Senior Renewable Energy Technical Specialist (SRETS) – NZMATES

Essential Job Responsibilities

• Lead, supervise, mentor, and work together with the Technical team.
• Serve as a bridge and make sure that the community and technical teams collaborate closely, and that assessments include technical, social, and environmental aspects.
• Lead/Support the NZMATES Team with technical studies for grid-connected and off-grid renewable energy projects, including (but not limited to):
  • project appraisal and pre-feasibility assessments;
  • technical feasibility studies;
  • renewable energy assessments;
  • design and modelling of RE projects;
  • detailed engineering of RE projects; and
  • grid interconnection studies.
• Lead/Support the delivery of renewable energy solutions for programme partners (PLN and ESDM) as required through conducting research and developing tools, methodologies, processes, and procedures for selecting technologies, types of technical solutions, design criteria, evaluation of different technologies, and multi-criteria analysis, among others, preferably on solar PV technologies;
• Design of project delivery methodology and schedule, from conceptual design and detailed engineering to implementation and operation and maintenance. Depending on the agreed nature of the project this will require technical support to deliver directly, or allow others to prepare, all requirements necessary for projects to proceed, including:
  • accurate project budgets, quoting and cost estimating
  • design and functional specification, equipment selection, and bill of materials
  • drawings and layouts, suitable standards and specifications
  • works and contractor supervision and commissioning requirements
  • specialist resources and support
• Lead the identification of technical RE project development needs with PLN and ESDM Dinas, and identify potential technical specialists and work collaboratively with them;
• Lead other RETS to identify and assess potential, and appraise potential grid-connected and off-grid renewable energy projects;
• Consider and incorporate sustainability and cross-cutting issues into technical work;
• Lead strategic and technical engagement with programme partners PLN and ESDM as well as other stakeholders;
• Strategize, plan, communicate, and manage tasks for the project pipeline, in collaboration with our project partners, taking a proactive, innovative, realistic, and flexible approach;
• Support, identify, facilitate, and attract PLN, ESDM Dinas, private sector, and/or communities in developing RE project proposals;
• Develop and assess long-term sustainable business models for RE projects, including financial and operational sustainability;
• Work closely with the Community Engagement Officers to incorporate community inputs and other considerations into the technical design of projects;
• Provide mentoring and on-site training of community, ESDM, and PLN staff during field or other assessments;
• Support, collaborate, and train (when necessary) Community Engagement Officer(s), RETS and other NZMATES team members where required, with a structured gap assessment and identification of specific training opportunities;
• Support the development and implementation of the NZMATES training programme, including contributing to and delivering specific modules when required, in collaboration with educational partners and relevant experts;

Qualifications:

• University degree in electrical engineering, renewable energy technologies, and/or similar, or the proven equivalent of work experience;
• >7 years’ experience in designing and delivering renewable energy projects, preferably solar PV and storage technologies and hydropower;
• Experience supervising technical staff, mentoring colleagues and close collaboration with programme partners;
• Experience working with a multidisciplinary team;
• Experience conducting engineering designs, modeling, feasibility studies, environmental impact assessments, grid-interconnection studies, and/or other technical studies in the renewable energy field;
• Proficient with electrical, renewable energy, and energy storage technology software, such as:
  1. Renewable energy and energy storage modelling and design software (e.g. HOMER Pro®, RETScreen, iHOGA, DER-CAM, Excel-based tools, or others);
  2. Solar PV design and modelling software/tools (e.g. PVSyst, PV Sol, SolarGIS, Meteonorm, Sunny Design); and/or
  3. GIS tools and hydropower modelling software/tools (e.g. Casimir, PEACH, Hydrohelp, others).
  4. Power systems software (DIgSILENT, PSS®Sincal, or others)
  5. Other renewable energy tools (LEAP, or others)
• Experience using drawing software (e.g. AutoCAD, Sketch-Up, Draft Sight);
• Experience in developing a bill of materials for renewable energy projects;
• Experience in developing tendering documentation, detailed design and engineering, and with supporting entities as owners engineer is desirable ;
• Knowledge of renewable energy financial analysis tools (e.g. SAM), using pricing or estimation techniques or software (e.g. Pronamics, Excel, other tools), and developing RE project budgets;
• Some knowledge of the conceptual or detailed design of LV and HV network installations will be advantageous;
• Practical, hands-on experience working in energy access and/or renewable energy programmes;
• Strong communications skills and experience working as part of a multi-disciplinary team;
• Experience working in Maluku province and understanding of local context will be highly valued;
• Strong English language skills;
• Willingness to spend significant time in field locations with limited access to commodities.
• Women and people from Maluku are especially encouraged to apply for this position.

Please send your CV together with the form on this link with position applied on the email subject to hrd@id.mercycorps.org.
The vacancy will be closed on 31 July 2020 and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview. We look forward to hearing from those who are interested in taking this opportunity to grow and develop with us.