Innovation Fellow, GOTF

Job Title: Innovation Fellow, Grids of the Future, Africa

Department: Grids of the Future (GOTF)

Location: Nairobi, Kenya, with travel across GOTF anchor markets

Contract Type: One-year fixed-term contract

Travel: Across Africa as required by the programme

About Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet

The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (Global Energy Alliance) is advancing the Grids of the Future (GOTF) programme across Africa, working with anchor distribution utilities to modernise operations, build investible pipelines, and unlock the operational foundation needed for utilities to absorb capital and deliver at scale. The programme currently anchors around Kenya Power (KPLC), Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), and Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM), with a regional scale pathway through the Association of Power Utilities of Africa (APUA).

Global Energy Alliance is seeking an Innovation Fellow to support the Innovation workstream within GOTF Africa. The workstream is designed to identify, validate, and enable adoption of clean-energy grid innovations across African distribution utilities. It draws on lessons from GEA's flagship India platform (ENTICE) while adapting the model to African priorities — loss reduction, grid digitisation, distributed and utility-scale battery storage, interconnected mini-grid integration, and productive use of energy.

Our Mission

The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet is a collective movement for change, working to unlock renewable energy access in emerging economies. Clean energy is development; without it, every other form of progress is impacted. Today, half the world's population, 3.6 billion people, live in energy poverty.

Formed on a spirit of radical collaboration, GEA brings together philanthropy, including our founder partners the IKEA Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation and the Bezos Earth Fund, governments, development partners, and the private sector. Together we seek to open up green energy access and a just transition, unlocking a new era of inclusive economic growth while enabling the global community to meet critical climate goals within the next decade. Our mission is to accelerate a renewable energy tipping point that powers progress for people and planet.

Scope of Work

Key Responsibilities:

• Support the identification and framing of priority modernisation challenges with GOTF anchor utilities (KPLC, AEDC, ESCOM) and regional partners, translating utility priorities into targeted innovation opportunities.
• Support innovation scouting across African and international markets, including ecosystem outreach, technical due diligence, expert evaluation, and cohort selection.
• Coordinate the design and mobilisation of pilots with anchor DisCos and other partner utilities, including implementation coordination, field engagement, and user testing.
• Apply structured monitoring, evaluation and learning frameworks to generate technical, operational, financial, and development evidence from pilots.
• Support the connection of validated innovators to philanthropic, blended, and commercial capital, working with venture partners, and development finance institutions.
• Coordinate ecosystem partnerships across innovation platforms, funders, regulators and industry stakeholders, including proposal development, MoU coordination, and joint workplan management.
• Contribute to knowledge products including case studies, playbooks, whitepapers, and regulatory or policy engagement materials.
• Support the day-to-day running of the Innovation workstream, including reporting to GEA leadership, coordination with the wider GOTF Africa team, and cross-linkage with adjacent programmes (BESS Consortium, IMG/DRE, M300/CDMU).

Qualifications and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Economics, Business, Public Policy, or a related discipline; Master's degree an added advantage.
• At least 5 years of relevant experience in the power sector, climate innovation, utility engagement, venture support, or programme management.
• Working knowledge of grid modernisation, distributed renewable energy, battery energy storage, interconnected mini-grids, digital utility systems, and productive-use technologies.
• Experience with utility partnerships, innovation programmes, or climate-tech ecosystems; direct exposure to African markets strongly preferred.
• Track record of stakeholder engagement across utilities, regulators, technology providers, and investors.

Key Skills:

• Structured problem-solving with the ability to distil complex inputs into decision-ready materials.
• Programme and stakeholder management in multi-partner environments.
• Analytical mindset with a data-driven approach to pilot design and evaluation.
• Strong written and verbal communication, including briefing notes, concept papers, and executive-level materials.
• Comfort operating in the foundational period of a new workstream, with initiative and follow-through.

Success Metrics (KPIs):

• Innovation cohorts identified, selected, and supported through the pathway.
• Pilots launched with GOTF anchor utilities against agreed milestones.
• Follow-on capital mobilised into validated innovators.
• Strength of ecosystem and utility partnerships activated and sustained.
• Evidence products (case studies, playbooks, whitepapers) delivered and disseminated.

The annual salary for this role starts from USD 12,000 negotiable based on level of experience.

Please submit your application on or before 27th September COB. The Global Energy Alliance reserves the right to close the job advert early if we receive a high number of suitable applications.