T he mission of ZamGridCo is to modernise and expand Zambia's national electricity distribution grid under the Grid Resilience Program. Established after a first-of-its-kind debt-for-development transaction between the Government of Zambia and the African Development Bank, ZamGridCo is a Zambian private company limited by guarantee with not-for-profit objectives. Headquartered in Lusaka, it is an independent, legally separate entity whose remit is to channel the resulting debt-conversion savings into distribution network investment and upgrades, in line with Zambia's Integrated Resource Plan, Integrated Distribution Plan, and wider national energy reforms.

ROLE SUMMARY

The Technical/Operations Director leads delivery of ZamGridCo’s grid modernization and expansion program under the Grid Resilience Program, overseeing the lifecycle from RFP (Request for Proposals) to final project financing reporting, ensuring financial compliance, operational efficiency, and a positive experience for both recipients and internal teams up to project handover to the client. The role builds, scales, and manages the systems and processes that support project delivery and the associated financing lifecycle.

The Technical/Operations Director is responsible for the integrated operational coordination of ZamGridCo, including technical oversight inputs, project financing and portfolio coordination, monitoring and reporting, and procurement execution.

The Technical/Operations Director does not approve disbursements or contract variations but may inform decisions made by the Technical Advisory Committee. The role provides consolidated inputs to fiduciary decisions taken by the CEO in accordance with the delegated authority.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Project funding Lifecycle Management

• Responsible for the development, review and update of a 3 year project portfolio plan/pipeline that aligns to the Grid resilience program objectives, funding timeline and strategies.
• Oversee the end-to-end project funding administration process: application intake, due diligence, award disbursement, and reporting.
• Implement and manage Project funding Management System (e.g., Fluxx, Submittable, Blackbaud Grants Management).
• Ensure project funding contracts, payment schedules, and reporting deadlines are met with accuracy.

2. Financial & Compliance Oversight

• Manage project funding budgets in collaboration with Finance; track committed vs. expended funds.
• Ensure compliance with donor restrictions, and international project funding regulations.
• Conduct fiscal reviews and risk assessments of potential recipients (audits, anti-terrorism checks, financial health).
• Coordinate with the Finance Director on internal and external audits related to project funding operations.

3. Process Improvement & Scalability

• Design Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for project funding review, approval workflows, and payment processing.
• Reduce recipient administrative burden (e.g., simplifying applications, streamlining reporting).
• Identify bottlenecks and implement automation to speed up award turnaround times.

4. Team Leadership

• Manage Senior Distribution Engineer, Field Verification Engineer, Environmental & Social Specialist, and Smart Grid/SCADA Specialist.
• Train program staff on operational protocols and compliance requirements.
• Foster a "recipient-first" culture in all operational touchpoints.

5. Data & Reporting

• Generate portfolio-wide reports for leadership and donors (e.g., disbursement velocity, geographic spread, outcome tracking).
• Ensure data integrity across CRM, project funding management, and financial systems.
• Support and prepare for donor supervision and evaluation missions.

6. Vendor & Partner Management

• Manage relationships with fiscal sponsors, external evaluators, and technology vendors.
• Manage relationships with other stakeholders, such as ZESCO

QUALIFICATIONS

Required:

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in a technical field, such as Electrical Engineering, Engineering Technology or a related field, from a recognized university or MBA preferred.
• Experience:
  • Minimum 15 years’ cumulative experience in power generation/transmission/distribution projects; at least 8 years in senior supervisory/owner’s representative roles.
  • 8+ years of operations experience in an organization (foundation, corporate giving program, nonprofit intermediary, or related organization) with a focus on project implementation.
  • Direct Project Management experience on at least two major power systems projects of comparable complexity and value (each >= USD 20 -50 M), including EPC contract oversight.
  • Experience in leading procurement and bid evaluation for large power projects, including preparation of tender documents, technical and commercial bid assessments, vendor qualification, compliance checks, commercial negotiations, and recommendation of award in accordance with FIDIC/owner procurement policies and lender requirements.
  • Contract management experience with FIDIC (or regionally relevant standard forms), including claims review, variation assessment, and dispute avoidance procedures
• Licensed Professional Engineer (Zambia)
• Leadership Experience: Experience managing a team of 5+ operations staff.
• Industry Knowledge: Deep understanding of project funding compliance (charitable trust law, anti-money laundering checks), knowledge of electricity industry, preferably electricity distribution systems.
• Skills: Proficiency with Google Suite/Microsoft Office and ERP/financial systems (e.g., QuickBooks, NetSuite), proven track record managing project implementation or optimization.

Preferred:

1. A process-improvement qualification such as Lean Six Sigma, or formal grants management training or certification, such as CGMS, is advantageous but not strictly required.
2. Experience with participatory or trust-based philanthropy models is advantageous but not strictly required.
3. Experience in the execution of MDB funded projects.
4. Master’s degree in a related technical field.
5. PMP (PMI)

Key Competencies

1. Systems thinker – designs for scale, not short-term fixes.
2. Risk-aware – knows when to say “yes” and when to escalate compliance issues.
3. Recipient-centric – understands that operations should enable, not obstruct, funding.
4. Data-driven – uses dashboards to drive decisions.

• Responsible for the development, review and update of a 3 year project portfolio plan/pipeline that aligns to the Grid resilience program objectives, funding timeline and strategies.
• Oversee the end-to-end project funding administration process: application intake, due diligence, award disbursement, and reporting.
• Implement and manage Project funding Management System (e.g., Fluxx, Submittable, Blackbaud Grants Management).
• Ensure project funding contracts, payment schedules, and reporting deadlines are met with accuracy.
• Manage project funding budgets in collaboration with Finance; track committed vs. expended funds.
• Ensure compliance with donor restrictions, and international project funding regulations.
• Conduct fiscal reviews and risk assessments of potential recipients (audits, anti-terrorism checks, financial health).
• Coordinate with the Finance Director on internal and external audits related to project funding operations.
• Design Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for project funding review, approval workflows, and payment processing.
• Reduce recipient administrative burden (e.g., simplifying applications, streamlining reporting).
• Identify bottlenecks and implement automation to speed up award turnaround times.
• Manage Senior Distribution Engineer, Field Verification Engineer, Environmental & Social Specialist, and Smart Grid/SCADA Specialist.
• Train program staff on operational protocols and compliance requirements.
• Foster a "recipient-first" culture in all operational touchpoints.
• Generate portfolio-wide reports for leadership and donors (e.g., disbursement velocity, geographic spread, outcome tracking).
• Ensure data integrity across CRM, project funding management, and financial systems.
• Support and prepare for donor supervision and evaluation missions.
• Manage relationships with fiscal sponsors, external evaluators, and technology vendors.
• Manage relationships with other stakeholders, such as ZESCO

• Proficiency with Google Suite/Microsoft Office and ERP/financial systems (e.g., QuickBooks, NetSuite)
• Proven track record managing project implementation or optimization
• Systems thinker
• Risk-aware
• Recipient-centric
• Data-driven

• Bachelor’s degree in a technical field, such as Electrical Engineering, Engineering Technology or a related field, from a recognized university or MBA preferred.
• Minimum 15 years’ cumulative experience in power generation/transmission/distribution projects; at least 8 years in senior supervisory/owner’s representative roles.
• 8+ years of operations experience in an organization (foundation, corporate giving program, nonprofit intermediary, or related organization) with a focus on project implementation.
• Direct Project Management experience on at least two major power systems projects of comparable complexity and value (each >= USD 20 -50 M), including EPC contract oversight.
• Experience in leading procurement and bid evaluation for large power projects, including preparation of tender documents, technical and commercial bid assessments, vendor qualification, compliance checks, commercial negotiations, and recommendation of award in accordance with FIDIC/owner procurement policies and lender requirements.
• Contract management experience with FIDIC (or regionally relevant standard forms), including claims review, variation assessment, and dispute avoidance procedures
• Licensed Professional Engineer (Zambia)
• Experience managing a team of 5+ operations staff.
• Deep understanding of project funding compliance (charitable trust law, anti-money laundering checks), knowledge of electricity industry, preferably electricity distribution systems.
• A process-improvement qualification such as Lean Six Sigma, or formal grants management training or certification, such as CGMS, is advantageous but not strictly required.
• Experience with participatory or trust-based philanthropy models is advantageous but not strictly required.
• Experience in the execution of MDB funded projects.
• Master’s degree in a related technical field.
• PMP (PMI)