Senior Specialist-Energy Transition

International Solar Alliance (ISA)

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 this Terms of Reference is to hire a highly experienced Energy Transition Specialist as part of the Program Management Unit (PMU).

The MDTF focuses on three strategic pillars:

1. Energy Transition Planning (ETP):

2. Utility Digitisation (Digitalisation of Utilities for Energy Transition - DUET):

3. Global Capability Centre:

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:

Senior Specialist-Energy Transition

Project Management and Coordination:

• Develop and implement project plans on digitization and modelling specifically focused on energy transition initiatives at the sub-national level for India, ensuring alignment with ISA’s goals. For the sake of clarity, while this starts with Indian sub-nationals, but the engagement is likely to cover multiple utilities in Africa, Asia and Latin Americas and Carribean over energy transition planning.

• Coordinate with local governments, stakeholders, and ISA member countries to facilitate digitization, energy transition planning and execution.

• Monitor project timelines, budgets, and deliverables to ensure successful completion within defined parameters.

Technical Support:

• Provide technical assistance in renewable energy planning, including solar, wind, and energy storage systems.

• Support the development of just energy transition roadmaps tailored to sub-national contexts through skills on macro-economic assessments and energy modelling.

• Assist in resource allocation and capacity-building efforts for local governments and organizations.

Stakeholder Engagement:

• Facilitate workshops and meetings with stakeholders to gather inputs and ensure collaborative decision-making.

• Act as a liaison between ISA, donors, sub-national entities, and other partners to strengthen partnerships.

Monitoring and Reporting:

• Track project progress using established metrics and prepare regular reports for ISA leadership and donors.

• Identify risks and propose mitigation strategies to address challenges in energy transition projects.

Other areas of work may be added onto during the course of the engagement.

Knowledge Sharing:

• Document lessons learned from sub-national projects to inform ISA’s broader energy transition strategies.

• Contribute to training programs for local stakeholders on renewable energy technologies and project management best practices.

Educational Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Engineering or Energy Studies, Development Studies or Economics, or related disciplines.

• At least 10 years of experience preferably in renewable energy/energy efficiency/power sector reforms/energy modelling/climate change projects.

• Experience with UN agencies or Inter-Governmental Organizations (preferred).

Competencies:

Professionalism:

Teamwork:

Planning & Organizing: