Technical Advisor

PRACTICAL ACTION

ABOUT US

We are an international development organisation putting ingenious ideas to work so people in poverty can change their world.

We help people find solutions to some of the world’s toughest problems. Challenges made worse by catastrophic climate change and persistent gender inequality. We work with communities to develop ingenious, lasting and locally owned solutions for agriculture, water and waste management, climate resilience and clean energy. And we share what works with others, so answers that start small can grow big.

We are committed to advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment through all our work. This includes programmes, knowledge sharing, advocacy, external communications, and our own organisational development. At a minimum, we ensure that all our work is gender sensitive, seeking gender transformative approaches as our overall ambition and in accordance with context.

We’re a global change-making group. The group consists of a UK registered charity with community projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America, an independent development publishing company and a technical consulting service. We combine these specialisms to multiply our impact and help shape a world that works better for everyone.

OUR AIMS

We help people find solutions to some of the world’s toughest problems, made worse by catastrophic climate change and persistent gender inequality. Our aims are to:

• Make agriculture work better for smallholder farmers, many of them women, so they can adapt to climate change and achieve a good standard of living
• Help more people harness the transformational effects of clean affordable energy and reduce avoidable deaths caused by smoke from indoor stoves and fires.
• Make cities in poorer countries cleaner, healthier places to live and work.
• Build disaster resilience into the lives of people threatened by hazards – reducing the risk of hazards and minimizing their impact on lives and livelihoods.

PRACTICAL ACTION IN KENYA

In Kenya, Practical Action has a long history of addressing systemic barriers that prevent people from accessing energy that transforms their lives, helping communities and government make cities healthier and safer, making agriculture and markets work better for small holder farmers and supporting communities and government to become more resilient.

We use a mix of programming with communities and consultancy services with shapers of policy and practice to achieve our aims in Kenya, with offices in Nairobi, Kisumu and Kakamega.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Technical Advisor serves as the technical and policy lead for the Project while providing broader organizational technical support to Practical Action's energy portfolio. The role combines deep project-specific expertise in energy planning methodologies, policy development, and capacity building with strategic technical advisory services across Practical Action's energy interventions. While working at peer level with the Project Manager on Project implementation, the Technical Advisor contributes to organizational learning, proposal development, and technical excellence across the energy thematic area.

SCOPE

Title: Technical Advisor - Integrated County Energy Planning (INEP)

Reporting to: Head of Progammes

Direct reports: N/A

Relationships:

Internal: Programme Delivery Teams, Impact & Influence Team, Business Development team

External: Strategic Partners relevant to PA strategies

Financial scope: N/A

Location: Nairobi

Grade: 8

Travel requirements: Frequent

Position Status: Full-time

ACCOUNTABILITIES

Technical Leadership and County Energy Planning (25%)

• Oversight and coordination in the technical design and implementation of County Energy Plans (CEPs), Energy Policies and Investment Prospectus for 5 target counties.
• Provide technical oversight of energy modelling, data analysis, and evidence-based planning methodologies.
• Develop and validate technical frameworks for integrated energy planning at county level. This will involve close coordination with both the national, County governments and Council of Governors ensuring all outputs follow the INEP regulations and relevant acts.
• Ensure quality assurance of all technical deliverables including CEPs, energy policies, and investment strategies.
• Coordinate with international best practices in energy planning and policy development.
• Support energy modelling activities using appropriate tools and methodologies.
• Ensure compliance with Government Policy Handbook guidelines for energy policy development
• Review and provide input on regulatory frameworks affecting county energy planning.
• Coordinate establishment of data collection and management protocols for county-level energy planning.

Strategic Alignment and business development (15%)

• In collaboration with Business Development, monitor and analyse the regional context to position Practical Action as a competitive technical and consulting entity across all its Goal/ Thematic areas.

• In collaboration with the Business Development team, lead on the development and delivery of Practical Action's energy programming strategy within the wider organizational strategic business plan with support from other organizational units including project delivery, policy and practice, M&E and business development.

• Facilitate the development and pursuit of cross thematic priorities including agriculture-energy nexus, gender, climate change and a markets approach.

• Support ownership and commitment to the strategy by staff and relevant departments through clear communication, regular feedback on progress and engagement of all functions in updates

• Working with staff, develop an effective and viable working model for the Unit including avenues for cost recovery, a delivery model across all Practical Action's Goal Areas, and quality framework strongly aligned to Practical Action's framework for change.

• Explore consultancy opportunities, design proposals and deliver consultancy work of an international dimension. In doing so ensuring delivery is aligned with Practical Actions values, leverages best practise and learning from within and outside the organisation and challenges the status quo to ensure the highest quality of outputs.

• Provides supplementary technical support to proposals Design and execution.

• Increase PA's technical capacity to apply inclusive Market approaches mainly in energy, urban water and sanitation and disaster risk reduction.

  Collaboratively with the Africa office to identify funding opportunities and develop proposals/bids for programmes and PA in Kenya and regional programming.

Capacity Building and Knowledge Transfer (10%)

• Coordinate design and delivery capacity building programs for county energy planners and technical staff.
• Oversight on development and dissemination of training curricula on energy modeling, data management, and planning methodologies.
• Create knowledge products and technical guidance materials for county energy planning.
• Coordinate with Project consortium members on capacity building initiatives.
• Support establishment of sustainable training programs beyond project timeline.
• Working closely with the Impact & Influence team, ensure project monitoring frameworks are developed and monitored and outcome harvesting done.
• Support in strategic project communication.

Stakeholder Coordination and Partnership (15%)

• Coordinate technical inputs with national government agencies (Ministry of Energy and Petroleum)
• Liaise with Council of Governors on technical aspects of energy planning and CEP uptake
• Support private sector engagement in county energy planning processes and investment mobilization
• Facilitate knowledge sharing between counties and with international partners
• Represent Practical Action at technical forums and energy sector meetings
• Coordinate with Energy Modelling Platform for Africa initiatives

Leadership and People (10%)

• Provide technical leadership to the Project ensuring alignment and cohesiveness to the project consortium.
• Support the project in ensuring appropriate staffing for the Project and emerging project opportunities in the energy and nexus portfolio.
• Ensure quality engagement with external Associates in delivering the project deliverables
• Lead and oversight performance of the technical staff and Associates engaged in the Project holding them accountable for the technical delivery, financial control, and management of associates, donor reporting, and performance of their respective assignments.
• Provide oversight and quality assurance on inputs by external associates.
• Provide leadership in PA engagement with external stakeholders in the Project.

Project Management Support (10%)

• Collaborate closely with Project Manager on project implementation and coordination
• Provide technical input to project planning, monitoring, and reporting
• Support risk management related to technical delivery and capacity building
• Ensure timely delivery of technical milestones and deliverables
• Participate in project team meetings and coordination activities

Financial Management and Administration (10%)

• Working collaboratively with the Project Manager, support in development of annual, monthly budgets and establishment of budget monitoring frameworks.
• Oversight of consulting projects of approximately El million a year.
• Ensure the effective and timely management and control of project budgets, managing project and operational expenditure against approved budgets and ensure that expenditure does not exceed allowed limits
• Work with the finance team to budget forecasts, financial analysis and ensure timely and accurate monthly and annual financial reports,
• Work with the finance team to understand, monitor and mitigate financial risk associate with the unit, keeping accurate records of all 'at risk' awards and projects.

Strengthening Organizational Profile (5%)

• Develop and deepen existing donor relationships, ensuring that the organisation maintains effective communications and good relations with our donor partners, ensuring they are updated on our work and achievements.
• Represent Practical Action at local and international meetings, actively build and positive awareness of the Practical Action Group and manage the reputational risk of the RCO.
• Work closely with the Communications team the Regional Management Team and others across the organisation to increase PA profile and enhance our reputation within the donor community.
• To ensure knowledge generation and capture is effectively delivered through activities such as authoring and commissioning articles for publication based on a synthesis of project experience.
• Contribute to organisational processes of learning and policy formulation.

Other responsibilities

• Support to the Senior Management Team in agenda setting, longer term strategic direction and decision making.
• Support the SMT and Head of Programs to meet the governance requirements including reporting to the Practical Action Kenya board.

Sensitivity on Gender Equality and Social Inclusion:

Should have respectful beliefs regardless of their gender, age, sex, race, ethnic background, culture, different ability, nationality, religion, and marital status. Is sensitive and adaptable to gender and social inclusion and adopts inclusive practices. Responds and behaves appropriately in different situations.

Safeguarding

It is all staff's shared responsibility and obligation to safeguard and protect populations with whom we work with, including vulnerable adults and children.

Practical Action believes that it is unacceptable for anyone to experience exploitation or abuse in any form, anywhere. All staff members undergo mandatory Safeguarding training and are expected to always commit/adhere to our Safeguarding Policy whilst working for or on behalf of Practical Action.

PERSON PROFILE

To be successful in the role, the ideal candidate should meet the following requirements:

Experience & Knowledge

• A Master’s degree (or equivalent experience) in Energy, Environmental Studies, Economics, policy, Engineering, Project Management, Development Studies, or a related field.
• Strong understanding of integrated energy planning, energy access, and its intersection with climate, agriculture, water, and other development sectors.
• Familiarity with gender-sensitive programming, safeguarding, and inclusive development approaches.
• Proficiency in project management tools, budget tracking, and report writing.
• Ability to develop and apply tools, frameworks, and methodologies in energy and nexus planning.
• Minimum 7 years of progressive experience in project management, preferably in the energy access, climate change, or development sectors.

Essential

• Proven experience in planning, implementing, and reporting on donor-funded projects (experience with UKPACT, FCDO, or similar donors is a strong asset).
• Experience in working with government agencies, development partners, and private sector actors at national and county levels.
• Demonstrated success in managing budgets, contracts, and grant compliance.
• Experience in team leadership, staff supervision, and working with multidisciplinary teams.
• Hands-on experience in monitoring, evaluation, learning (MEL), and risk management

How to apply

A detailed Job Profile can be accessed from Practical Action website - Career section.

If you are ready for an exciting challenge with an organisation whose mission and values are particularly relevant in these rapidly changing times, please forward your application, curriculum vitae and cover letter to: Practical Action, Kenya Office by email: recruitment@practicalaction.or.ke no later than Friday, 25th July 2025 indicating ‘Practical Action: ‘Technical Advisor - Integrated County Energy Planning (INEP) in the subject line of the email. Your cover letter should outline why you feel you are the right candidate for this position. Please include the names of 3 referees in your CV. All information/data given will be handled in the strictest confidence and will only be used for recruitment purposes.

Additional Information

Practical Action is an equal opportunities employer, and we encourage applications from under-represented groups. We stay committed to cultivating an inclusive and diverse working environment and believe that people from different backgrounds or cultures give us different perspectives, and the more perspectives we have, the more successful we will be. By building a culture where everyone feels heard, respected and valued we give everyone working with us the opportunity to achieve their full potential.

Practical Action is committed to safeguarding and protecting children and vulnerable adults and as such candidates will be subject to pre-employment checks.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.