REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
Consulting Services – Individual Consultant Selection
Project
Technical Assistance to the SAPP (RETRADE SAPP)
Position
Project Specialist, PAU (Two Positions)
Background
The Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) is a regional platform for coordinated power system planning, system operations, and cross‑border electricity trading among its 12 member countries. Its operational hub, the SAPP Coordination Centre (SAPP CC) in Harare, oversees day‑to‑day market and system operations as well as regional planning.
The Project Advisory Unit (PAU) was established within the SAPP CC in 2015, with support from the World Bank, to coordinate and facilitate the development of selected regional energy projects from early‑stage preparation through to bankability.
In November 2025, the World Bank approved a grant for the Technical Assistance to the SAPP Project, known as RETRADE SAPP. The Project forms part of the Regional Energy Transmission, Trade and Decarbonization in Southern Africa Multi‑Phase Programmatic Approach (RETRADE‑SA MPA), which also finances several interconnector investments in the SAPP region.
With the objective to increase and expand the regional electricity market, the Project provides technical assistance to SAPP and SADC energy institutions, namely:
- SADC Secretariat
- Regional Energy Regulators Association of Southern Africa (RERA)
- SADC Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (SACREEE)
This assistance is delivered through three components:
- Component 1: Equips regional institutions with technical experts, forming the foundation for Components 2 and 3
- Component 2: Supports upstream preparation for selected regional energy projects and private sector mobilization, including operationalization of the Regional Transmission Infrastructure Financing Facility (RTIFF)
- Component 3: Finances analytical work, stakeholder engagement, and capacity‑building activities essential for advancing regional energy infrastructure development and power trade
While the PAU is funded to advance preparation of selected regional energy projects—focusing on cross‑border transmission, and potentially in‑country backbone projects, renewables, and battery energy storage systems (BESS)—it also plays a central role in overall implementation of the RETRADE SAPP Project.
Invitation
SAPP invites suitably qualified and experienced individuals (“Consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing consultancy services for the position of Project Specialist, to be based at the SAPP CC Offices in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Key Responsibilities
The Project Specialist will:
- Support the Programmes Manager in identifying and developing a prioritized pipeline of infrastructure projects, including cross‑border and in‑country transmission, renewable energy, and BESS projects
- Provide technical inputs on project readiness, viability, scoping, and sequencing
- Advise on priority project selection based on electricity flows, market conditions, PPAs, and private‑sector pipelines, where information is available
- Support engagement with private sector developers and financiers, including technical engineering inputs
- Contribute to project implementation plans, including milestones, sequencing, and resource requirements
- Develop or review concept‑level technical notes and design assumptions for transmission lines and substations
- Review and validate technical studies including:
- Sag‑tension and ground clearance calculations
- Power flow, stability, and fault analysis
- Protection coordination and insulation coordination
- Develop or review protection and control schemes, relay specifications, SCADA/telecom interfaces, and commissioning provisions in line with IEC standards and SAPP Operating Guidelines
- Provide technical inputs on grid‑connected renewable energy and BESS interconnections, including grid‑code compliance and integration studies
- Review BESS sizing, state‑of‑charge management, degradation models, and efficiency assumptions
- Identify technical data gaps requiring additional studies or surveys
- Review project cost estimates and benchmark against regional and international references
- Prepare or review technical specifications, employer’s requirements, and bills of quantities
- Advise on procurement packaging strategies and contracting approaches
- Prepare or review Project Implementation Memoranda (PIMs) from a technical perspective
- Prepare or review commissioning and testing requirements for transmission, substations, and grid‑connected generation/storage assets
- Review Factory Acceptance Tests (FATs) and Site Acceptance Tests (SATs)
- Review Terms of Reference and all technical deliverables related to PAU‑supported projects
- Ensure consistency of technical assumptions across feasibility studies, network analyses, and implementation planning
- Participate in project meetings and provide technical inputs
- Coordinate with Environment and Social Development Specialists on engineering considerations
- Coordinate closely with other Project Specialists to avoid gaps or duplication
Qualifications and Experience
- Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering, Power Engineering, Civil/Structural Engineering, or related field
- Master’s Degree is an added advantage
- Corporate membership in a relevant professional body is desirable
- Minimum 10 years’ experience in the energy sector, with expertise in 220 kV and above transmission lines and/or substations (400 kV experience is an advantage)
- Experience reviewing or managing at least three major transmission or grid integration projects
- Familiarity with IEC, IEEE, and CIGRE standards and grid‑code compliance
- Experience with renewable energy integration (50 MW+ solar PV), BESS (20 MWh+), and SCADA/EMS systems is desirable
- Experience in cross‑border or regional SADC/SAPP projects is an advantage
- Familiarity with World Bank or MDB‑financed projects is desirable
- Fluency in English is required; Portuguese and/or French is an advantage
- Must be free from any conflict of interest as per World Bank Procurement Regulations
Submission
Interested consultants should submit their Application, relevant experience and qualifications, and a comprehensive CV.
Attention is drawn to Section III (paras. 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17) of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers (7th Edition, September 2025) on conflict of interest.
Selection will follow the Individual Consultant Selection method under the World Bank Procurement Regulations.
A Terms of Reference (TOR) is available at www.sapp.co.zw or from the address below.
Submission Deadline
Expressions of interest must be delivered in writing (in person, by mail, or by e‑mail) on or before 27 April 2026.
Submission Address
The Executive Director
Attn: Chrispen Zifuke, Human Resources Specialist
Southern African Power Pool Coordination Centre
24 Golden Stairs Road
P.O. Box EH52
Emerald Hill
Harare
ZIMBABWE
Tel: (263)‑242‑335517 / 335468 / 335558 / 782708798/9
Email: [email protected]