National Consultant – Comprehensive Technical Support for AMP Somalia (Component One).

Ministry of Energy and Water Resources

TERMS OF REFERENCE(ToR)

Of National Consultant

Title: National Consultant – Comprehensive Technical Support for AMP Somalia (Component One).

Africa Mini-grids Program (“AMP”) - National Child Project Somalia. 

Post Type: National consultant

Location: Mogadishu, possible travel to the field for surveys and data collection.

Type of Contract:  Consultant

Starting date: 15 Aug 2025

Closing Date:  31 Dec 2025

Languages: English and Somali

Supervisor:  Director of Energy Department

1.     Background

The Africa Minigrids Program (AMP)

The Africa Minigrids Program (AMP) is a country-led regional technical assistance program for minigrids, active in an initial 21 African countries. It is led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with funding primarily from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented together with Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), linking up with a wide array of minigrid stakeholders in Africa and beyond.

AMP’s overall objective is to increase access to electricity by improving the financial viability and promoting scaled-up commercial investment in renewable energy minigrids. The program is focused on minigrid cost-reduction, across hardware costs, soft costs, and financing costs, and innovative business models for minigrids. With lower costs, minigrids will be more financially viable, commercial capital flows will increase, and end-users will benefit from lower tariffs and expanded service.

The AMP program has two main elements: a cohort of national projects and a regional project.

1.     An initial 21 national projects[1], each with a common architecture consisting of five components: (i) policy and regulations, (ii) business model innovation with private sector, (iii) innovative finance for minigrids scale-up, and (iv) digital, knowledge management, and (v) M&E.

2.     A regional project acting as the knowledge, advocacy and coordinating platform for AMP. This will be achieved through a suite of knowledge tools, technical and operational expertise and support, communities of practice, and promoting innovative digital approaches for minigrid cost reduction.

The AMP national project in Somalia

As part of the UNDP-supported, GEF-financed Africa Mini-grids Program (AMP), the AMP in Somalia seeks to “support access to clean energy by increasing the financial viability, and promoting scaled up commercial investment, in low carbon mini-grids in Somalia, with a focus on cost reduction levers and innovative business models”. The baseline situation is characterized by a low electrification rate (35%), the lack of electricity grid infrastructure, and the predominance of and reliance on diesel mini-grid systems, owned and operated by private Electricity Service Providers (ESPs), charging remarkably high tariffs. The project strategy corresponds to the unique nature of the energy sector in Somalia, and the AMP’s concentration on clean energy, by focusing on digital transformation and institutionalization of ongoing initiatives to expand the adoption of solar PV technologies, and promote hybridization of existing diesel minigrid systems as a financially viable path to driving down tariffs and reducing GHG emissions in Somalia.  

This is achieved through supporting the Government on the national and sub-national levels with: (1) operationalizing existing mini-grid policies and regulations through digital transformation, including performing techno-economic analyses, designing tools for tariff calculation, and supporting the institutional capacity building of the mini-grid public sector; (2) implementing pilot project(s) to showcase the benefits of hybridization and remote telemetry of performance monitoring and consumption tracking, as well as establishing and capacitating mini-grid industry associations to encourage and strengthen private operators and developers, and introducing academic programs to build private sector capacity to design, operate, maintain and manage solar and hybrid mini-grids; (3) assessing previous and ongoing financing schemes to develop operational guidance and offer training support to stakeholders in the domestic financial sector; and (4) running an effective M&E, QA and KM systems to oversee and guide project implementation. 

2.     Objective of the Consultancy

The National Consultant will provide comprehensive in-country technical and coordination support for the effective implementation of Component One of the AMP Somalia project, working closely with international consultants, the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources (MoEWR), and the AMP Project Management Unit.

3.     Scope of Work and Responsibilities

The Consultant will undertake the following specific tasks:

Task 1: Support Mini-grid Policy and regulatory Development and Implementation

·       Provide technical and operational support for finalizing, operationalizing, and disseminating mini-grid policies and regulations.

·       Facilitate consultations, stakeholder engagements, validation workshops, and provide inputs to policy briefs and operational manuals.

·       Support the finalization of all developed mini-grid policy and regulations, including final design and formatting for publication; assist the Energy Department in preparing translated versions and documentation for formal submission to the Cabinet for approval.

Task 2: Capacity Building and Training Support

·       Support the organization of workshops, training, and capacity development activities under component one.

·       Prepare and contextualize training materials, presentations, manuals, and reports documenting training outcomes and feedback.

Task 3: Support the dissemination and Implementation of DREI Analysis recommendations

·       Facilitate coordination between national stakeholders and international DREI consultants, ensuring effective dissemination of findings.

·       Support the organization of roundtable discussions and dissemination of the DREI findings.

·       Provide final review and prepare the DREI report for publication.

Task 4: Support Digital Transformation for Mini-Grids

·       Support the implementation of a Digital Readiness Assessment (DRA) and development of a Somalia-specific digital strategy.

·       Provide contextual inputs to adapt digital solutions such as smart metering and remote telemetry to Somalia’s mini-grid sector.

·       Support the authorities to promote the use of smart meters for consumption and tariff monitoring. This includes the facilitation of establishing contacts between local suppliers and international manufacturers of sensors and meters.

·       Provide technical support to the international consultant and regional project team for the development of digital tools for mini-grids sector Somalia.

Task 5: National Dialogue on Mini-grid Delivery Models

·       Contribute to stakeholder mapping, workshop coordination, and dissemination of dialogue outcomes.

·       Conduct the final review and customization of the document to reflect local contexts, finalize the design for publication, and prepare the output for public access and dissemination.

Task 6: Development and Domestication of Solar PV Mini-grid Standards

·       Collect baseline data and synthesize existing national/regional standards.

·       Facilitate stakeholder engagements with SBS, SQCC, MoEWR, and other relevant bodies.

·       Provide inputs and contextual feedback on standards documents produced by international consultants.

·       Coordinate workshops, translate, and contextualize training materials.

Task 7: Institutional Coordination and Operational Support

·       Coordinate closely with MoEWR to strengthen institutional arrangements for rural electrification.

·       Update the assessments and analysis on institutional arrangements for rural electrification

·       Contribute to the development of rural electrification strategy

·       Undertake additional activities assigned by the Director of the Department of Energy .

[1] Participating countries are organized in 3 cohorts: Cohort 1 - Angola, Burkina Faso, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Madagascar, Malawi, Nigeria, Somalia, and Sudan; Cohort 2 - Benin, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Sao Tome and Principe, and Zambia; Cohort 3 - Burundi, DRC, and Liberia.

4. Required Qualifications and Experience

Qualification

Required

Education

Master’s degree   in Electrical Engineering, Renewable Energy, Energy Systems, or related fields.

Experience

At least 5 years of relevant professional experience in renewable energy systems, preferably in mini-grid design and implementation.

Language

Fluency in English and Somali (spoken and written).

Skills

·       Strong technical knowledge of solar PV and hybrid systems, and quality assurance; excellent coordination and stakeholder engagement skills, standards/regulations, or related fields in Somalia

·       Familiarity with mini-grid technologies, digital solutions, and renewable energy investment frameworks experience in stakeholder engagement, coordination and institutional capacity building

Advantageous

Familiarity with international quality standards (e.g., IEC, ISO), and experience with development partner-funded projects (GEF, UNDP, etc.).

5. Deliverables and Reporting

The Mini-Grid Local Engineer will be required to deliver the following:

Deliverable

Frequency / Deadline

Monthly activity/ timesheet /performance report

Monthly

Review & Generate reports under component 1 for publications

As per project milestones

support to all assessment, studies with international consultants, stakeholder engagements, and preparation of workshops

As scheduled

Technical support to standards development and validation

Ongoing

Participation in AMP coordination meetings

Regularly

Contribution to M&E and knowledge products

As required

6. Supervision and Reporting

• The engineer will be hosted within the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources, reporting directly to the Director of Energy.
• The position is full-time and will require periodic field travel to pilot sites of Energy Office.

7. Application Process:

Interested candidates are invited to submit the following:

1. A detailed CV and Cover Letter outlining relevant experience and qualifications.
2. A financial proposal outlining the cost of the consultancy. Applications should be submitted to [email protected] cc: [email protected] [email protected] by deadline date of 13th August  2025.