Nairobi, Kenya or New Delhi, India | Full Time |

About the Organization

CLASP serves at the epicenter of collaborative, ambitious efforts to mitigate climate change and in the global movement for clean energy access, through appliance efficiency. Our mission is to improve the energy and environmental performance of the appliances & equipment we use every day, accelerating our transition to a more sustainable world. We work hand-in-hand with governments, experts, industry, consumers, donor organizations and others to propel policies and markets toward the highest-quality, lowest resource-intensive appliances possible.

CLASP has worked in more than 100 countries since our inception in 1999. CLASP has offices in Washington, DC (USA), Nairobi (Kenya), and New Delhi (India). We also have teams in Europe, China, and Indonesia. We are mission-driven and committed to a culture of diversity, transparency, collaboration, and impactful work. See our Team Page to learn more about us.

CLASP’s Clean Energy Access Team

CLASP’s Clean Energy Access program supports ambitious efforts to increase global access to clean energy through appliance and equipment energy efficiency. We work in partnership with key stakeholders in South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, China — with support from a diverse group of funders.

Our team helps build healthy markets for off-grid solar products by driving innovation and sales in early-stage product markets, surfacing data and research on product performance, market trends, and consumer preferences, establishing technical foundations for consumer protection, and aligning sector stakeholders across the value-chain.

From advancing the off-grid solar technologies, bringing power to energy-impoverished people, to building climate resilience of underserved communities, CLASP’s CEA programs increase uptake of affordable, low-impact, high-quality appliances.

As our global portfolio continues to grow, we are expanding our team to help us execute our portfolio of clean energy access initiatives. CLASP’s energy access programs include the Efficiency for Access Coalition and its flagship Low-Energy Inclusive Appliances program, the Global LEAP Awards, and VeraSol Quality Assurance, among other initiatives in the pipeline. Learn more about our programs.

About the role: Senior Associate – Clean Energy Access

The Senior Associate will be a key member of the CLASP East Africa program team and will be responsible for supporting the design and implementation of CLASP’s strategy, plans, and deliverables for the Clean Energy Access program. The Senior Associate will work closely with colleagues as well as external partners and stakeholders to lead the development and execution of several cooling projects’ goals and objectives within the Efficiency for Access and VeraSol programs, and will perform a wide range of activities including project and budget development and management, stakeholder and donor engagement, program and policy planning, business development, and market and technology research, with a particular focus on off-grid c0oling technologies and solutions.

The Senior Associate can be based in either CLASP’s Nairobi or New Delhi office, and will work collaboratively with CLASP’s Clean Energy Access team in Washington, D.C., Kenya, India and Southeast Asia, as well as a wide network of international partners and program stakeholders in Africa, including government agencies, funding institutions, program partners, appliance manufacturers and distributors, and local and international NGOs and companies to support standards development and implementation in Africa and beyond, to help plan, execute, and expand our global off-grid cooling portfolio under the Clean Energy Access program.

The Senior Associate will play key roles in several projects commensurate with their knowledge and experience.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

Project management and implementation

• Lead the implementation of the Efficiency for Access Cooling Accelerator, leveraging LEIA program interventions to accelerate deployment of nascent cooling technologies in emerging economies. Responsibilities include:
  • Market Research and Landscape Mapping: Conduct comprehensive market research and analysis to map the landscape of cooling technologies, focusing on sectors such as agriculture, health (vaccines), space cooling, and retail (microenterprises), especially in rural areas. Utilize data and insights to inform strategic interventions within the Cooling Accelerator.
  • Strategic Partnership Development: Work with the EforA program lead to build and maintain strategic partnerships with public and private sector entities, as well as key community stakeholders, to drive investment and scalability in cooling infrastructure.
  • Advocacy and Policy Engagement: In partnership with the policy manager, engage with policymakers to advocate for and develop supportive regulatory frameworks that facilitate the adoption of efficient and appropriate cooling solutions and sustainable practices.
  • Demonstration Site Establishment and Impact Evaluation: Support the establishment of demonstration sites to provide operational examples of effective cooling technologies.
• Manage VeraSol’s off-grid cooling portfolio that aims to develop a quality assurance framework to help market stakeholders identify high-quality off-grid cooling solutions through testing and quality evaluation. Responsibilities include:
  • Technical document development: In collaboration with the VeraSol program lead, work with consultants to develop and improve testing methods, quality standards, and quality assurance frameworks for cooling technologies, such as refrigeration and walk-in cold room. Provide timely review and feedback on consultant’s deliverables and oversee the finalization and publishing in coordination with communications team.
  • Stakeholder consultation & engagement: Manage stakeholder consultation process and engage stakeholders to disseminate best practices on testing and quality assurance for cooling products as well gather stakeholder feedback to inform program decisions.
  • Testing coordination: Implement testing process for cooling products, including development of testing plans, identification of new testing partners, coordination with the testing partners to conduct quality testing on cooling products, and review of the test results.
• Perform key project management functions with oversight and guidance from CEA Senior Managers, including:
  • Develop of budget, workplan, deliverables, key performance indicators, and donor-facing reporting and communication.
  • Monitor and evaluate the progress of project activities, identify opportunities for improvement, and provide progress communications to donors and external stakeholders.
  • Effectively work with consultants and CLASP staff that are supporting the design and implementation of cooling projects. Ensure that consultants have all required information to adhere to realistic timelines, stay within budget, and produce high-quality outputs.
• Provide cross-cutting support to all other cooling adjacent programmatic activities within the larger context of partner, sectoral, and CLASP efforts. This will include close coordination and collaboration with CLASP colleagues on other programs that have cooling components (e.g. Productive Use Financing Facility and CLASP Climate team) to enable knowledge-sharing and facilitate cross-program collaboration.

Partnership building and communication

• Play a leading role in establishing productive partnerships with stakeholders working in off-grid cooling space, including identification of key stakeholders, including government decision-makers, product companies and trade associations, and bilateral and multilateral donor organizations.
• Work with CLASP’s communications team to create public-facing knowledge products and disseminate compelling stories of program success, research outcomes, lessons learned, etc.
• Identify program development opportunities and collaborate with program managers to gather essential information, ensuring alignment of proposals with organizational goals and objectives.
• Represent Efficiency for Access and VeraSol as needed in relevant sector forums, webinars, conferences, networking events, etc.

Who You Are

• Manage cohesive processes. You develop and implement strategies along with your supervisor. You execute multiple projects, establish success indicators and evaluate project performance against these parameters.
• Align your teams and stakeholders by communicating: You advise teams and management on project performance, proposing/recommending solutions to maintain and improve delivery. You also assess requirements of clients and partners to effectively align deliverables to changing demands.
• An Effective Collaborator. You’ve successfully worked across cultural lines on a dispersed team, and you have the ability to operate in complex situations. You can easily gain trust from team members and are known for supporting them to ensure they are set up for success. You’re not afraid to ask questions.
• You can manage a diverse set of team needs and aren’t afraid to step outside your job description or comfort zone to help the team reach its goals. You’re comfortable with shifting schedules and don’t expect every day to go “as planned.”
• A Humble Teammate. Nothing is beneath or above you. You are quick to always lend a hand or two! You are able to earn influence without authority and naturally seek to support both small projects or large strategic goals.
• An Abundant Thinker. You believe that we are living in a world of abundant resources and that the right team of partners can make improbable things happen. You bring relentless curiosity and creativity to every task, project, and engagement.
• Mission-oriented. You believe in the mission of CLASP and are passionate about global access to clean energy, climate change, energy efficiency, and creating a more sustainable world.

What You Will Need 

• 5+years of experience, preferably with (1) technical or research expertise of cooling products, such as refrigeration and walk-in cold rooms, (2) working experience in the off-grid clean energy sector or analogous sectors
• Background or a demonstrated familiarity with energy efficiency technologies and/or the solar products
• Demonstrated ability to develop strong relationships with diverse project stakeholders.
• An ability to establish, build, and continually reinforce confidence in a variety of internal and external stakeholder groups and constituencies will be essential to success.
• Entrepreneurial approach to design and execution of long-term initiatives.
• Outstanding communication skills in both written and spoken English and proven ability to convey technical content in a clear and concise manner.
• Excellent analytical skills and proven ability to write clear and concise reports or briefings and ability to translate complex technical information to industry, policy, and investor audiences required.
• Strong time management and organizational skills with ability to manage multiple tasks and projects at a time under deadline while managing other colleagues with flexibility, composure and humor.
• Thrive in an international and multicultural environment.

Why this role is compelling

 You will be exposed to an unusually wide range of people and issues in the climate and energy sectors, as well as the internal infrastructure and operations of a global NGO. You will be able to directly shape and have ownership of several new, high-profile projects with long-term remits.

A successful candidate will develop and grow a broad set of professional skills, honing them to the level of excellence in a demanding and fast-paced environment. You will work with, learn from, and grow alongside a high-performing and diverse team in which everyone is committed to the development of themselves and others.

This role provides the opportunity for travel locally and internationally, about 20% of the time.

Compensation

CLASP provides its employees with a competitive salary that is benchmarked annually with other non-profit organizations. CLASP also provides a comprehensive benefits package, including fully paid health insurance for individuals and competitive rates for families/dependents, unlimited leave and all federal holidays, an impressive match of employee contributions to the retirement plan and a collegial office environment that supports professional development, wellness and flexible telecommuting options.

CLASP offers a competitive salary for the role based on the candidate’s level of experience.

How to Apply

If you believe you meet the attributes and skills above, please fill in the enclosed application form.

(URL: https://forms.gle/P91YSuf313tUk2ft5). If you have any questions, kindly email clasp-hr-kenya@clasp.ngo. Only shortlisted candidates will be called for an interview.

CLASP is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Our goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative, at all job levels, of the citizens we serve. CLASP complies with all federal, state and local employment law in the countries we operate and is committed to providing equal opportunity for all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, disability, political affiliation, personal appearance, family responsibilities, matriculation, genetic information, military or protected veteran status, credit information or any other characteristic protected under federal, state or local law. Each person is evaluated based on personal skill and merit. CLASP’s policy regarding equal employment opportunity applies to all aspects of employment, including recruitment, hiring, job assignments, promotions, working conditions, scheduling, benefits, wage and salary administration, disciplinary action, termination, and social, educational and recreational programs.