Job Description
Main purpose of job:
The successful applicant will play a key role in shaping the UK Government’s work on infrastructure and clean energy in Peru, helping it become a regional hub for UK investment by institutionalising best practice and optimising the full project cycle. The role holder will be committed to driving the UK’s international growth mission by working closely with the UK’s Department for Business and Trade (DBT) at post. They will guide the embassy’s work to strengthen the Peruvian Government’s capacity through technical assistance (TA) to deliver sustainable infrastructure projects, promoting increased financing from the private sector (e.g. feed strategic projects into the pipeline of the Inter-American Development Bank – IDB). A particular area of focus will be to establish the UK as key partner in Peru’s clean energy transition backed by a new portfolio of the UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT) programme. The post holder will act also as the UK PACT Lead (focal point) and pro-actively coordinate across the embassy on Peru’s OECD accession process.
This is an exciting position within the Climate, Nature and Infrastructure (CNI) Team (13 staff) and will involve collaborating with senior national stakeholders (Vice Minister level), especially within the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), and government officials in the UK and across Latin America. The post holder will engage with the IDB on policy development (e.g. the next National Infrastructure Plan) and pipeline projects for blended finance – seeking alignment with UK priorities.
The embassy objective on infrastructure and clean energy is to develop public policy and practices to deliver “greener, fairer, faster” infrastructure, closing the infrastructure gap (~$110 billion) with Peru as a pathfinder for best practice in the region. We provide TA through programmes (especially UK PACT and the UK Sustainable Infrastructure Programme – UKSIP) combined with capacity building offered by the UK infrastructure ecosystem (e.g. National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority - NISTA) and supported by the Peru-UK Infrastructure Task Force. On the commercial side (led by DBT), the UK’s Government-to-Government agreements are worth $10+ billion since 2017.
Roles and responsibilities:
Strategic oversight of UK PACT, and CNI’s infrastructure and clean energy portfolio - 60%
- UK PACT Lead (focal point) - attend weekly meetings and monthly fund delivery meetings. Prepare the First Secretary Climate, Nature and Infrastructure for the quarterly fund board. Galvanise other colleagues in CNI to manage individual projects diligently based on expertise.
- Leading the infrastructure sub-team of CNI, in close coordination with the Head of Infrastructure for DBT. This includes oversight of TA (programming), high-level dialogues and policy advocacy, especially the Peru-UK Infrastructure Task Force, and capacity building (expert deployment of NISTA and best-practice dissemination). A key area of focus will be to establish support for Peru’s clean energy transition through UK PACT.
- Champion mutual alignment with DBT and the political section on the embassy’s overall infrastructure and clean energy strategy. This includes coordination with DBT on G2Gs and work with the private sector on the clean energy transition, chairing the monthly DBT-CNI meeting and active participation in the cross-cutting working group led by the political section.
- Drive a strategy to consolidate the UK’s influence on infrastructure and clean energy development in the Amazon, identifying synergies with IDB (Invest) and the World Bank (IFC).
- Strategically position Peru as a hub for UK infrastructure investment (via industry and multilateral development banks) in Latin America, working with NISTA, the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and other entities of the UK eco-system.
Economic diplomacy – 20%
- Lead on Peru’s accession to the OECD for the embassy, liaising with Peruvian, UK and international stakeholders.
- Oversee the regional infrastructure strategy board, in coordination with DBT’s Regional Director of Exports and Infrastructure.
- Make decisions regarding Peru’s opportunities to join the UK’s Global Clean Power Alliance, with the aim to triple renewable energy and double energy efficiency.
- Set the tone of the economic reporting and analysis of the embassy.
Line management – 10%
- Line manage two staff members: (1) the Infrastructure Policy Lead and Chief Economist (HEO) and (2) the Clean Energy Officer (EO).
Other 10%
- As a senior leader, the expectation is to play an active part in the corporate life of the embassy, including contribution to committees (Security, Crisis, Programme Board, Post Management, Country Board) and to contribute to the embassy’s response in case of a crisis.
- On-going tasks: Summarise meetings, missions, correspondence, reports, and compile written documents.
These responsibilities will be reviewed on an ongoing basis in accordance with the changing needs of the organisation. The above is an indicative outline of roles and responsibilities required of the role. The FCDO operates an agile workforce. To facilitate this, you may be required to undertake other duties from time to time as we may reasonably require. For example, this could include the management of Ministerial and official visits from the UK related to infrastructure, clean energy or wider economic development/growth in Peru and/or supporting embassy events.
Resources managed:
- Two staff members (one HEO and one EO) – please note this number could increase.
- Oversight of projects under UK PACT, UKSIP and related programmes worth several million pounds.
Essential qualifications, skills and experience
- Bachelor’s degree and/or master’s in economics, finance, business administration, public policy, political science, environmental science or related field.
- A minimum of 6-7 years of experience working for an organisation in a relevant field, for example, working with government or international organisations on infrastructure policy.
- Strong understanding of UK and Peruvian infrastructure and clean energy policy, best practice and ecosystem.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills:
- Proven ability to write fluently and persuasively in English about technical and policy issues for a senior audience.
- Ability to form coherent arguments and persuade someone of their point of view.
- Good leadership and line management skills and a team player with excellent interpersonal skills, including experience of managing senior external relationships.
- Fluency in spoken and written English and Spanish.
- Legal status to live and work in Peru in your own right, from time of application.
Desirable qualifications, skills and experience
- Experience working on clean energy and/or infrastructure development at the regional level, especially in the Amazon.
- Experience of working in or with multilateral development banks and/or the private sector.
- Knowledge or experience of project and programme design, management, and monitoring.
DEADLINE: 2 March 2025
