Senior Research Associate, Energy

Job Highlight:

• Africa’s role in the global energy transition is unique as the least electrified yet fastest-growing continent, critically in need of resilience investments. To achieve ambitious goals and commitments for Africa, robust evidence-based positions and leadership from the continent are essential, requiring knowledge brokering with key stakeholders.
• Reporting to the Director of the Energy Program, you will lead our research and engagement with partner organizations for analytical work and will be responsible for designing and overseeing analyses that address some of the most complex and challenging questions for Africa’s power sector and identifying what is needed to deliver universal energy access and support economic development. You will have a background in energy modelling or a related field and a solid grasp of energy science and experience in managing sub-grant partners and in-house analytical teams to ensure high-quality output. You can leverage advanced analytical tools to deliver greater clarity and inform decision-makers. You have expertise in integrating geospatial mapping tools with various modelling techniques and has experience working at the nexus of energy with other sectors (e.g. food, water, agriculture), are committed to promoting solutions tailored to specific contextual conditions; and have experience in building highly collaborative working relationships with multidisciplinary research teams. You will work closely with different teams and programs including the global Clean Energy Transition Team, the African Energy Dialogues platform team, the Energy Access Explorer team, and other colleagues within the WRI Africa and Washington DC office.

What will you do:

Research and Analytical Program Management (60%):

• Structure the energy transition analytical program for Africa, developing appropriate methodologies and approaches
• Manage and supervise external sub-grant partners and an in-house analytical team to ensure high-quality output
• Oversee, in collaboration with WRI’s analytical partners, the development of well documented, ideally open-source models that reflect the intricacies of energy challenges in Africa, providing insights into country-tailored energy transition opportunities and pathways
• Synthesize analytical insights from model results to bring clarity and structure to complex and disparate energy transition topics to enhance decision-making for program partners, government institutions, policymakers, and industries
• Collaborate with WRI’s EAE team to link capacity expansion modelling with geospatial tools (e.g. EAE, OnSSET, OnStove or similar)
• Work closely with the African Energy Dialogues platform to ensure engagements are informed by the most available evidence and ongoing research activities
• Keep abreast of global and continental policies and regulations impacting energy, with a particular focus on energy transition, climate, and sustainability

Communication & Stakeholder Engagement (40%):

• Produce knowledge products - workshop materials, policy briefs, technical papers, long-form reports, and other relevant materials in collaboration with research partners, WRI programs, as well as public and private institutions
• Leverage existing or establish new partnerships with local academic institutions to engage in capacity building activities
• Work with the WRI communications team and partners to develop communication assets suitable for a broader audience, leveraging the team’s analysis and insights
• Coordinate with targeted key data and research institutions or government agencies and manage the work and outputs of sub-granted local partners
• Contribute to research and fundraising proposals and the fundraising process
• Ensure sound donor stewardship, good grant management, and timely communication and reporting.

What will you need:

• Education: You have completed a master’s degree in in engineering, physics, energy systems, or a related field
• Experience: You have 7+ years of relevant, full-time work experience, including experience related to energy planning (in academia, research industry, public sector, or international organisations)
• You have experience working at the science-policy interface
• Demonstrable knowledge and experience in energy systems modelling as well as with integrating geospatial mapping tools with various modelling techniques
• Technical knowledge and working experience with computer programming languages such as Python and R
• A track record of academic publishing is desirable
• Demonstrated understanding of key issues impacting the global energy industry, Africa’s role in the global energy transition, the energy and developmental challenges in Africa, and how low-carbon energy technologies can play a role in a global sustainable energy system
• Experience working in and building multi-disciplinary research teams and the ability to engage and communicate with different stakeholders, including policymakers
• Ability to translate and inform policy and industry actors at the nexus of policymaking and energy modelling, leveraging advanced analytical tools
• Experience working at the nexus of energy with other sectors (e.g. food, water, agriculture)
• Languages: Written and spoken proficiency in English.