Power Sector Reform Specialist

The Millennium Challenge Account Nepal (MCA-Nepal) is a Government of Nepal (GON) agency, formed under the Development Board Act 2013 BS (1956 AD) in order to manage a USD 697 million infrastructure program. The program is co-funded by the US Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact grant of USD 500 million and the GON’s contribution of USD 197 million. The program aims to increase the availability and reliability of electricity, maintain road quality and facilitate power trade between Nepal and the region to help spur investments and accelerate economic growth. The Electricity Transmission Project, a national pride project, and the Road Maintenance Project are two projects under the program. MCA-Nepal is currently in preparatory phase of the program before start of implementation of projects. In this context, MCA-Nepal invites application for the following positions:

Deadline: 2023-07-11 05:00:00
Required number of candidates: 1
Location: Kathmandu
Employment Level: C – Process Management
Employment Type: Regular Employees
Shift: Day
Minimum Education Qualification: Bachelor (Required)

Education Program

• Economics
• Business
• Management
• Engineering
• Or relevant field

Minimum Experience Years: 5 Years (Required)
Is Age Specific?: No
Require Two Wheeler?: No
Expected Salary Required?: Yes
Is Internal?: No

Power Sector Reform Specialist

MCA-Nepal
Organization Branch: Kathmandu Head office
Organization Division: Project Delivery

Job Description

Position Objective:

The Power Sector Reform Specialist – under the supervision of PM – Power Sector Technical Assistance, is responsible for daily execution, monitoring, and supervision of a range of activities supporting Electricity Transmission Project’s (ETP) Technical Assistance Activity related to establishing operations at Nepal Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC) and helping Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to improve its transmission business in the areas of regulatory cost recovery, improved grid operations, and better system planning ensuring consistency with established work plans and implementation guidelines.

Duties & Responsibilities:

Management

• Prepares, updates and monitors all relevant project management tools including but not limited to: work plans (schedules), procurement plans, detailed financial plans (budgets), risk management plans and scoping documents (activity descriptions, terms of reference, etc.);
  Ensures the delivery of effective technical assistance activities by securing and overseeing high-quality contractors through development of comprehensive scoping documents; preparing tender documents; conducting high-quality procurements; and implementing robust contract management procedures;
• Consolidates project statistics from multiple sources and review these for accuracy and compliance with established formats to support implementation, monitoring, and analytics;
• Advises Project Manager, Power Sector Technical Assistance, of issues related to the implementation of the project in order ensure the continuity of project delivery;
• Coordinate with consultants and NEA to implement activities such as Transmission Business Transformation, Asset Maintenance and Operations, System and Market Operations, Network Development Effective and System Planning in the field of core electrical engineering, and transmission line and substation related business.
• Monitors project budget, procurement activities, and contracts, ensuring that these are consistent with established MCA guidelines and that issues and discrepancies are resolved and reported. On quarterly basis, support preparation of disbursement request packages to ensure consistent flow of funding;
• Monitors project timelines and milestones, anticipate delivery issues, and ensure that staff and external stakeholders are kept informed of project status to support overall project management and delivery; and
• Maintains project documentation and Operations Manuals ensuring that these are current and reflecting lessons learned to support the improvement of projects/processes.

Implementation

• Executes and/or oversees a range of project implementation and support activities as defined by the project plan ensuring that these are delivered on a timely basis to support broader project initiatives and objectives, and ensure consistency of quality;
• Establishes and sustains relationships with critical stakeholders at ETP partners to facilitate implementation of the Technical Assistance Activity through delivery of effective technical assistance, stakeholder engagement and dialogue, and other requirements to advance ETP goals;
• Monitors implementation of activities and recommendations delivered under the ETP and identify options to address gaps in implementation or follow through on recommendations;
• Represents the Technical Assistance Activity team as an integrated component of the MCA-Nepal ETP to project stakeholders (e.g., with national/local government counterparts, civil society, project beneficiaries, etc.) ensuring that collaborative relationships are built and maintained to facilitate the delivery of the program;
• Coordinates with relevant MCA staff the effective gender and social inclusion into the development and implementation of the TA (transmission); and
• Develops and maintains an understanding of all ongoing activities linked to strengthening the power sector to include other technical assistance activities, institutional changes at ETP partners, sector investments, legal or regulatory changes, etc., as required to ensure the Technical Assistance Activity reflects current context.

Job Specification

• Minimum Bachelor’s University degree in Economics, Business, Management, Engineering, or other relevant field of study; Advanced Degree is preferred. Project Management Professional certification (PMP) is a plus.
• At least five (5) years of professional experience of cumulative experience (notwithstanding whether earned before, after or during pursuit of required academic qualification) institutional reform and organizational development processes, particularly in public sector organizations.
• At least two (2) years of experience managing complex projects on time/on budget (>$1 million) including procurement, implementation and closeout phases
• Fluency with written and oral communication in Nepali and English
• Intimate knowledge of, and experience with, Nepal’s energy sector, preferably including an understanding of sector reform initiatives related to the regulatory framework.
• Intimate knowledge of the regulatory and institutional framework that impact the Sub-Activity as well as the potential role of the private sector in meeting the investment needs of electric utility operations.
• Willing to undertake regular field visits and interact with different stakeholders.
• Responsible and flexible attitude and capable of working with minimal supervision.
• Computer skills (MS office, MS Project, Management Information Systems).
• Have high integrity and exercise good judgement.

For detailed job profile, please visit MCA-Nepal website: https://mcanp.org/en/jobs-2
To apply: Please use the following link https://hrmis.mcanp.org/careers and apply by NPT 17:00 hours (GMT +5:45) July 11, 2023.

The organization reserves the right to reject any/all applications without assigning any reason whatsoever. Canvassing ut any stage of the process shall lend to automatic disqualification. These positions are open to all interested applicants; competitive local compensation package will he offered. Women, people of ethnic minorities and Wits are highly encouraged to apply. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for further selection process.

Millennium Challenge Account Nepal (MCA-Nepal)
Lal Durbar Convention Centre, Yak & Yeti Complex, Durbar Marg, Kathmandu +977-01-4540951 | info@mcanp.org | www.mcanp.org

Source: The Himalayan Times, 28 June 2023

Tagged as: Kathmandu