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Women in Rwandan Energy (WIRE) Program Manager
Background:
RTI International is a research institute based in North Carolina, USA of approximately 5000 employees with 30 years of worldwide experience implementing international development projects in energy and other disciplines. We have extensive experience implementing a variety of projects worldwide focusing on legal/regulatory reform of the energy sector, improving energy efficiency, utility turnaround, raising private financing for energy infrastructure, working with governments on legal and regulatory reforms to alleviate bottlenecks and increasing underserved populations’ access to energy.
In November 2018 RTI was awarded the East Africa Energy Program (EAEP) task order under Power Africa (USAID). Rwanda is a priority country for EAEP, as are Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. This 4-year task order will run through December 2022. As part of EAEP, RTI is implementing Women in Rwandan Energy (WIRE) Initiative, a $1.6M initiative funded jointly through Power Africa and the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W- GDP) Initiative.
The goal of WIRE is to promote an integrated approach to enhance women and girls’ participation and social inclusion across the energy sector in Rwanda and in a second country beginning in October 2020. It will achieve this by 1) developing gender equitable HR practices, II) creating career advancement opportunities for women currently in the workplace, and III) expanding the pool of women workers in the energy sector through the establishment of partnerships with schools, universities, the utility, the ministry, the regulator, the private sector and development partners. These partnerships will expose young women to the sector and create internship and mentoring opportunities that will provide a steady pool of qualified female job applicants.
In support of this work, RTI International is seeking a WIRE Program Manager to be based in Kigali, Rwanda. This individual should have a background in gender and energy and have superior program management skills.
Responsibilities:
The WIRE Program Manager will work closely with USAID/Rwanda, the EAEP Deputy Chief of Party – Project Management Unit, the Rwanda Technical Lead, and EAEP Gender Specialists to support the implementation of the program in Rwanda and in a second country starting in October 2020. S/he will also provide high-level representation for the program, as well as manage the WIRE Specialist based in Rwanda. More specifically the WIRE Program Manager will have the following responsibilities:
- Comprehensive management of the WIRE initiative, including close oversight of WIRE’s sub-activities, budget, indicators, and stakeholder communications.
- Represent the WIRE initiative in professional settings with diverse stakeholders in two countries.
- Lead efforts in sustaining an effective apprenticeship program for female university students, enabling students to spend a few months at a government-affiliated energy sector organization, a private company, or a development partner or civil society organization.
- Support the implementation of a training program for promising women for advancement in the energy sector workplace, including co-launching a technician training program with the Rwandan electricity utility – the Rwanda Energy Group (REG) – to prepare women for technical roles within the organization and for staffing of the Nyabarongo II Hydropower Plant, which REG targets to be operated fully by women when the project commissions in 2024.
- In close cooperation with USAID and other key partners, support the registration and continued development of women in the energy network as an independent NGO that can sustain gains for women in the sector after the WIRE initiative concludes.
- Support the women in the energy network to organize regular networking events, workshops, mentoring programs, and establish and run social media and online communication platforms.
- Serve as the main liaison between key WIRE stakeholders (currently: REG, MININFRA, Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority, private sector stakeholders, financial institutions, and other development partners).
- Provide regular reports, briefs, and PowerPoints on WIRE activities to a wide range of stakeholders.
- Provide regular reporting on WIRE activities to the EAEP management, USAID/Rwanda, Power Africa, and W-GDP according to specified formats.
- In cooperation with a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) team, track WIRE indicators, regularly evaluate activities and share results (and lessons learned) with partners in order to improve effectiveness.
- Continue to collect accurate information on gender participation in the energy sector, identify structural and environmental barriers to women’s equal participation in the energy sector, and create and maintain a database of women working in the sector.
- Manage WIRE communications working closely with EAEP and USAID communications specialists.
- Help develop success stories and lessons learned in cooperation with EAEP communication specialists.
Required minimum qualifications and experience:
- Experience in gender mainstreaming; experience in energy preferred
- Bachelor’s degree in a discipline relevant to energy, international development, capacity building/education, governance, and/or gender. Master’s degree preferred
- Minimum of 9 years’ of relevant experience with a focus on public and private sector engagement, capacity building and/or gender, strategic collaborations
- Minimum of 7 years’ of experience managing USAID or other donor programs preferred
- Strong knowledge of the Rwandan and other East African power sectors is preferred
- The preferred candidate should have the ability to work in Rwanda
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
- English language fluency required; fluency in Kinyarwanda and/or Kiswahili preferred
- Excellent leadership, coordination, and organizational awareness skills
- Polished presentation skills, including the development of presentation materials
- Good listening/communication and client skills
- Superior computer skills, writing ability in English (writing sample required)
- Strong oral/written communication skills and ability to communicate at multiple levels in an organization: and ability to coordinate activities with officials from host country government, US Government, NGO’s, and other agencies
- Ability to build effective relationships with all clients, peers, and stakeholders
- Ability to work hands-on, independently, and within a team
- Ability to work collaboratively with a team of gender, energy and communications specialists in East Africa and the United States
- Strong organizational and interpersonal skills and ability to work in a team-oriented setting
Application process
Interested candidates should submit a cover letter and curriculum vitae via the below link by 4th September 2020 5:00 p.m. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.
RTI International is an equal opportunity employer and female candidates are highly encouraged to apply.
*No applicant will ever be asked for any payment either to secure a role with RTI International or as a follow-up to having been awarded a position with RTI International. If anyone ever approaches you asking for any such payment, please immediately email ethics@rti.org
