedagogy process in order to build skills in professionally realistic situations. In addition, the selected expert share its knowledge and work methods to enable EEP members to roll them out in autonomy.

• The action-learning training session is a process to foster learning by working on real topics and actually implementing solutions. Thus, the PPPDG members improve skills through exercises and training based on the current cases they might have to deal with, allowing them to go from theory to practice immediately. The selected expert shall demonstrate a great capacity of adaptation, flexibility and reactivity to match these training sessions to the EEP’ working plan.
• Regular training on pre-identified themes, teach recipients to deal with key subjects to be implemented for a successful PPP. As part of a global training plan, these training sessions aim at allowing the PPPDG to acquire a global 360° perspective on the subject and its issues. The selected expert will be required to implement the training plan and to organize training sessions to EEP and others identified ministries/structures.

2. Support EEP to prepare and implement solar energy projects

The selected expert will provide its support to EEP in a day-today basis implementing the learning by doing approach exposed at the previous point. The approach we favor is aimed at supporting the beneficiary both at a technical and an organizational level.

Based on EEP duties and responsibilities issued by the PPP proclamation and PPP Directive, the selected expert could be asked to implement the following activities:

• Assist the identification of potential new PPP projects: Provide technical support for the conceptualization, identification and categorization of new potential solar energy PPP projects; Update the list of potential PPP projects.
• Assist the preparation of potential new projects : Execute preparatory activities for potential projects, and other studies necessary to structure a viable project ; Provide technical assistance to review existing feasibility studies and to conduct new feasibility studies ; Prepare and support project presentation of solar energy projects in front of the PPP Board ; Carry out technical additional studies in solar energy which likely be requested by the Board in order to give its approval to the project ; Prepare an appropriate analysis of the PPP impact in the event of a material change to the project structure either during tendering or as a result of renegotiation after the signing of contracts ; Provide technical assistance to review the admissibility of unsolicited proposal.
• Assist the preparation of tender documents of tender documents : Provide a technical support for the preparation of tender documentation (request for qualification, request for proposals, the contract notice setting out the contracting authorities’ need and requirement in the competitive dialogue, the description of the contracting authorities’ need and requirement in the direct negotiation process) ; Provide a technical support for the preparation of Project Agreements ; Provide a technical support to set-out application and award criteria in all the procedures.

• Assist PPP transaction process : Provide technical support to prepare one-on-one or group meetings with prequalified bidders (preparing information on the project that are expected by the bidders, anticipating their enquiries and review their comments on the project, respond to request for clarification from prequalified bidders, review and revise any element of the request for proposals); Provide technical support during the various negotiations conducted during PPP procurement procedures (competitive dialogue, two-stage bidding process, direct negotiation) ; Provide technical support to evaluate the final bids ; Provide technical support to draft evaluation reports for any process; Provide technical information requested by Ministry, Board or PPPDG at all stages or the process.
• Assist the follow-up of implemented PPP: Oversee the management of the project in accordance with the Project Agreement; Draft annual or periodical reports requested by the PPP unit on the ongoing projects; Draft a project Management Checklist that helps to monitor if the project is going as planned and if both the Contracting Authority and the Private Party are performing their obligations as per the project agreement.
• Inputs for PPP coordinator’s reporting requirements: deliver the inputs requested for the elaboration of the quarterly and annual reports.

Additional information

• Mission area: Public-private partnership.
• Duration: 36 months (3 years).
• Starting date: Octobre 1st.

• A senior expert in the field of solar energy projects with general knowledge of PPP.
• Ability to conduct on-the-job training in his/her area of experts and to transfer key PPP project and transaction management skills to other staff members of EEP.
• A strong team player with excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work in a high profile environment.
• Strong oral and written communication skills with a capacity to communicate effectively to a wide variety of audiences, including conducting periodic presentations.
• Fluency in English is required.
• Fluency in Amharic is appreciated.

• Minimum of 15 years of international experience advising on solar energy projects or technologies, (with at least 3 years’ experience in developing countries).
• Recent project experience in PPP transaction related to solar energy;
• Strong experience with analysing, structuring, and financing solar energy PPP infrastructure investments, including:
• Experience with preparing, structuring, and negotiating project financing transactions;
• Experience with preparing or bidding on international competitive procurements for large capital investment projects;
• Experience in appraising investment projects, such as conducting due diligence reviews for investors and lenders;
• Experience with designing and reviewing financial feasibility studies and tariff-setting analyses for long-term infrastructure investments;
• Experience with conducting and reviewing Public Sector Comparison (PSC) and Value for Money (VfM) analyses for large investment projects.

• CV
• Cover letter

Applications should be sent to nastasia.pousse@expertisefrance.fr before 25 August, 2019, using the following subject: EEP-TAPROGRAM

If you do not receive a response within 8 weeks of the application deadline, please consider that your application has not been shortlisted.

The process of selection of expressions of interest will occur in two phases:

• As a first step, a shortlist will be freely established by Expertise France.
• Selected candidates may then be invited for an interview.