Associate Fellow, Engineering, Technical Services

Role Title:
Associate Fellow, Engineering and Technical Services

Role Type:
12-24 months with future opportunities

Location:
Arusha, Tanzania

Company Description:
Off.Grid:Electric is the world’s first massively scalable off-grid electric company. It exists to provide affordable and reliable energy (M-POWER) to communities that currently lack such power. The company utilizes distributed renewable energy to sell power as a service to customers who suffer from an expensive grid, an unreliable grid, or have no electrical grid access at all. It is headquartered in Arusha, Tanzania and founded by a team of world-class, venture-backed entrepreneurs.

OGE’s Core Values:
• Deliver more. Our customers deserve the very best. We obsess over exceeding our customers’ expectations.
• Expect more.  ‘This is Africa’ doesn’t fly with us.  We hold ourselves and our partners to a higher standard.
• Think Big. We have an audacious goal that will be impossible unless every member of the organization thinks bigger than the average employee.
• Create value, rather than extract it.  Build local management capacity, support small businesses and improve customers’ lives.
• Pursue personal growth.  We invest in ourselves, our employees and our partners more than anyone else. We teach each other how to be better than we think we are.
• Speak up.  All of our employee’s opinions are valuable and we give them tools to express themselves.
• Integrity above all else.  Integrity drives trust and builds the company’s reputation.
• Build a community you want to be a part of. Like a family, a company builds strong bonds through intentional time together; fun times, challenging times and time spent helping each other. Throughout our organization we encourage teams to treat each other like family.
• More than just a customer: Our customers are long term partners in our success, and we in theirs. We reward their loyalty continually.

Fellowship Program Description:
As Off.Grid:Electric expands, a variety of new projects are on the horizon. Projects include but are not limited to: expansions into other East African countries, developing recruitment and training programs, research and development of new product offerings, and leading pilots to introduce innovations into the existing business model. Off.Grid:Electric is in search of people with the desire, determination and commitment to spend two years in East Africa at a leading social enterprise. This position offers an opportunity to work with an established team of business professionals and engineers and directly contribute to the success of a rapidly expanding business. Candidates must have a passion for entrepreneurship, renewable energy and sustainable development.

As an Off.Grid:Electric Fellow, you will be based in Tanzania working on critical projects with real and immediate impact to the company. You will receive a stipend along with housing and travel expenses as the role will include opportunities for domestic, regional and possibly international travel. Fellows will also have opportunities to co-design projects with leadership based on their background, interests, and career aspirations. Candidates with significant work experience will be considered for a Senior Fellow position, which offers additional management opportunities, greater responsibilities and a larger stipend. Midway through the Fellowship, we will schedule time with all Fellows to discuss future career opportunities with Off.Grid:Electric in East Africa or other markets where the company is expanding.

Job Description:
Off.Grid:Electric is seeking a highly motivated and entrepreneurial Fellow with leadership experience to work with our local and international engineering and supply chain teams. This will include utilizing both engineering and leadership skills to identify, develop and implement technical solutions in system field installations, training of quality assurance and agent training staff, and development of a central service center for M-POWER systems returning from service. Additionally, the OGE Engineering Fellow will significantly contribute to the management of both hardware and software development projects, with a focus on hardware. This will include managing hardware development projects remotely, and may require occasional international travel. This is a high touch role that requires working directly with our Operations, Finance, and Technical teams. You must have the experience and capability to prepare documentation and reports for senior management.

Key Responsibilities:
• Work with the Technical team and Operations team to identify both new and ongoing Technical Services development projects. These projects are directly related to building and formalizing the materials, procedures and activities to support Operations.
• Develop and implement an efficient hardware service center to test, analyze and repair systems and accessories returned from customer’s homes.
• Provide oversight support to the senior engineering manager or other senior technical staff who may be abroad. Track deliverables, progress and issues and report regularly to management.
• Work with R&D and manufacturing teams in US, Germany, Russia and Thailand. Responsibilities may include tracking/managing design and development deliverables, researching new design issues and providing constructability feedback.
• Champion continuous feedback loops from the field to R&D teams.
• Work independently, proactively communicating to supervisors and colleagues.
• Be a representative for management in promoting accountability, self-reliance and a positive and collaborative work environment. This is a key factor in a fellows’ success.
• Contribute to new product development through assigned research and analysis.
• Provide general support to the Operations and Business Development teams.
• Work with Senior Management to formulate and evaluate projects that are critical to the success of the organization.
Note: Core responsibilities will vary for each Fellow to account for the unique skills and experience that each team member brings, as well as their specific interests and career goals. A portion of each Fellow’s time will be spent on a project that the Fellow identifies and co-design with Off.Grid:Electric leadership.

Required Skills & Experiences:
• Commitment to live and work in East Africa for 12-24 months
• Bachelors degree in a relevant field with a record of strong academic performance.
• Two years of post-undergraduate, full time work experience in a relevant field or world class institution.
• A demonstrated interest in entrepreneurship, including the ability to flourish in dynamic, ambiguous environments and to drive work independently.
• Leadership and project management experience.
• Experience in working in a high-pressure environment.
• Ability to build effective teams, coach and develop others.
• Quantitative and qualitative skillsets.
• Outstanding written and verbal communications skills (English).
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office software.

Highly Desired Skills & Experiences:
• Business level competency in Swahili
• Work experience in East Africa particularly with BOP markets
• Education and/or work experience in renewable energy or energy access programs
• Experience with electronics hardware design, consumer appliances and/or solar system design and manufacturing.
• Experience in production manufacturing.

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