Foreign & Commonwealth Office Recruitment 2025

Overview

The UK Department for International Trade has a committed and growing presence across 23 of Africa’s nations. As the UK Government Department promoting free trade and overseas investment, we want to support the development of strong, prosperous and peaceful African nations, through modern, dynamic and long-term partnerships that deliver mutual benefit for the UK and Africa.

The UK believes that by understanding and supporting African-led ambitions, we can help Africa create sustainable trade, prosperity, jobs and livelihoods. That in turn will be of be of benefit to the UK and wider global community. We aspire to help tackle business environment issues, help introduce commercial solutions to meet African needs, and attract foreign investment to support sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

In the year ahead of the UK hosting COP26 and after the UK’s commitment to carbon zero by 2050, the UK wants to show continued global leadership on energy transition and climate action. Africa is set to be the most affected by climate change having contributed the least towards it. We are supporting on adaptation and mitigation. And Africa can be a leader too on transition with an abundance of clean energy and huge energy consumption needs. This ODA funded role will offer the jobholder the opportunity to ensure that UK decisions truly reflect an expert understanding of this crucial sector for africa.

The jobholder will join a dynamic network of committed trade officers working to support Africa’s exciting economic growth and position at the heart of the future world economy. This is an exciting time to join DIT Africa, as we continue to expand our resources to deliver on the ambition of our current Government to be Africa’s trade and investment partner of choice.

Roles and responsibilities

Renewable energy, including generation from the full suite of subsectors (wind, solar, waste, biofuel, geothermal etc) and clean storage, is one of six sector priorities in 2020/21 for the Department for International Trade in Africa. The Sector will be led by a Sector Director working with a virtual team across the continent. You will support that team in each location with expert understanding of African renewable energy needs, practices and regulations. You will also work closely with our Sector Director on power, oil and gas and energy efficiency, and our specialist in the green economy (non-power generation multi-sector transition to low carbon).

You will understand African renewables needs intimately and be able to translate those to officials less familiar with the sector. You will forge close relationships with African regulators, developers and companies are such that you can interpret their needs and develop solutions with and for them. You will look for all opportunities to encourage transition to renewable technologies and will seek to help Africa find the regulatory and tariff structures to incentivise that change. You will seek first and foremost to progress their plans and assist in their capability, but you will have a good knowledge of international best practice to contribute.

You will bring a commercial perspective to the sector trying to find the areas where commercial, investment or regulatory intervention could improve the sustainability and viability of African energy supply. This will be in complement to other actors for the British Government, with whom you will forge close working relationships, whose primary interests might be in e.g. climate resilience and/or emissions reductions. You will work to understand the contribution of our International Climate Finance, Green Finance, DFID and other programmes so that DIT can support these while also adding value in its commercial and trade policy sphere.

Together with the expertise in renewables delivery, you will also understand financing models (including from UK Government partners including UKEF and DFID), advising on approach for individual schemes.

Your aim will be to help African energy decision-makers understand where a commercial renewables application could deliver on or raise their ambition. You will understand the contribution of all the sub-sectors of renewable power generation and will be familiar with on-grid and off-grid solutions. You will also advise on power storage solutions to suit national and local power generation plans.

You will not be so concerned as colleagues with aligning African plans to UK solutions, but it would help to understand UK capabilities, public and private, especially in the area of research and innovation. For this, you would make connections to the UK’s innovation centres and support work that could have a mutual benefit in bringing ground-breaking techniques to Africa.

Your role will be advisory, but you would be expected to show a clear contribution to relationship development with African developers, to trade policy gains helping African transition to renewables, and to the upskilling of our network as they better understand how to target solutions for African needs.

• Undergraduate degree and other relevant professional qualification or experience.
• At least six years’ experience working in renewables or related power generation fields
• Experience of working in or with government departments, NGOs, and similar institutions
• Proven track record of cross-team collaboration
• A positive, resilient, flexible and adaptable “can-do” attitude that can see way through challenges.
• Knowledge of, and a keen interest in the renewables field and its applicability to Africa
• Knowledge of African markets and/or African energy needs in the context of sustainable development.