Husk is one of the world’s leading rural energy providers. We provide low-cost and reliable power to rural households and businesses, entirely from renewable energy sources. Powering economic possibilities in every village is at the heart of everything we do.

We design, build and operate the lowest cost hybrid (solar and biomass) power plant and distribution network in India and Africa. To date, Husk has provided electricity to over 15,000 homes and business, reducing 95,000 tonnes of CO2. Our aim is to provide 30MW of power to 225,000 customers by 2025 and save 350,000 tonnes of CO2 each year

Husk is seeking a Community Engagement Associate, to join the Project Development team in Nigeria towards achieving its targets. This individual will play an integral role in coordinating progress actions for community engagement activities as the initial point of contact for the communities. You will be required to contribute to engagements for the deployment of HUSK’s mini grid portfolio, supporting all community engagement activities. The role will directly support engagement across many levels of stakeholders including community representatives, local authorities, paramount rulers, and relevant industry related stakeholders within areas where Husk is operational and/or intends to site its operations. We are looking for someone with experience in community engagement stakeholder management and engagement, report writing and on ground business development support. We require someone who is a people’s person and understands the importance of constant engagement for achieving business objectives. The individual must be passionate about contributing to solving one of Nigeria’s most critical challenges – energy access deficit. This position provides the opportunity to join a growing team that is changing the face of rural electrification in many countries including India and Nigeria etc.

Key Responsibilities

General

• Play a key part as a member of the Project Development Team responsible for providing support towards expanding and maintaining project sites’ portfolio.
• Work with cross-functional teams towards project development activities ensuring that relevant community stakeholder relationships are built and maintained.
• Support information and data gathering for use by the relevant teams for market intelligence insights within and around proposed IMG deployment locations.
• Assist with robust community engagement strategies to ensure minimal community related issues arising.
• Other duties as may be assigned from time to time.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Manage relevant stakeholder relationships within the communities through the paramount rulers, village heads, district heads, VPC etc
• Maintain a repository of all critical stakeholders across communities and areas where Husk is operational and/or is intending to site its operations.
• Maintain active relationships with relevant stakeholders across communities.

Regulatory Agency Engagement

• Support in providing documentation to ensure relevant regulatory permits (and submissions) are registered and/or applied for in time with regulators and other government stakeholders.
• Maintain an active data of all government agency engagements within Husk operational areas.

Community Engagement

• Drive active community engagement with selected communities from pre-development to post-development and a successful handover to relevant teams.
• Assist Customer Engagement team with developing customer experience strategies for customer signups as well as collections and upselling.
• Maintain an active database of the minutes and pictures of all community engagement meetings and relevant agreement documentation.
• Provide regular updates on community engagement on a periodic basis.

Business Growth

• Support the Mini Grids, Customer Engagement and other teams during community/customer engagement exercises, as required.
• Provide relevant support for the Security Coordinator in documenting possible security insights gathered during community engagement exercises.
• Provide support to best practices in ESG engagements.

General Skills & Attributes

• Excellent knowledge of MS Office, Google Suite and other relevant tools
• Highly motivated and target driven with a proven track record in delivering tasks in a timely and effective manner
• Excellent communication skills
• Highly numerate and analytical with an ability to make strategic inputs for driving and achieving business goals
• Responsive with great time management and organizational skills
• Ability to create and deliver presentations tailored to the audience needs
• Relationship management skills and openness to feedback
• A Can-Do attitude with a knack for taking ownership of deliverables

Physical Demands

• Have full range of mobility in upper and lower body
• Could work in outdoor weather conditions at certain times
• Have adequate visual and hearing acuity to follow instructions; and determine accuracy of the work assigned
• Ability to work in rural, peri-urban locations as required
• Ability to drive a vehicle during the normal course of business. Must possess a driver’s license, maintain a clean driving record with the ability to pass a driving background check.

Does this sound like you?

• Graduate from a leading institution with a related degree in science, engineering or social sciences. Graduate degree or relevant trainings or certifications in sales; a plus.
• Understanding of policies and best practices for ESG engagements, desired.
• 3-5 years of experience in a similar role within the power or telecommunications sectors, supporting project development, rural development, stakeholder management and sales support activities
• Ability to ensure closure for tasks and business initiatives; drawing insights for business growth
• Excellent skills with MS Office, and effective report writing skills suited to various audiences.
• Superb interpersonal skills, including the ability to quickly build rapport with both customers, representatives, and relevant stakeholders
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, multi-diverse environment coordinating with multiple stakeholders

• You are driven to support the delivery of business growth in a new market.
• You have a robust industry network and understand effective client engagement practices.
• You are an effective planner and have a strong orientation to process
• You building strong relationship built on trust, and are a strong verbal communicator
• You pride your communication skills.
• Most importantly, candidate must fit company spirit where people work smart, play hard, have fun and are dedicated to success.