Programme Lead - Lite Salone
About Trócaire
Trócaire is an International NGO. We work with local partners in the world's most at-risk communities and with people in Ireland to tackle the underlying causes of poverty and injustice and respond to the crises they create. Together we bring about positive and lasting change for a just world. Trócaire works in up to 20 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. We work towards five goals:
In Sierra Leone since 1995, Trócaire works to achieve climate and environmental justice; ensure women and girls' protection, voice & influence; and save lives and protect human dignity. Trócaire supports work on the prevention of sexual and gender-based violence, women's political participation and leadership, sustainable livelihoods and economic empowerment, natural resource management and environmental conservation, and humanitarian preparedness and response.
Trócaire works exclusively with local partners and actively supports localised development and humanitarian aid. Supporting local civil society organisations to strengthen their organisational, institutional, financial, technical, and managerial capacities is core to Trócaire's partnership approach in Sierra Leone.
Lite Salone Programme:
Trócaire's Lite Salone Programme is an innovative last-mile solar electrification initiative contributing to Sierra Leone's national electrification agenda. The programme is piloting an Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) model in Kambia District, providing reliable, inclusive and accessible solar energy systems to vulnerable households while generating evidence to inform sustainable, scalable approaches to rural energy access.
The programme operates through a multi-stakeholder model involving local civil society (KADDRO), a private sector energy provider, technical consultants, district-level authorities and national actors. A core component of the programme is analysis and development of viable business models that balance financial viability, regulatory feasibility and community alignment including access, affordability, service quality and community trust -- for long-term rural energy service delivery.
Trocaire's Lite Salone Programme is currently funded through the Irish Embassy and the Icelandic Embassy, with an in- kind contribution from the European Union via GIZ. The initiative has potential interest from additional funding sources so could rapidly grow into a pooled/multiple fund programme. It represents one of Trócaire's highest-profile and most strategically significant programmes globally with Irish Aid.
You will report to Country Director. The job opportunity will be offered on a fixed term contract for one year and is based in Freetown Sierra Leone with frequent travel to Kambia Distict.[1]. As part of your role, you will have matrix management of the Programme Accountant and Lite Salone Part time manager.
[1]To be considered for this role, you must already hold the necessary legal permissions to work and live in this location. Regrettably, we cannot offer work permit sponsorship or relocation assistance for this role.
Role Summary
The Programme Lead provides overall leadership, management, operational and strategic direction for Trócaire's Lite Salone Programme, ensuring an integrated vision across all programme components and stakeholders and a relentless focus on achieving the results defined in donor(s) contracts. The Programme Lead is the dedicated senior programme lead with 100% allocation to Lite Salone, reflecting its risk profile and strategic importance.
The Programme Lead is accountable for end-to-end progamme delivery, ensuring solar electrification outputs are technically sound, evidence based, independently verifiable, financially compliant, and delivered on schedule. Equally, the Programme Lead will steer the programme's business model analysis and learning agenda, driving the work to determine evidenced based viable institutional arrangements - that balance financial viability, regulatory feasibility and community alignment - for sustainable rural energy service delivery at scale.
The Programme Lead acts as the primary liaison between Lite Salone, Trócaire country and HQ teams, implementing partners, consultants, the private sector delivery partner, donors, government ministries, and district authorities. The role requires strong programme/project management and operational delivery skills, commercial awareness, stakeholder engagement capability, and the ability to manage complex multi-donor reporting.
The Programme Lead is a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT) and works closely with: the Head of Programmes (for programming alignment), the Head of Operations & Compliance (on financial controls, procurement processes, and compliance requirements for the programme), the Business Development and Grants Manager (BDGM) (on programme growth), the MEAL Manager (on learning and adaptive programming) and Partnership & Localisation
Key Duties & Responsibilities:
Programme Management & Implementation
Trócaire offers a competitive package of salary and benefits on local terms and conditions.
Closing date for applications Wednesday 22nd April 12noon (Sierra Leone time).
Trócaire is an International NGO. We work with local partners in the world's most at-risk communities and with people in Ireland to tackle the underlying causes of poverty and injustice and respond to the crises they create. Together we bring about positive and lasting change for a just world. Trócaire works in up to 20 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. We work towards five goals:
- Promote Access to Justice;
- Achieve Climate & Environmental Justice;
- Ensure Women & Girls' Protection, Voice & Influence;
- Save Lives and Protect Human Dignity and
- Mobilise the Public on the island of Ireland to achieve Global Justice
In Sierra Leone since 1995, Trócaire works to achieve climate and environmental justice; ensure women and girls' protection, voice & influence; and save lives and protect human dignity. Trócaire supports work on the prevention of sexual and gender-based violence, women's political participation and leadership, sustainable livelihoods and economic empowerment, natural resource management and environmental conservation, and humanitarian preparedness and response.
Trócaire works exclusively with local partners and actively supports localised development and humanitarian aid. Supporting local civil society organisations to strengthen their organisational, institutional, financial, technical, and managerial capacities is core to Trócaire's partnership approach in Sierra Leone.
Lite Salone Programme:
Trócaire's Lite Salone Programme is an innovative last-mile solar electrification initiative contributing to Sierra Leone's national electrification agenda. The programme is piloting an Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) model in Kambia District, providing reliable, inclusive and accessible solar energy systems to vulnerable households while generating evidence to inform sustainable, scalable approaches to rural energy access.
The programme operates through a multi-stakeholder model involving local civil society (KADDRO), a private sector energy provider, technical consultants, district-level authorities and national actors. A core component of the programme is analysis and development of viable business models that balance financial viability, regulatory feasibility and community alignment including access, affordability, service quality and community trust -- for long-term rural energy service delivery.
Trocaire's Lite Salone Programme is currently funded through the Irish Embassy and the Icelandic Embassy, with an in- kind contribution from the European Union via GIZ. The initiative has potential interest from additional funding sources so could rapidly grow into a pooled/multiple fund programme. It represents one of Trócaire's highest-profile and most strategically significant programmes globally with Irish Aid.
You will report to Country Director. The job opportunity will be offered on a fixed term contract for one year and is based in Freetown Sierra Leone with frequent travel to Kambia Distict.[1]. As part of your role, you will have matrix management of the Programme Accountant and Lite Salone Part time manager.
[1]To be considered for this role, you must already hold the necessary legal permissions to work and live in this location. Regrettably, we cannot offer work permit sponsorship or relocation assistance for this role.
Role Summary
The Programme Lead provides overall leadership, management, operational and strategic direction for Trócaire's Lite Salone Programme, ensuring an integrated vision across all programme components and stakeholders and a relentless focus on achieving the results defined in donor(s) contracts. The Programme Lead is the dedicated senior programme lead with 100% allocation to Lite Salone, reflecting its risk profile and strategic importance.
The Programme Lead is accountable for end-to-end progamme delivery, ensuring solar electrification outputs are technically sound, evidence based, independently verifiable, financially compliant, and delivered on schedule. Equally, the Programme Lead will steer the programme's business model analysis and learning agenda, driving the work to determine evidenced based viable institutional arrangements - that balance financial viability, regulatory feasibility and community alignment - for sustainable rural energy service delivery at scale.
The Programme Lead acts as the primary liaison between Lite Salone, Trócaire country and HQ teams, implementing partners, consultants, the private sector delivery partner, donors, government ministries, and district authorities. The role requires strong programme/project management and operational delivery skills, commercial awareness, stakeholder engagement capability, and the ability to manage complex multi-donor reporting.
The Programme Lead is a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT) and works closely with: the Head of Programmes (for programming alignment), the Head of Operations & Compliance (on financial controls, procurement processes, and compliance requirements for the programme), the Business Development and Grants Manager (BDGM) (on programme growth), the MEAL Manager (on learning and adaptive programming) and Partnership & Localisation
Key Duties & Responsibilities:
Programme Management & Implementation
- Lead end-to-end implementation and coordination of Trócaire's Lite Salone Programme, ensuring all activities are delivered on time, to quality, and within budget in line with donor contracts and Trócaire's Programme Management and Accountability Framework
- Serve as budget holder for Trócaire's Lite Salone Programme, with accountability for expenditure decisions within delegated authority thresholds. Ensure Country Director (CD) approval is obtained for all payments and procurement above €500, in line with Trócaire governance rules
- Hold monthly Budget versus Actual Review Meetings with the Lite Salone Programme Accountant and relevant finance/programmes staff; ensure partner and Trócaire activities are on track and expenditure is in line with approved budgets
- Manage relationships with implementing partners (KADDRO) and the private sector delivery partner (Easy Solar) to ensure coordinated, on-track performance, clear lines of communication, joint problem-solving, and adherence to contracts and workplans
- Lead in ensuring monthly Technical Working Groups take place and minutes feed into Quarterly Steering Committee Meetings. The role will be the organiser and minute taker for Quarterly Steering Committee Meetings chaired by the CD
- Carry out frequent monitoring visits (at times jointly with MEAL Manager, Finance and Climate Officers) to field sites and partner offices in Kambia District to monitor, document, and strategically support delivery partners in activity implementation, work planning, coordination, problem solving and budget management
- Ensure timely preparation and management of all grant-related documents and processes: budget entries and approvals, MoUs, amendments, donor reports, meeting minutes, stakeholder correspondence, and activity workplans. Coordinating with BDGM on donor reporting
- Maintain accurate and updated programme files (both on Salesforce, Box Office operations and hard copy.)
- Work with the MEAL Manager to develop, maintain, and apply MEAL frameworks that effectively track results, document learning and support adaptive management
- Collaborate with Trócaire Technical Leads and Advisers (in-country and HQ respectively) to align programming approaches with best practices and emerging innovations, ensuring consistency and documentation
- Provide effective, efficient, and timely implementation of contract services in compliance with donor contracts, including validation of milestone deliverables prior to payment triggers
- Directly manage the part time Renewable Energy Project Manager. Matrix manage the Programme Accountant - Lite Salone and Climate Change & Women Centred Organisations Officer. Recruit and manage any additional roles, brought on board as a result of programme growth or realignment, setting objectives, providing support and oversight, and mentoring staff
- Lead the programme's business model analysis workstream (proposal Component 1), driving the assessment of viable institutional arrangements for sustainable, accessible rural energy service delivery, including but not limited to new structures, cooperative models, and hybrid approaches
- Oversee the work of the Business Model Consultant, ensuring deliverables meet the quality and insight required to inform viable scale-up decisions. This includes:
- Coordinating the development of financial models and projections that document capital and operational expenditure requirements, revenue streams, and cash-flow scenarios for potential long-term delivery models
- Stakeholder mapping and engagement for the business model workstream, including engagement with potential investors, government agencies, and sector actors relevant to future institutional arrangements
- Ensure comprehensive documentation of the EaaS's operational performance, true costs, and lessons learned to build an evidence base for scale-up planning
- Synthesise learning across all programme components into coherent, evidence-based recommendations of a viable business model and pathway, for future programme design and institutional arrangements
- Provide informed oversight of solar electrification delivery, including review of system specifications, shipping details, installation and grievance reports, EaaS delivery and performance data against contracted standards
- Validate technical outputs and milestone claims prior to approval of next tranches, ensuring independent verification requirements are met. Including verification and review of monthly and quarterly reports (Finance (revenue, operational costs, profit & loss), Installation, Grievance and Customer feedback, Training reports.)
- Monitor the private sector delivery partner's performance against contractual obligations, including kit procurement, installation quality, after-sales service, warranty compliance, and fee collection operations
- Oversee the EaaS model's operational performance: household payment collection, grace period management, inclusion, kit activation/deactivation, and maintenance reserve tracking.
- Liaise with technical advisors and consultants (including the Renewable Energy Project Manager, as retained) to ensure adherence to recognised engineering and safety standards
- Engage in sector technical working groups, government coordination platforms, and relevant energy access forums
- Maintain oversight of all Trócaire Lite Salone Programme finances and budgets, ensuring proper donor and organisational financial management in coordination with the Head of Operations & Compliance and the Programme Accountant - Lite Salone
- Work with the Lite Salone Programme Accountant to develop and track programme budgets, the commercial fee structure, and multi-donor financial reporting requirements
- Manage contracts and service agreements with the private sector delivery partner(s), Business Consultant and implementing partners, ensuring performance accountability and compliance with Trócaire's procurement policy
- Coordinate with the Head of Operations & Compliance to ensure Lite Salone procurement follows the country procurement committee process and Trócaire's Global Procurement Policy, including proper documentation, competition, and conflict-of-interest management
- Ensure full compliance with and utilisation of Trócaire's management information systems, including Salesforce, Box, and Trócaire People
- Ensure strong coordination between the programme support team (Business Model Consultant, MEAL Manager, Programme Accountant - Lite Salone, Renewable Energy Project Manager and relevant programme staff), to align resources and deliverables
- Accountable for programme-level risk management: maintain a live programme risk register, ensure risks are identified, assessed, mitigated, monitored, and escalated in line with Trócaire's Risk Management Framework
- Escalate material risks to the Country Director promptly; support the Country Director in reporting risk status to the Head of Portfolio and HQ as required
- Ensure segregation of duties within the Lite Salone Programme Team, working with the Head of Operations & Compliance to design and maintain compensating controls where team size limits full separation
- Take responsibility for implementation of Core Humanitarian Standards and other applicable international standards across Lite Salone programme activities
- Ensure compliance with all donor-specific conditions, reporting obligations, and contractual requirements across multiple funding sources
- Serve as the primary representative of Trócaire's Lite Salone Programme to donors (Irish Embassy, Icelandic Embassy, and future contributors including EU/GIZ), government ministries, district authorities, and sector coordination platforms
- Present operational progress, technical performance, financial accountability, and lessons learned in high-level forums and donor review meetings
- Support in hosting visitors, including donors, Ministries and the media, to programme sites
- Maintain strong working relationships with consortium partners and support the Country Director in strategic donor engagement and relationship management
- Support the Country Director to drive an evidence-based advocacy agenda around energy access at country level and internationally where appropriate
- Lead the development of timely and high-quality donor and internal reports, ensuring accuracy, coherence, and compliance with reporting templates and deadlines
- Organise and lead Programme Steering Committee and donor compliance forums
- With Trócaire's Partnership and Localisation Manager and Climate Change & Women Centred Organisations Officer, support coordinated implementation of capacity-building plans for KADDRO in project management, financial management, reporting, and MEAL
- Facilitate workshops, learning exchanges, and peer-to-peer knowledge sharing among programme stakeholders
- Provide feedback on partner-developed tools and resources, ensuring quality standards are met
- Collaborate with the MEAL Manager to review and implement monitoring and evaluation systems that promote learning and adaptive management across all programme components
- Fulfil all other reasonable duties and responsibilities as requested by the Country Director and as required for successful implementation of the Trócaire Lite Salone Programme
- Minimum 5 years' experience in senior programme or project leadership roles managing complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives of comparable scale and value
- Demonstrated experience managing performance-based, output-linked, or results-based financing contracts and compliance
- Experience overseeing technically oriented infrastructure or service delivery programmes (renewable energy, service provision, utilities, construction, or similar)
- Strong financial management and budget oversight experience, including management of multi-donor funding with different compliance requirements
- Experience managing contractual relationships with private sector delivery partners, including performance accountability and contract compliance
- Experience engaging directly with institutional donors and government stakeholders at senior level
- Experience working with local civil society partners or in partnership-based programming
- Experience in human resource management, including line management, objective setting, and staff development
- Experience working with organisational management information systems
- Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (programme/project management, international development, renewable energy, engineering, business administration, or related discipline), as a minimum. Master's degree in a relevant field is preferred
- Advanced programme/project management skills, with ability to drive delivery across multiple workstreams under pressure and to tight deadlines
- Procurement and contract management competence, with understanding of competitive tendering and documentation requirements
- Ability to understand technical specifications for solar or electrical infrastructure systems and to hold a private sector partner to account on quality and performance
- Commercial awareness: ability to engage with business model analysis, financial modelling concepts, and institutional design for service delivery
- Strong stakeholder engagement, relationship-building, and diplomatic negotiation skills
- Highly organised with excellent planning, problem-solving, and prioritisation skills
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including high-quality report writing for institutional donors
- Ability to work under pressure, navigate complex programme dynamics and to deadline
- Legal and compliance awareness in grant and contract governance
- Proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel) and familiar with programme/project management tools
- Fluent in English (written and spoken)
- Delivery-oriented and results-focused, with a track record of getting things done in complex environments
- Strong leadership, with ability to motivate and align a diverse team behind shared objectives
- Flexible and able to multi-task under pressure, with ability to work independently with minimal supervision
- Commitment to social justice and promoting youth and women's engagement, inclusion, and empowerment
- Understanding of, and empathy with, the role of the Catholic Church in development
- Commitment to Trócaire's values and safeguarding policies
- Ability and willingness to travel frequently within Sierra Leone (particularly to Kambia District) and internationally if required
- Commitment to principles of safeguarding of programme participants
- Commitment to gender equality principles
- Financial integrity and stewardship of programme funds
- Knowledge of the local political, economic, and energy sector context of Sierra Leone
- Experience with business development, including institutional donor proposal development, investor engagement, or social enterprise structuring
- Background or working knowledge of renewable energy systems, off-grid solar markets, or Energy-as-a-Service delivery models
- Experience with monitoring, evaluation, and adaptive learning frameworks in a pilot or research-oriented programme
- Understanding of programming in a partnership model and working in a partnership-based INGO
- Demonstrable experience in promoting gender equity through programming
Trócaire offers a competitive package of salary and benefits on local terms and conditions.
Closing date for applications Wednesday 22nd April 12noon (Sierra Leone time).