Political, Economy and Stakeholder Advisor

CTG overview:

CTG was established in 2006, almost 20 years ago, in Afghanistan. We currently operate in 35 countries and have approximately 11,500 staff members committed to good! But do you know who we are? And what do we do? We provide tailored Human Resources and Staffing Solutions that support critical global initiatives across Humanitarian and Development sectors, and are now strategically foraying into new industries, including Construction, Energy, and IT, with a focus on high-risk regions. Here’s a list of services we offer:

• Staffing solutions and HR management services
• Monitoring and evaluation
• Fleet management and logistics
• Facilities management
• Sustainability and Communications Advisory
• Election monitoring and observation
• IT professional services
• Medical assistance

Visit www.ctg.org to find out more.

Background information on our client:

• UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations (UN), supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian & development projects around the world. Their mission is to help people build better lives & countries achieve sustainable development.
• Their areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management & human resources.

Working with our client:

• Our client offers short & long term work opportunities in diverse & challenging environments across the globe. They are looking for creative, results focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity:

• With over 4,000 personnel & approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of their partners spread across 80 countries, their workforce represents a wide range of nationalities & cultures. Our client promotes a balanced, diverse workforce, a strength that helps them better understand & address their partners’ needs & continually strive to improve their gender balance through initiatives & policies that encourages recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization:

• Our client values its people & recognizes the importance of balancing professional & personal demands.

Background information on our clients project in Yemen:

The second phase of the Yemen Emergency Electricity Access Project II(YEEAP II) seeks to improve access to electricity for households & provide electricity to critical service facilities in rural & peri urban areas within the Republic of Yemen. The project is financed by the World Bank (WB) (grant from IDA) & implemented by our client. To achieve the project’s objectives, our client will engage solar Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs), solar installers & suppliers, technical service providers & other stakeholders. The Project will finance distributed solar solutions to provide urgently needed access to electricity in Yemen. The project consist of three components:

• Component 1: Electricity in rural & peri urban areas (electricity for households, electricity for critical services facilities & support to COVID 19 isolation units & vaccine cold chain).
• Component 2: Implementation support, market development & technical assistance for power sector sustainability.
• Component 3: Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC).

Yemen's energy crisis, due to generation deficits, poor infrastructure, fossil fuel dependence & a collapsed financial model, has led the Ministry of Electricity & Energy (MoEE), with partners, to host the Yemen national energy conference from November 2nd - 4th, 2025. The conference, themed "sustainable energy for Yemen’s recovery," aims to foster dialogue, integrate global experiences & climate finance & build consensus on a comprehensive roadmap for sector reform & green recovery. Preparatory strategic intelligence & situational analysis are crucial to shaping the agenda & guiding discussions. Outputs from these consultancies will inform the electricity sector reform strategy. The YEEAP II, specifically subcomponent 2.3, will support comprehensive reform by deploying experts to address inefficiencies & establish a robust framework for electricity access.

Role objectives:

• At the country level, analyse the political, institutional & socio economic dynamics influencing the energy sector & ensure the white paper’s recommendations are politically feasible & supported by key stakeholders. Key tasks & responsibilities include but are not limited to:
• Conduct a rigorous political economy analysis of Yemen’s energy sector to identify key actors, incentives, institutional risks & potential stakeholders for reform within Yemen's fragile context.
• Coordinate with country senior governmental officials related to the decision making in the electricity sector at the strategic level.
• Perform a desk review of studies related to the electricity sector conducted by international organizations / donors, governmental strategic plans & current & planned projects by the government & international donors.
• Develop & implement a comprehensive stakeholder engagement plan to ensure the meaningful participation of government bodies, donors, private sector actors, & civil society organizations.
• Map & analyse Yemeni energy stakeholders (government, tribal leaders, private sector, international organizations, civil society, community representatives).
• Assess their interests, influence, relationships & reform positions.
• Identify "champions" & "blockers" for effective engagement.
• Provide strategic expert, conflict sensitive & contextually relevant advice to senior government counterparts on navigating politically sensitive challenges, such as subsidy reform, governance improvements & institutional restructuring.
• Facilitate high level strategic dialogues & bilateral meetings to foster trust, build coalitions & ensure donor / partner alignment with the government's vision.
• Recommend concrete governance & institutional strengthening measures to improve transparency, accountability & the operational capacity of energy sector institutions.
• Ensure that proposed PPP / PPA frameworks & investment incentives are politically backed, benefit from high level guarantees & include robust risk mitigation measures.
• Assess the socio political impacts of proposed energy projects, especially in rural & conflict affected areas, to promote inclusive outcomes & social cohesion.
• Author key sections of the white paper focusing on governance, institutional reform & stakeholder engagement, ensuring recommendations are context specific & actionable.
• Advise on strategic communication strategies to manage public expectations, build broad support for reforms & communicate the benefits of a revitalized energy sector.
• Support the government's diplomatic engagement with international donors (e.g., WB, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar) by providing nuanced political insights to help mobilize financing.

Project reporting:

• This role reports to the line manager.

Key competencies:

• Advanced university degree at least (master's) in political science, development studies, sociology or a related field.
• Minimum of 7 years with a master's degree of experience in conducting political economy studies & stakeholder mapping.
• Working knowledge of cloud based Microsoft (MS) Office software packages (Google Suite) & MS Project.
• Fluency in English & Arabic is required.
• Treats all individuals with respect, responds sensitively to differences & encourages others to do the same. Upholds organizational & ethical norms. Maintains high standards of trustworthiness. Role model for diversity & inclusion.
• Acts as a positive role model contributing to the team spirit. Collaborates & supports the development of others. Acts as positive leadership role model, motivates, directs & inspires others to succeed, utilizing appropriate leadership styles.
• Demonstrates understanding of the impact of own role on all partners & always puts the end beneficiary first. Builds & maintains strong external relationships & is a competent partner for others (if relevant to the role).
• Efficiently establishes an appropriate course of action for self & / or others to accomplish a goal. Actions lead to total task accomplishment through concern for quality in all areas. Sees opportunities & takes the initiative to act on them. Understands that responsible use of resources maximizes our clients impact on their beneficiaries.
• Open to change & flexible in a fast paced environment. Effectively adapts own approach to suit changing circumstances or requirements. Reflects on experiences & modifies own behavior. Performance is consistent, even under pressure. Always pursues continuous improvements.
• Evaluates data & courses of action to reach logical, pragmatic decisions. Takes an unbiased, rational approach with calculated risks. Applies innovation & creativity to problem solving.
• Expresses ideas or facts in a clear, concise & open manner. Communication indicates a consideration for the feelings & needs of others. Actively listens & proactively shares knowledge. Handles conflict effectively, by overcoming differences of opinion & finding common ground.

Team management:

• This role has no team management responsibility.

Further information

• Qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply for this role.