Senior Project Assistant, Sustainable Energy

INTRODUCTION TO GGGI

The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) is a treaty-based international, inter-governmental organization dedicated to supporting and promoting strong, inclusive and sustainable economic growth in developing countries and emerging economies. To learn more please visit about GGGI web page. 

POSITION SUMMARY

The Senior Project Assistant will provide coordination and technical support for the implementation of sustainable energy projects. S/he will coordinate with the GGGI Cambodia’s energy team and liaise with relevant government agencies, partners, factories, and other stakeholders.

The senior project assistant’s responsibilities will focus on coordinating project activities, including organizing meetings, facilitating stakeholder engagement, and supporting event preparation. Additionally, the role involves providing technical support by liaising with technical line ministries and other stakeholders in the sustainable energy sector. S/he will also contribute to data collection activities, including information gathering, data processing, taking part in energy audits, post-audit data collection and ensuring that technical information is accurately reported and disseminated.

The position will directly report to Senior Officer - Sustainable Energy. S/he will work closely with other team members of sustainable energy unit of GGGI Cambodia.

PURPOSE

The primary role of the Senior Project Assistant is to support the project teams in coordinating and providing technical assistance for the timely delivery and consistent quality of outputs and activities under the Green Growth Programme in Cambodia. The Senior Project Assistant will ensure smooth implementation of project by facilitating effective coordination among stakeholders, supporting technical processes, and ensuring compliance with established rules and procedures of GGGI and donor requirements. This includes assisting in the coordination of project activities, technical reporting, data management, and stakeholder engagement to achieve the project objectives. S/he will receive training and be equipped to conduct level-1 energy audits.

ENGAGEMENT

The Senior Project Assistant will work as a part of GGGI Cambodia Country Program and be based in Phnom Penh. The incumbent will conduct the following tasks, among others:

• Engage with the public counterparts including Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology & Innovation (MISTI), Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning, and Construction (MLMUPC), Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), Ministry of Environment (MOE), Phnom Penh Capital Administration (PPCA), project implementing partners, participating factories, and relevant stakeholders during the project implementation.
• Further, s/he will coordinate closely with the GGGI team to ensure that all project activities are effectively aligned with GGGI’s operational goals, standards, and policies, focusing on technical accuracy and consistency in project delivery.
• Support the energy team adhering towards government and donor’s priority and guidelines.

DELIVERY

• Coordinate with the project teams by ensuring the effective delivery of tasks that support the overall project implementation, including assisting the project teams with procurement processes, managing data, maintaining accurate project documentations.
• Supporting rolling-out factory recruitment campaign in collaboration with TAFTAC, MISTI and international brands; support pre-audit data collection campaign; taking part in energy audits, supporting post audit implementation of sustainable energy measures in the participating factories.
• Supporting the consultant in conducting energy audits in 250 buildings, in collaboration with MLMUPC, PPCA, MME, and the building association. This involves selecting the buildings, assisting with data collection, participating in the energy audits, and supporting the post-audit implementation.
• Supporting the implementation of the capacity-building program on low-carbon buildings, led by the Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC), by providing training to 300 key stakeholders.
• Organize and coordinate meetings and documentation, including preparing necessary materials and taking meeting notes, in close collaboration with the project team.
• Liaise with stakeholders in the sustainable energy, building and industry sector, maintaining and managing the stakeholder database to ensure effective communication and collaboration.
• Following up with factories during data collection as well as on the use of Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) tool developed by GGGI as they enroll for the Model Green Factory Programme (MGFP).
• Actively engage with the selected buildings and the factories in implementation of energy audit recommendations i.e. post audit demonstration, piloting, match making, post implementation data collection and reporting.
• Coordinate event preparation with the project teams, ensuring that all technical and logistical aspects are well-managed.
• Support the production and review of communication materials and knowledge products related to the project, in close collaboration with communication associate and project team.
• Conduct research on the technical aspects of the project, including gathering information, processing data, drafting summaries of relevant regulatory frameworks and policies, and identifying potential synergies and overlaps with other initiatives in the sector.
• Participate in capacity building activities, particularly the training to become a national energy auditor.

REQUIRMENTS
QUALIFICIATIONS

• A minimum of bachelor’s degree in Sustainable Development, Economics, International Relations, Engineering, Environmental Science, or Political Science.
• A minimum of 2 years of relevant work experience.  
• Fluency in English and excellent report writing skill is a must; good presentation skill is desired.
• Experience in working with the government, particularly with MISTI, MME and MOE and non-governmental organizations on a day-to-day basis is preferred.
• Experience working with multi-cultural and international organizations is preferred.
• Experience in organizing events in a dynamic environment with a variety of stakeholders is highly preferred.
• Willingness for frequent travels to the participating factories is a must. 

FUNCTIONAL

• Experience in engaging with other government stakeholders to maintain relationships and build trust and identify potential alignment with the Project.
• Experience with projects on Energy Efficiency, Climate Change, other relevant sustainable projects with Public Entities, Regulatory Agencies, Private sector, and ESCO.
• Experience in administrative processes necessary for project implementation.
• Experience in research and analysis to support project implementation, with knowledge of quantitative methods as an asset.
• Team player, creative problem-solver, and innovative thinker.
• Excellent multi-cultural setting and interest in being a part of an international team working in an evolving and entrepreneurial environment.
• Excellent communication (both written and oral) and facilitation skills.

CORPORATE

• Understand and actively supports GGGI’s mission, vision and values.
• Promote the optimum use of donor resources
• Promote an organizational culture of trust, transparency, respect and partnership.
• Process and share information easily.
• Manage emotions and stress positively, builds rapport and resolves conflict easily.
• Promote creativity and innovation among staff.
• Be able to lead where needed and provide solutions to project-level challenge.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• The Senior Project Assistant is an X5 National grade level at GGGI Cambodia.
• The annual base salary for X5 National grade level starts from USD 13,205. Determination of base salary is subject to candidate's experience, academic background and internal equity.
• GGGI provides 15% of base salary towards retirement plan/long-term savings, 27 days of annual leave, and private health insurance. 
• GGGI is committed to providing a work environment that is sufficiently flexible to accommodate diverse life-cycle challenges and assist Staff members to achieve a better balance between work and personal/family commitments, thus ensuring high performance, long-term productivity, and well-being of Staff members. 
• The chosen candidate is expected to be based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and will report to Project Officer and Senior Officer, GGGI-Cambodia.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

In Cambodia, Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) established a presence since 2013, supporting the Government on sustainable urban development by promoting green growth policies and investments. The sectoral focus of GGGI Cambodia program includes sustainable energy, waste management, sustainable mobility, and green financing. The GGGI Cambodia team consists of 13 people and seeks to continue expanding rapidly in coming years to meet the growing portfolio and technical advisory request from the government. Under sustainable energy unit, GGGI has been working on promoting sustainable energy and low carbon practices in Cambodian Garment Footwear and Travel Goods (GFT) sector and as well as in building sector.

Green Industry: With financial support from the European Union and in collaboration with consortium partners such as Geres and the Textile, Apparel, Footwear & Travel Goods Association in Cambodia (TAFTAC), GGGI has recently completed the implementation of the EU-Switch Garment project (link to project). The four-year project (May 2020 - May 2024) focused on developing guidelines, conducting energy audits, delivering capacity-building programs, and creating financing schemes to improve access to finance for the GFT industries in Cambodia.

To build on the achievements of EU-Switch Garment project and carry forward the momentum, GGGI is currently discussing with the EU for a follow-up project “EU Partnership for Sustainable Energy in Industry (EU Energy Partnership)”. Once approved, GGGI will lead implementation of following two components of EU Energy Partnership project:

• Component-I: Improved industry awareness and capacity to adopt sustainable energy practices through audits and training, including safer and gender sensitive working environment.
• Component 2: This component of the project intends to improve technical and financial expertise of key industry association/ national entity to facilitate adoption of sustainable energy practices by the GFT industry.

Green Building: The “Asia Low-Carbon Building Transition (ALCBT)” is a five-year (2023-2028) project being implemented in 5 Asian countries – Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, with the financial support from the Federal Government of Germany. GGGI is implementing the project through a consortium comprising of Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) from India, the HEAT International from Germany, and the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE). In Cambodia, the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning, and Construction (MLMUPC) is the government counterpart for project implementation.

The ALCBT project seeks to significantly reduce GHG emissions by catalyzing nationwide transitions towards low carbon buildings in Cambodia. This will be achieved through the development of standardized tools and systems for managing carbon emissions from the building sector and piloting them in project countries (Output I); enhancement of capacity for current and future building industry practitioners (Output II); and establishment of financial pathways for low carbon buildings (Output III). Additionally, project knowledge and tools will be accessible online and promoted systematically to stakeholders in project countries, across ASEAN and globally to create market demand, promote replication and scaling up of approach (Output IV).

The projects implemented by GGGI are typically managed by a Project Implementation Unit (PIU), composed of technical experts, while the overall strategic direction is provided by a Project Steering Committee (PSC), which includes management-level representatives from both the project team and government counterparts.