Procurement and Operations Officer

Background

The International Solar Alliance (ISA), an intergovernmental treaty-based organization headquartered in Gurugram, India, is a coalition of solar-resource-rich countries. It was conceived to address the unique energy needs of its member nations through the deployment of solar energy technologies. The ISA provides a dedicated platform for cooperation among its 120+ member countries, including governments, multilateral institutions, the private sector, and other stakeholders. Its mission is to drive collective action towards increased solar energy use, ensuring energy security, sustainable development, and improved energy access, particularly for low-income and energy-deficient regions.

To further its vision of universal energy access and a just energy transition, ISA’s assembly had approved the establishment of the Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) during its Fourth Assembly in October 2021. The MDTF is a catalytic financing mechanism that mobilizes donor contributions and facilitates high-impact programmatic interventions aimed at accelerating the deployment of solar energy across ISA member countries. It is designed to reduce aid fragmentation, increase strategic coherence, and serve as a centralized platform for programmatic funding aligned with ISA’s global energy agenda.

In 2025, the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) was appointed as the Trust Fund Management Agency (TFMA) to operationalize and manage the MDTF. A dedicated Program Management Unit (PMU) is being established to support day-to-day operations, provide technical and strategic guidance and ensure high-quality implementation of MDTF-supported programs across all ISA member countries, including India. The purpose of these Terms of Reference is to hire a highly experienced Procurement and Operations Officer as part of the Program Management Unit (PMU).

The MDTF focuses on three strategic pillars:

1. Energy Transition Planning (ETP): Supporting national and sub-national governments to develop integrated, investment-ready energy transition blueprints that identify pathways to accelerate clean energy deployment, reduce emissions, enhance energy security, and stimulate green jobs.

2. Utility Digitization (Digitalization of Utilities for Energy Transition - DUET): Strengthening the technical and operational performance of distribution companies (DISCOMs) and utilities through AI-powered grid digitization tools, demand forecasting systems, and loss reduction mechanisms to modernize electricity distribution and integrate distributed renewable energy (DRE) and battery energy storage systems (BESS).

3. Global Capability Centre: setting up a capability center for providing ready expertise on designing and executing demonstrative, high-impact pilot projects that serve as replicable models for ISA member countries, thereby facilitating south-south learning and cross-border knowledge exchange, for example on topics like e-procurements etc.

The MDTF aims to raise USD 100 million over three years, leveraging significant co-investment from governments, donors, private capital, and development financial institutions. The objective is to generate measurable climate outcomes by accelerating clean energy deployments, enabling institutional readiness, improving governance and capacity, and unlocking investment pipelines across ISA countries. By focusing on context-specific implementation and embedding support within national and sub-national systems, the MDTF is uniquely positioned to drive bottom-up, scalable transformation across diverse geographies.

Scope of Work

ISA plans to hire a Procurement & Operations Officer for the Program Management Unit under the Multi Donor Trust Fund. This role shall report to the MDTF In-charge.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Manage budgeting, financial tracking, cashflows, disbursements, and preparation of financial reports.

• Coordinate with vendors, service providers, and implementing partners for contract management and payments.

• Ensure adherence to programme management policies, results-based programme management, and financial controls aligned with donor expectations.

• Support procurement processes for MDTF activities in compliance with ISA and donor requirements.

• Prepare procurement related documents such as Requests for Proposals (RfPs), bidding documents, evaluation reports, and contracts.

• Assist in audits, due diligence, and compliance processes.

• Prepare periodic MIS reports regarding procurement activities.

• Any other task, as assigned by the Reporting Manager

Skills Requirements

• Experience in project accounting, budgeting, and financial reporting for International funds.

• Strong diagnostic, analytical, and problem-solving skills.

• In-depth knowledge of programme management policies and procedures, including results based programme management and evaluation.

• Excellent interpersonal, networking, organizational, and communication skills; ability to present coherent and convincing positions succinctly.

• Good leadership and facilitation skills with the ability to work under pressure and on multiple simultaneous projects.

• Demonstrated capacity for innovation, adaptability, and high tolerance for complexity and unpredictability.

• Fluency in English with excellent verbal and written communication, drafting, and presentation skills.

Educational Qualifications

• Bachelors or Masters in Finance, business administration, or other relevant degree.

• CA/CFA (preferred)

Experience

• At least 6 years of extensive experience in managing Finance/Procurement for International Funds.

• Experience with handling GIFT City funds (preferred).

• Prior experience on procurement process of multilaterals as executor or submission of procurement (preferred).

• Relevant procurement accreditation (preferred).

• Knowledge of donor systems and donor reporting requirements.

Tenure

It will be initially for a period of two years, which could be further extended.

Compensation

This role shall be eligible for a consolidated monthly compensation, the amount, pegged at par with gross salary of NO-B levels (as per UN Common Systems). This being a non-staff role, does not include any benefits or entitlements. The compensation may be tax-exempt in the country where the ISA is headquartered (India) as per the Headquarters Agreement.