Hybrid Technical Working Group Lead – Energy Trade, Industrial Growth

at Allied Talent Partners

• Job title: Technical Working Group Lead – Energy Trade, Industrial Growth
• Job type: Contract
• Experience level: Senior
• Salary: Not specified
• Degree requirement: No Education Requirement
• Location requirements: Hybrid, Johannesburg, South Africa

About the role

• Lead a technical group on regional energy trade and industrial growth for sustainable development. Coordinate experts and shape agenda for the 2026 investment summit.

Responsibilities

• Establish and lead the Energy Trade & Industrial Growth TWG with representation from across the region and across organisation types, including energy ministries, regulators, utilities, power pools, private developers, investors, and development partners.
• Identify, invite, and onboard TWG members in coordination with the Secretariat.
• Plan, schedule, and chair regular (typically weekly) TWG meetings.
• Hold the pen on shared TWG documents, synthesising and consolidating inputs from participants.
• Circulate clear summaries, decisions, and next steps after each meeting.
• Coordinate closely with the Summit Programme Lead to ensure alignment with Summit priorities and timelines.
• Oversee the production of a concise Sector Status Report on regional energy trade and industrial growth.
• Synthesise existing data, diagnostics, and project pipelines with a focus on regional power trade, industrial demand, and investment readiness.
• Highlight regional constraints, opportunities, and priority intervention areas, including cross-border interoperability and infrastructure gaps.
• Lead the drafting, with TWG input, of a policy and regulatory reform framework required to unlock regional energy trade and industrial investment.
• Address priority areas such as cross-border power trade rules, tariff and wheeling frameworks, market integration, grid codes, and utility and power pool coordination.
• Ensure recommendations are actionable, regionally coherent, and investor-relevant.
• Lead the identification and curation of a ranked pipeline of priority energy trade and industrial growth investments (e.g. cross-border transmission, regional generation projects, industrial power supply platforms, and grid reinforcement).
• Apply clear screening and scoring criteria to assess scale, regional relevance, readiness, and impact.
• Coordinate closely with the Summit Deal Room team to support investor engagement and matchmaking.
• Lead the design of energy trade and industrial growth–focused Summit sessions, including objectives, formats, speakers, and key messages.
• Ensure sessions and Deal Room engagements are anchored in concrete investment opportunities and policy reform pathways.
• Support live Summit delivery, including speaker coordination and technical input as required.
• Contribute to post-Summit reporting by documenting energy-related outcomes, including policy priorities agreed, investment opportunities advanced, and key follow-up actions.
• Support consolidation of TWG outputs into final Summit reports, briefs, or communiqués.
• Provide technical input to post-Summit partner and investor follow-up as required.

Requirements

• Minimum 12+ years of experience in energy policy, power markets, energy infrastructure, or energy investment.
• Proven experience working across multiple African countries at regional level, with strong familiarity with West Africa.
• Deep familiarity with utilities, regional power pools, regulators, and DFIs.
• Demonstrated experience engaging with governments, private developers, investors, and development partners.
• Credibility to operate at senior technical and ministerial levels.
• Strong analytical and synthesis skills.
• Ability to translate complex technical and policy issues into clear, actionable outputs.
• Experience curating and assessing investment pipelines.
• Strong facilitation, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• High levels of organisation, professionalism, and accountability.
• Strong stakeholder management and facilitation skills, with the ability to engage credibly with senior government, private sector, and development partners.
• Sound judgement and political sensitivity in complex, multistakeholder and regional environments.
• Strong end-to-end ownership, with the ability to work independently, manage multiple workstreams, and deliver high-quality outputs under compressed timelines.
• Clear, concise written and verbal communication skills.
• High levels of professionalism, discretion, and accountability.