Short Term Consultant

Application Closing Date: 8/18/2024

Send resume and cover letter at: nlindblad@worldbank.org.

Description

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org.

Background

Achieving universal access to sustainable, reliable, and affordable energy by 2030 will require a step change in the rate roll-out and in levels of investment, particularly in lower access countries. Geospatially informed Energy planning has proven to be integer for countries that have managed to accelerate access to in particularly electricity in recent years (Kenya, Rwanda, and Ethiopia to name a few). These programs are based on national electricity access roll out plans using geospatial planning and least-cost combinations of coordinated grid and off-grid electrification. The geospatially determined plan in turn anchors the sector investment financing prospectus. For access to clean-cooking, the use of geospatially informed planning, is not yet as advanced, and there is a need to bridge this gap.

Client countries have recognized the importance of geospatial electrification planning in the development of comprehensive national electrification strategies and plans, and are increasingly requesting World Bank support in executing these exercises and capacitate on the topic. The solutions vary in resolution, data quality, and types of sub-analyses depending on previously existing GIS data, the budget available and questions to be addressed for each country. Similarly, the preparation of specific access operations requires data analytics embodied in geospatial planning.

Therefore, the Electrifying Africa (EA) program1 , (P180743) has as one of its 5 core result area (RA) energy access acceleration planning. Under this RA, the EA program aims to provide critical support to inform the preparation of energy access acceleration roadmaps defining the optimal technology mix, investment requirements, and service delivery models to reach the access quantum leap needed to reach universal access. Support for geospatial electrification planning includes:

• Support governments with increasing their capacity on Geospatially Informed Energy Access Planning through stock-taking of the current capacity and gaps to successfully adopt and implement Geospatially Informed Energy Planning, and make recommendations to governments on ways forward.
• Provide support to country teams and clients for GIS-based least-cost electrification planning (including the updating and enhancements of existing plans with additional and updated data layers).
• When necessary, support with efficient procurement of firms to advance geospatial electrification planning by (1) drawing on standardized TORs and contracts, and (2) establishing a roster of qualified firms so that there is available qualified just-in-time support for project teams.
• Provide technical insight during (1) the preparation of TORs and design of assignments, (2) review of proposals and selection evaluation, and (3) review and quality-enhancement of deliverables and reports submitted by consultants/firms to ensure that quality output is generated, and the desired outcomes are achieved.
• Share and incorporate lessons learned from other countries (such as Rwanda, Indonesia, Kenya, Myanmar and Nigeria, among others) that have previously implemented similar activities.
• Decrease costs and increase benefit from economies of scale by: (1) leveraging improved higher resolution datasets recently released publicly; (2) procuring services to support electrification planning in more than a single country at a time, as possible; or (3) procuring services for specific sub-activities, such as renewable resource mapping, using the low-cost opportunities recently offered through ESMAP and EEX Global Engagement Support.
• Support Regional training activities such as the Energy Modelling Platform for Africa (EMP-A) and Trieste Summer School, which are crucial events to increase capacity for Geospatially informed Electrification and Clean cooking planning among government officials and planners.

The project will also improve upon existing geospatial planning approaches by ensuring that demand generated by the agriculture sector is incorporated into the analysis and creating a toolkit for project teams for the integration of agriculture into electrification planning. Likewise, close collaboration with the health and the education sectors is critical to enable incorporation of data into the analysis that would allow for optimized decision-making for the electrification of public institutions.

Duties and Specific Tasks Specific responsibilities of the selected candidate may include, but are not limited to:

1. Conduct in-house high level geo-spatial analysis and modeling to help support the various country task teams with project preparation and client engagement. The activities include, but are not limited to: a. GIS-based grid densification analysis in select countries; b. Preparing maps and cloud based online data visualization; c. Preparing GIS analytics upon request, including revising geospatial plans given readily available data;

2. Searching, collecting and cleaning open source GIS data upon request etc.

3. Support development of vendor terms of reference and support vendor selection; review third party consultant’s deliverables and reports and provide timely feedback, quality-enhancement and dissemination. a. Ensure that the GIS data and analytics outputs are well transferred to the WBG management and uploaded to ENERGYDATA.INFO or the World Bank DDH platform.

4. Advise TTLs and third party consultant’s on data needs and GIS based methodologies including training on field based data gathering using mobile applications for electrification planning

5. Provide support to Africa Geospatial Electrification Planning team on GIS analysis and geospatial data visualization on an ad-hoc request basis. The activities include, but not limited to: i) GIS-based grid densification analysis in select countries; ii) Making maps and cloud based online data visualization; iii) Preparing GIS analytics upon request, including revising geospatial plans given readily available data (as in Lesotho); iv) Searching, collecting and cleaning open source GIS data upon request etc.

6. Prepare briefing and communication materials on the project and other related specific areas upon request.

7. Support the development of spatial electrification modelling “tools” that will combine attributes of other existing models or methodologies (NRECA, OnSSET, Network Planner, Gridfinder, VIDA etc.) and will allow customization to the team’s or project’s requirements.

8. Liaise with external IT consultants to help support the technical and computing needs of the group for various projects in selected countries

9. Work with IT vendors to help oversee the development of new web-based platforms for presenting energy related projects and studies supported by the bank.

Selection Criteria Successful applicants will have more than 3 years of relevant experience with professional or educational background (Master’s Degree) in Geography, Engineering, Economics, Energy, and/or Public Policy. In addition, they should possess the following:

1. Demonstrated experience working in GIS analysis and energy planning;

2. Demonstrated experience in data visualization with GIS software and other programming languages, e.g. Python, R and others; a. OnSSET is an important tool for electrification planning b. Market Access is often used to stratify populations; we use tools such as GOSTNets

3. Knowledgeable about open data and open source software/technologies a. For desktop GIS, we rely primarily on QGIS, although we have access to ESRI as well

4. Demonstrated proven ability to deliver high-quality projects on schedule;

5. Ability to use clear language and avoid jargon to explain work and concepts to non-technical experts in English to large audiences or World Bank clients.

Location, Level of Efforts and Timeframe The position is based in Washington DC, USA, but the Consultant may work remotely if necessary. If travel is needed and agreed upon, travel expenses will be paid in accordance with the Bank's Operational Travel procedures. The Short-Term Consultant is expected to provide a level of effort of 150 days (“full-time equivalent”) from the time of appointment and until June 30th, 2025, with the possibility of further engagement depending on the availability of funding, performance and requirements of the project.

NB: We are proud to be an equal opportunity and inclusive employer with a dedicated and committed workforce, and do not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.