Associate, Solar Financing Sustainable Health Financing

The Clinton Health Access Initiative Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to our mission of saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low-and middle-income countries. We work at the invitation of governments to support them and the private sector to create and sustain high-quality health systems.

CHAI was founded in 2002 in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic with the goal of dramatically reducing the price of life-saving drugs and increasing access to these medicines in the countries with the highest burden of the disease. Over the following two decades CHAI has expanded its focus. Today along with HIV we work with our partners to prevent and treat infectious diseases such as COVID-19 malaria tuberculosis and hepatitis. Our work has also expanded into cancer diabetes hypertension and other non-communicable diseases and we work to accelerate the rollout of lifesaving vaccines reduce maternal and child mortality combat chronic malnutrition and increase access to assistive technology. We are investing in horizontal approaches to strengthen health systems through programs in human resources for health digital health and health financing. With each new and innovative program our strategy is grounded in maximizing sustainable impact at scale ensuring that governments lead the solutions that programs are designed to scale nationally and learnings are shared globally.

At CHAI our people are our greatest asset and none of this work would be possible without their talent time dedication and passion for our mission and values. We are a highly diverse team of enthusiastic individuals across 40 countries with a broad range of skill sets and life experiences. CHAI is deeply grounded in the countries we work in with the majority of our staff based in program countries. Learn more about our exciting work:

CHAI strives to be an equal opportunity employer and promotes fairness respect equity and dignity in the workplace. CHAI welcomes applications from all qualified individuals and encourages people from historically disadvantaged groups to apply. CHAI is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to providing an environment of fairness and mutual respect where all applicants have access to equal employment opportunities. CHAI values diversity and inclusion and recognizes that our mission is best advanced by the leadership and contributions of people with diverse experiences backgrounds and culture.

Team Overview:

CHAI in South Africa has an established team that works on blended finance for health. The team supports large-scale health facility solar electrification and energy efficiency initiatives across the public health sector by partnering with governments to aggregate facilities into portfolios. This approach enables the deployment of innovative financing mechanisms that move beyond traditional project-based grant models. By leveraging blended finance structures commonly used for independent power producers (IPPs) and solar developers the team helps align incentives around system performance and long-term sustainability.

Working with portfolios of facilities also enables the bundling of operations and maintenance service contracts which can be structured to link payments to measurable outcomes such as system performance and uptime.

In addition to its core work on solar and energy efficiency programmes the team also provides ad-hoc technical and analytical support to various Departments of Health on energy-related initiatives. These may include rapid assessments data analysis energy performance reviews and advisory input on ongoing or emerging energy projects within the public health sector. This flexibility ensures that CHAIs technical assistance remains responsive to government priorities and supports broader energy resilience objectives.

Position Overview

The Associate will play a critical role in supporting the implementation of CHAIs Solar Financing Programme in South Africa. Working closely with the Programme Manager and other team members the Associate will provide technical analytical and coordination support to advance solar power and energy efficiency initiatives across the public health sector.

This role will focus on financial modelling data analysis portfolio assessments and procurement scenario evaluation helping CHAI and its government partners make informed decisions on sustainable energy investments. The Associate will also contribute to programme management activities including progress tracking reporting and documentation to ensure smooth implementation and timely delivery of results.

The Associate will collaborate with Departments of Health across South Africa donors private sector stakeholders and technical partners to support effective project design strengthen institutional capacity and promote government ownership of clean energy initiatives.

CHAI is seeking an Associate who will work as part of the Solar Financing team within CHAIs health financing group supporting South Africas Net Zero Roadmap and Race to Zero commitments. This role will specifically work on preparatory and implementation activities to scale financing for solar electrification and energy efficiency across hundreds of health facilities. The Associate will provide technical analytical and programme coordination support to both CHAI and various Departments of Health in South Africa.

Key responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

Technical and Analytical Responsibilities:

• Develop and maintain financial models to estimate capital expenditures (CapEx) and operating expenses (OpEx) for solar electrification and energy efficiency projects.
• Collaborate with industry stakeholders such as solar developers EPCs O&M contractors and suppliers to gather market data pricing insights and trends that inform programme design.
• Collect monitor and analyse energy and financial data (including smart meters monitoring portals and facility baselines) to prepare clear reports for government and donor decision-making.
• Assist in structuring public-private partnerships (PPP) and procurement models (CapEx EPCO&M on-site PPA wheeling PPA) conducting comparative analysis and presenting evidence-based recommendations to government.
• Support the roll-out of energy efficiency projects across the public health portfolio.
• Prepare detailed presentations reports dashboards and briefing materials for government donors and investors.
• Assist with donor grant management including work-planning budgeting and reporting.
• Support auditing of shared savings programmes including baseline assessments adjustments and financial impact analysis.
• Participate in sector webinars workshops and conferences; summarise insights and provide recommendations relevant to the energy transition in the health sector.
• Provide programme management assistance for solar PV installations including review of concept designs site coordination inspections reporting and ensuring compliance with local authority requirements.
• Support the establishment and use of digital platforms and portals for ongoing monitoring of installed energy systems.

Administrative Support Responsibilities:

• Provide routine administrative and documentation support to ensure smooth programme operations including maintaining organized project files drafting meeting minutes preparing procurement-related documentation and performing basic data entry to support analysis and reporting.
• Maintain accurate project records and correspondence to ensure deliverables and reference materials are easily accessible to the team and partners.
• Support coordination of internal and external communication related to project deliverables and ensure timely sharing of key documentation.
• Perform any other responsibilities as requested by your manager

• Bachelors degree in Economics Finance Public Management/Administration Engineering or a related field.
• 35 years professional experience in consulting finance energy development or related sectors.
• Demonstrated experience working with government or multi-stakeholder environments on complex projects.
• Proven quantitative and analytical skills including financial modelling and data analysis using Excel.
• Strong project management experience with ability to manage multiple workstreams and meet deadlines.
• Excellent written communication skills with experience preparing clear evidence-based reports and presentations.
• Prior exposure to renewable energy procurement or energy management systems is an advantage.

Skills and Attributes:

• Strategic and solution-oriented thinker able to align long-term objectives with actionable steps.
• Demonstrates initiative accountability and the ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to influence decision-making diplomatically and work effectively in collaborative multi-stakeholder environments.
• Adaptable and resilient able to operate in complex or fast-paced settings with professionalism and composure.
• High attention to detail and commitment to delivering high-quality outputs.
• Passionate about advancing sustainable government-led solutions and contributing to CHAIs mission.
• Willingness to travel as required with estimated travel between 25-50%.

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