Portfolio Officer- Tanzania Clean Cooking Program(TCCP)

The AECF

The AECF (Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund) is a development institution that finances early and growth-stage businesses to innovate, create jobs and leverage investments & markets to create resilience and growth sustainable incomes in rural and marginalized communities in Africa.

Since 2008, we have invested over US$300 million in over 510 businesses across sub-Saharan Africa focusing on Agribusiness, Renewable Energy and Climate-Smart Technologies. We have impacted more than 33 million lives, created over 35,000 jobs, and leveraged over US$ 838 million in matching funds to our portfolio companies.

AECF is headquartered in Kenya, with offices in Cote d’Ivoire, Tanzania, Nigeria, South Sudan, Benin, and Somalia.

The Tanzania Clean Cooking Programme

The Tanzania Clean Cooking Program (TCCP) is a US$ 3.75 million, three-year program that aims to transform the clean cooking sector and enable access to clean cooking to more than 300,000 rural and marginalized households in Tanzania. The program aims to address the two-fold challenge of supply and demand through innovative mechanisms that de-risk private sector investments through supply-side grants and make clean cooking solutions more affordable through demand-side grants.

The program will deploy a direct matching grant financing facility coupled with technical assistance as a means of incentivizing and de-risking the private sector to venture into these markets and expect that by the end of the program period, the target markets will have opened and be able to crowd in other private sector actors.

The key objectives of the program are:

1. Catalyze the private sector participation in clean cooking solutions in underserved markets
2. Accelerate the uptake of clean cooking solutions through innovative financing mechanisms
3. Strengthen the clean cooking sector coordination and advocate for a conducive policy environment for a market-led clean cooking sector.

The Role

The Tanzania Clean Cooking Program (TCCP) is a US$ 3.75 million, three-year program that aims to transform the clean cooking sector and enable access to clean cooking to more than 300,000 rural and marginalized households in Tanzania. The program aims to address the two-fold challenge of supply and demand through innovative mechanisms that de-risk private sector investments through supply-side grants and make clean cooking solutions more affordable through demand-side grants. The program will deploy a direct matching grant financing facility coupled with technical assistance as a means of incentivizing and de-risking the private sector to venture into these markets and expect that by the end of the program period, the target markets will have opened and been able to crowd in other private sector actors.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop portfolio management plans, in line with the program and the overall AECF operational and technical management strategy.
• Work with the AECF competition team to execute competition activities, including marketing open windows, evaluating concept notes and business plans, conducting due diligence, supporting business plan development at the application stage, and contracting selected companies
• Responsible for ensuring effective investees’ performance and relationship management
• With support from the AECF Impact Team, develop results measurement plans together with each investee company.
• Lead the planning and execution of the investee’s performance monitoring activities, including data verification exercises to ensure the quality of program results.
• Implementing the AECF’s operational processes for grant management including contribution to the operationalization of the Portfolio Management Information System (PMIS).
• Implementation of the financial policies, procedures, and systems guidelines for grant recipients
• Ensure all investee site visits are conducted periodically, as per the agreed site visit schedule.
• Coordinate identification of investees who require technical assistance and investment services and arrange to deliver services based on the AECF TA and Learning service delivery framework.
• Reviewing periodic investee narrative and financial reports, as well as disbursement requests from investee.
• Ensure legal review and opinion on investees that require the legal departments’ review.
• Manage the flow of disbursements throughout implementation, advising the Program manager on timing and potential issues that need to be addressed.
• Provide periodic reports on the program, information trends, and other relevant information as requested as well as periodic portfolio management reports.
• Contribute to the Impact & Learning agenda, specifically on the TCCP.
• Ensure continuous improvement of the portfolio relationship management based on learning.
• With the support of the Knowledge and Insights Manager, regularly apply lessons, emerging innovations, and best practices from investee project evaluations, field visit reports, and project reports across the TCCP and the organization.

Qualifications

• Degree in the areas of Business Management, Energy, Economics, Rural Development, Project Management, Development Studies, or any related studies.
• Minimum of five (5) years experience in private sector development, and sustainable finance, preferable in the energy sector in Tanzania.
• Strong understanding of and practical experience in the energy sector preferably clean cooking
• Have an ability and demonstrate experience in designing and appraising energy business cases.
• Have a demonstrated track record in portfolio management, specifically in conducting project due diligence monitoring, evaluation, reporting, and financial management for early-stage companies.
• Have experience managing gender-responsive programs/investments.
• Have excellent analytical and communication skills with the ability to prepare portfolio analysis reports
• Have a high degree of initiative and energy, “can-do” attitude, flexibility, teamwork, and attention to detail.
• Have excellent interpersonal skills including a strong work ethic, impeccable integrity, and judgment.