Quality Assurance Consultant Jobs at Lighting Africa

Description

Jobs at LIGHTING AFRICA

The Lighting Africa Program, a joint IFC and World Bank initiative works with manufacturers,

distributors, governments, development partners, finance institutions, consumers and other stakeholders to catalyze and accelerate development of commercial off-grid lighting market in Tanzania. This is part of the World Bank Group's wider efforts to improve access to energy.

Tanzania has continued to face grid expansion challenges with main grid electric supply limited to main towns such as Dar, Mwanza, Arusha and Morogoro aggravated by the country’s large geographical size. The Tanzania Ministry of energy and minerals estimates that only 36% of the country’s total population is connected to the national electricity grid. The situation is even more challenging in the rural areas where it is estimated that only 11% of the households have access to electricity. Electricity supply across the country remains unstable with prolonged periods of power outages.

The program therefore seeks to address the lighting needs of rural, urban, and sub-urban consumers without electricity access—predominantly low-income households and businesses. It seeks to offer cleaner and safer off-grid lighting products (e.g. lanterns, kits, solar home systems) as an alternative to fuel-based kerosene lamps and candles and ultimately contribute to a more competitive and vibrant commercial market for off-grid lighting products in Tanzania.

In view of the above the Program seeks to engage a Short Term Consultant (STC) to support key quality assurance activities in Tanzania. The work to be undertaken by the consultant shall not exceed 100 days. Some of the primary activities of the consultant will include:

• Facilitating procurement and delivery of product samples for market check testing
• Ascertain competency and skills gaps of local technicians that would be required to maintain and repair pico-PV and plug-and-play SHS kits.
• Liase with relevant accredited institution(s) to develop an appropriate training curriculum.
• Developing and leading after-sales service training programs to technicians and distributors/retailers.
• Liaising with distributors regarding product quality and after-sales service.
• Playing advisory role for distributors and Program Associates who wish to develop in-country service centers or warranty service networks.
• Conducting needs assessments and serving as technical reference for Lighting Africa-Tanzania Program Associates
• Engaging with industry stakeholders, including industry association – TAREA and Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) to advocate for quality standards for off-grid lighting products and hence reducing market spoilage.

B: Scope of Work

The work to be undertaken by the consultant will be as outlined below:

Market check activities
a) Facilitate procurement of off-grid lighting samples from retail and warehouse locations.
b) Arrange shipment of product samples to testing laboratories.
c) Inspect quality verified products for conformity to the Quality Standards
After-sales service training to technicians and distributors/retailers
a) Develop adequate training curriculum and materials
b) Lead training sessions
c) Provide follow-up support
Technical liaison between end-users, distributors, Associates, and Lighting Global Quality Assurance
a) Report product quality issues and concerns
b) Bring together stakeholders to improve warranty and after-sales services
c) Advise distributors and Associates regarding development of service centers
On-the-ground support for Lighting Africa- Tanzania Program Associates
a) Conduct needs assessment in target markets
b) Provide market intelligence
c) Provide support and guidance regarding the quality assurance framework in the context of Tanzania
Advocacy for compliance to adopted quality standards in particular assisting distributors implement programs and bulk procurements based on the Lighting Global Quality Standards

C: Deliverables / Specific Outputs Expected from Consultant

The consultant is expected to deliver the following:

Ongoing support to Lighting Africa Tanzania Program
Attend regular teleconferences to Provide on-the-ground assistance for Program activities
Support Lighting Global Quality Assurance Team
Maintain close communication via email with the project manager and key stakeholders
Provide on-the-ground assistance for Program activities
After-sales service training materials
Develop and update the database of trained local technicians as well as support training activities.
Training curriculum
Digital and printed materials provided to participants including local technicians
Submit reports from different activities with relations to Quality Assurance
Statement of Mission Objectives and Back to Office Reports issued before and after operational travel.

D: Qualification/Experience and Skills

• The consultant shall be based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
• Experience with activities such as laboratory testing, quality assurance, standards development, renewable energy systems design and maintenance, developing and implementing marketing/sales strategies, etc.
• Experience working in Tanzania and willingness to travel frequently mainly within Tanzania
• Knowledge of energy issues and development challenges in Africa and specific to Tanzania.
• Excellent interpersonal, presentation and communication skills and fluent written / verbal command of English, as well as verbal fluency of Swahili language.
• Ability to work independently and interact effectively with a number of business cultures, encompassing private, public, and civil society organizations from both developed and developing countries.
• Minimum education requirements: University bachelor’s degree in engineering or applicable field (including electrical circuits, renewable energies, electronics, etc.)
• At least 3 years of practical experience in a related field
• PC skills: the consultant needs to be familiar with most Microsoft Office applications especially excel
• Good network with the respective industry stakeholders such as solar Industry association (TAREA), TBS, FCC and solar companies will be an added advantage

E: Special Terms & Conditions / Specific Requirements

The consultant’s travel, accommodation, telecommunications and any other reasonable expenses that are incurred in the acceptable execution of this work will be reimbursed following agreement between the consultant and the program manager, his supervisor or any other designated staff member. The amounts should not exceed those specified in the budget.

The assignment is expected to take a maximum of 100 days running from July 2017 to May 2018.

F: Confidentiality Statement

Any data and information received from IFC for the purpose of this assignment are to be treated confidentially and are only to be used in connection with the execution of these Terms of Reference. All intellectual property rights arising from the execution of these Terms of Reference are assigned to IFC. The contents of written materials obtained and used in this assignment may not be disclosed to any third parties without the expressed advance written authorization of the IFC.

G: Applications:
Interested consultants meeting the above criteria should submit their application letters together with their recent CVs with three referees not later than 16th June 2017 using e-mail.
NOTE: The subject of the email should read: TANZANIA QA CONSULTANT

For additional information on the program and position kindly visit www.lightingafrica.org

Interested consultants meeting the above criteria should submit their application letters together with their recent CVs with three referees not later than 16th June 2017;
NOTE: The subject of the email should read: TANZANIA QA CONSULTANT to e-mail.
For additional information on the program and position kindly visit www.lightingafrica.org

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