Managing Director, Powering Opportunity – LAC

About the role

The Global Energy Alliance is seeking a Managing Director to lead its Powering Opportunity work in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Powering Opportunity aims to not only expand access to clean electricity, but to make reliable, affordable energy a pathway for local economic development: helping communities, farmers and small businesses use clean energy to process, preserve and sell what they produce, and to create jobs and income.

The role has two connected areas of focus: leading GEA’s strategy in Brazil, and leading the Powering Opportunity pillar across LAC. In Brazil, the role will drive progress on PODER (Powering Development and Environmental Resilience), GEA’s flagship initiative in the Brazilian Amazon, bringing together government, utilities, communities and funders to develop practical productive-use solutions and embed them in electrification programs. Across LAC, the Managing Director will shape and grow GEA’s Powering Opportunity portfolio, bringing this approach to new countries where the conditions are right, and working alongside GEA’s other regional initiatives such as the Universal Access Coalition (UAC).

This is an ambitious role for a leader who can both set the strategy and make it happen. We are looking for someone who can turn a shared vision into concrete plans, budgets and partnerships; build trusted, long-term relationships with government, utilities, communities and funders; and keep diverse partners aligned and moving forward as the work grows from pilots to programs at scale. Reporting to GEA’s Vice President for LAC, the role will work closely and with the support of regional and global Powering Opportunity teams, alongside country and technical colleagues.

Scope of work

1. Powering Opportunity strategy in LAC

• Lead the design and rollout of GEA’s Powering Opportunity strategy for LAC, starting with Brazil, adapting GEA’s global approach to each local context.
• Adapt models that have already worked in GEA’s other Powering Opportunity markets, and promote knowledge exchange between PODER, other LAC initiatives and GEA’s programs globally.
• Ensure complementarity between Powering Opportunity and GEA’s LAC regional initiatives, including the Universal Access Coalition (UAC), and identify opportunities for joint impact.
• Help define and align funding objectives and targets for LAC and Brazil's Powering Opportunity initiatives with GEA's global Powering Opportunity strategy.
• Set annual objectives, budgets and targets for the LAC Powering Opportunity portfolio, and align results reporting with GEA’s global Powering Opportunity framework.
• Support GEA’s communications initiatives in LAC, and particularly Brazil, to establish its reputation as a crucial energy sector convener in the country and region.

2. Brazil strategy, partnerships and resource mobilization

• Lead the development and implementation of GEA’s strategy in Brazil, with PODER as its main vehicle.
• Lead the building and growth of the PODER coalition, bringing together government, utilities, private sector, financial institutions, donors, NGOs and community organizations around shared outcomes.
• Serve as GEA’s senior counterpart to federal and state government in Brazil, including acting as the main focal point for technical cooperation agreements: setting the agenda, leading regular meetings, and sharing work plans, results and lessons learned.
• Build and sustain trust-based relationships with partners, aligning different institutional priorities with diplomacy and keeping partners engaged over time.
• Formalize working arrangements with PODER partners and turn them into concrete joint projects and grant opportunities.
• Articulate how energy access enables the broader Amazon bioeconomy, connecting PODER to value chains, livelihoods and investment, working with specialized partners where needed.
• Coordinate with GEA’s fundraising team and consultant(s) and contribute to fundraising efforts, providing the technical content for proposals, concept notes and donor materials.
• Represent GEA in national, regional and international forums, positioning PODER and Powering Opportunity as practical, replicable models

3. Program design and delivery 

• Translate the strategy into concrete annual work plans, budgets and milestones, and lead their delivery with partners and GEA colleagues.
• Provide expert technical support to ensure high-quality implementation, overseeing all aspects of project execution to ensure alignment with GEA goals.
• Structure and manage the pipeline of grants to partner organizations, and oversee implementation once grants are approved.
• Ensure projects are well designed, delivered to a high standard, and aligned with Brazil’s national energy and electrification policies, bringing up-to-date knowledge of a complex and fast-moving policy landscape.
• Identify risks, gaps or delays early and propose practical adjustments.
• Lead PODER’s path from pilots to public programs, generating evidence that national programs such as Luz para Todos and Energias da Amazônia can adopt and scale.
• Oversee monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) for the portfolio, with support from GEA’s MEL team.
• Consolidate GEA’s Brazil strategy and PODER’s governance and partner base, building on the partnerships already in place.
• Oversee delivery of PODER’s pilots and structure the next wave of pilots and partner grants.
• Establish a regular, senior-level working relationship with federal and state government counterparts.

4. Contribution to Fundraising effort

• Coordinate with GEA’s fundraising team, and contribute to fundraising efforts for Brazil and the LAC Powering Opportunity portfolio.
• Provide the technical content for fundraising proposals, concept notes and donor materials, including program design, evidence, results and pipeline.
• Join donor and co-funder conversations as program lead where useful, and maintain strong relationships with partners already co-funding the work.

Individual’s profile

Essential

• At least 13-15 years of relevant experience, including senior leadership roles leading teams and multi-partner programs in energy, development or climate.
• Strong government relationships in Brazil, and a senior network across the energy sector, including utilities, civil society and the private sector.
• Experience structuring energy projects, from concept to bankable or fundable proposals.
• Experience designing and/or implementing projects related to productive uses of energy or local economic development.
• A proven track record of creating partnerships and coalitions, and keeping diverse partners aligned and engaged around shared outcomes.
• A track record of turning strategy into results: designing plans and leading their implementation to measurable outcomes.
• Full professional fluency in Portuguese and English, and the ability to represent GEA credibly in high-level forums.
• An advanced degree in economics, development policy, engineering, energy or a related field.
• Willingness to travel frequently (estimated at up to 50% of the time), including to rural and remote areas.

Desirable

• Knowledge of the Amazon bioeconomy, or experience working in the Legal Amazon (a strong plus).
• Experience contributing to fundraising or donor engagement for complex programs.
• Experience in other LAC countries, and working proficiency in Spanish.

Competencies

• Sector knowledge: Up-to-date understanding of energy access, electrification and renewable energy in Brazil, and how energy connects to livelihoods and economic development.
• Strategic planning and execution: Turns ambiguous opportunities into clear strategies, plans and budgets, and follows through to results; comfortable building without a pre-defined playbook.
• Relationship building and diplomacy: Builds lasting trust across government, private sector, funders and communities; listens well, handles differing priorities with tact, and moves partners toward shared decisions.
• Sound judgment and integrity: Mature, independent judgment, works well across teams, and communicates issues early with proposed solutions.
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Committed to inclusion, equity and diversity in every aspect of the work, and to challenging conventional wisdom through evidence, reason, and amplifying marginalized and unconventional voices.
  
  

The role is a remote position based in Brazil, in one of the country’s major cities, with the specific location agreed with the selected candidate. The salary for the position is $160,000 - 200,000. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Thank you for your interest in the Global Energy Alliance, we look forward to hearing from you!