The International Solar Alliance (ISA) invites applicants for the position of Director-General of ISA. The Director-General is the Chief Executive Officer of ISA, and “is selected by and responsible to the Assembly for a term of four years, renewable for one further term.”1 The applicant must be available to assume office and commence duties from 15 March 2025.
Background:
ISA was created on 30 November 2015, during the Paris Conference on Climate Change (COP21) with the shared ambition to undertake joint efforts required to reduce the cost of finance and the cost of technology, mobilize more than USD 1000 billions of investments needed by 2030 for massive deployment of solar energy, and pave the way for future technologies adapted to the needs Members commit to collectively address key common challenges to the scaling up of solar energy in line with their needs as well as to better harmonize and aggregate demand for, inter alia, solar finance, solar technologies, innovation, research and development, and capacity building. The Assembly meets annually at the seat of ISA and at the Ministerial level to make decisions concerning the implementation of this Alliance’s objectives and coordination of actions to be taken to achieve its goal. At present, ISA has 119 countries that have signed the Framework Agreement of ISA, of which 99 have ratified the Framework Agreement to become full Members. ISA has 52 Partner Organizations.
Roles & Responsibilities
The Director-General supports the Assembly in advancing the ISA mandate and supports Members to address common challenges and engage in coordinated action to scale up the deployment of solar energy. The Director-General who is the Chief Executive Officer is responsible to the Assembly for resource mobilization and also for all the activities of the Secretariat, as well as its administration.
The level of the Director General, in terms of pay and perks will be equivalent to the Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) in the UN system and will be regulated as per the United Nations common system. The Headquarters Agreement between ISA and Government of India provides that the rank of Director General shall be equivalent to that of Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and High Commissioners of Commonwealth countries accredited to India.
The Director-General under the authority of the Assembly will:
- Define broad strategies to promote and support policy advocacy activities and initiates and coordinates policy dialogue with Governments, local authorities and other partners in the implementation of the ISA mandate and objectives;
- Provide overall direction to partnerships development and engagement with a wide range of stakeholders and partners including international organizations, other United Nations bodies, national, subnational and local governments, private sector, financial actors and other partners to ensure effective coordination of the global energy transition agenda and 2030 Agenda;
- Provide leadership for innovative financing approaches and resource mobilization activities to foster the cooperation and support of financial institutions in developed and developing countries to increase the resource base of the Secretariat and support countries to accelerate the deployment of solar energy at a national scale; and
- Represent ISA to promote its vision, leadership, standing and impact, with the overall guidance of its Members
Core competencies
- Demonstrated leadership experience with strategic vision and proven skills in managing complex organizations, such as an inter-governmental, international non-governmental or multinational private sector entity and at least two years’ experience at national level in the energy sector of a developing country;
- Demonstrated understanding of the issue, of the pace, scale and the opportunities and challenges of solar energy deployment, backed by a track record of high impact interventions in an international context;
- Demonstrated intellectual leadership, creativity and proven ability to propose new ideas and lead on new ways of working across silos to address issues of solar energy, issues of solar energy planning, legislation, financing, norms and standards, and on national solar energy policy as well as on the question of energy access in a complementary and synergetic way;
- Proven track record of change management and accomplishments at the regional, national or international level with strong resource mobilization, political and diplomatic skills;
- Demonstrated ability to work harmoniously in a multi-cultural team and establish harmonious and effective working relationships both within and outside the organization; and
- Proven ability to inspire, encourage, build trust and confidence and also build consensus, stimulate effective campaigns and drive collective action among a broad spectrum of people and organizations.
The candidate should have:
- Vision and leadership;
- Astute judgment and decision-making;
- Team and consensus builder;
- Ability to establish and maintain high-quality interpersonal relationships in a diverse, multicultural environment;
- Excellent communication and negotiating skills;
- Ability to address highly contentious issues effectively; and
- Action orientation and expertise in Solar Sector.
Qualifications
- National of a Member Country and endorsed by that Member Country for initial appointment, and if sought, renewal.
- At least 20 years of professional experience with at least 10 or more years of senior management at local, provincial, federal government and international levels.
- Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent or higher) in a field relevant to the position would be preferred.
- Fluency in oral and written English is essential and fluency in other languages of the United Nations is an asset. Familiarity with Hindi language will be an added advantage.
- Excellent management and senior level administrative skills.
- Astute judgment and decision-making faculty.
- Ability to establish and maintain high-quality interpersonal relationships in a diverse, multicultural environment.
- Skills and command for resource mobilization for ISA and smooth coordination especially with the host country Government, Members, and international peers and organizations.
- Proven records of administrative excellence and innovation in past services, including national or international awards, if any.
- A comprehensive understanding of energy policies and climate change, with a focus on solar energy is desirable.
- Excellent communication and negotiating skills is highly desirable.
Application and timelines
Qualified candidates may submit their application by sharing their completed application to the email: President-ISA-Assembly@isolaralliance.org with a copy to DG-selection@isolaralliance.org.
The application must comprise of the following;
- Latest Resume
- Statement of Intent
- Endorsement letter from the Member Country to which the candidate belongs
The resume and statement of intent should detail the candidate’s relevant experience in similar roles and demonstrate how the candidate has previously exhibited the competencies described in this vacancy announcement. The statement of intent should also outline the candidate’s plans to enhance the impact of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and its standing with the international community, in alignment with the ISA mandate and agenda of clean energy transition through solar. The statement of intent should be no longer than two pages (1000 words).
The application must be submitted to the given email, latest by 11:59 pm IST on 5 August 2024.
The shortlisted candidates will be requested for interviews in August/September 2024 and for a presentation to the Assembly on 4 November 2024, subject to being shortlisted.
Conflict of interest:
Shortlisted candidates will be required to complete a declaration of interests, prior to the appointment to identify potential conflicts of interest. This aims to prevent and manage any situations where personal interests may conflict, or appear to conflict, with the interests of ISA, should the candidate be appointed to this position.
