الوصف الوظيفي
Project Leader (South Africa)
Department: Advisory
Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Description
Aurora has a newly created senior level career opportunity for an Advisory Project Lead in our new South African office. As the most senior member in the Advisory team, you will play a key role in leading client engagement, identifying issues, forming hypotheses, conducting analysis, and synthesizing conclusions into recommendations, while also driving internal culture and initiatives.
As South Africa is a new market for Aurora, this role also presents the exciting opportunity of working closely with the Managing Director and Market Lead to develop Aurora’s regional market expansion strategy, while contributing to building a first-class culture. Based in Cape Town, you have the chance to grow into a market leadership role by contributing to all service lines including subscription, advisory and software solutions.
Reporting directly to the Market Lead, you will execute our South African Advisory strategy, influence our Advisory development, and contribute to building a successful team with strong culture and efficient operational processes and systems. You will grow industry expertise under the guidance of senior leaders with deep experience addressing major strategic issues at the world’s leading electricity market modelling firm.
The successful candidate will be a leader – with a track record of success in team environments - combining a focussed business development mindset with analytical rigour, excellent communication and relationship management skills.
While we value self-starters who can work independently, we also offer a supportive environment and mentorship to help new joiners thrive. We encourage applications from smart, hard-working candidates from all backgrounds who are eager to learn and can grow into the role.
A rare opportunity to be part of Aurora’s first African team. You will have the chance to join the world’s leading power analytics business, in Africa’s largest power market.
Key Responsibilities
Project Delivery
• Develop a clear and detailed understanding of the client’s business and expectations, scoping projects and managing them to time and budget.
• Oversee multiple projects simultaneously, providing both internal and external stakeholders with the orientation they need in critical project phases and situations.
• Ensure optimal delivery on clients’ expectations, including collaborating with project teams to deliver a suitable approach, oversee complex problem-solving, ensuring independent, high quality, rigorous quantitative analysis, interpretation and communication of data insights.
Commercial
• Contribute to building and growing close client relationships with key stakeholders across the market, ultimately becoming their trusted advisor.
• Acquire new clients and projects by collaborating with internal stakeholders to respond successfully to inbound requests for proposals.
• Good instinct in closing a sale and ability to identify key success factors including client use case and decision making processes, willingness to pay, etc.
• Identify new commercial opportunities through deepening market knowledge and client relationships, and ability to translate client problems into Aurora solutions in real time with clients as well as after meetings.
Content development/thought leadership
• In leading our advisory work, you will have the ability to add a strategic filter to our analysis for clients, especially with regards to buy-side and sell-side transactions.
• Develop our models: leveraging your position of influence and proximity to clients, you will play an active role in honing and advancing Aurora’s power sector models, especially in South Africa and neighboring markets.
• Build an external profile and industry presence as a thought leader within the Southern African energy ecosystem. Over time, this will include representing Aurora in both public and private forums, such as:
• Hosting the Energy Unplugged podcast
• Leading public webinars on topical research topics
• Speaking at major conferences to share Aurora analysis
Strategy development
• Work with the Market Lead to help develop and execute the Advisory strategy in South Africa, including formulating appropriate responses to competitive threats, evolving our proposal offerings, and leveraging our software and research capabilities to capture new market value.
• Willingness to engage with the Market Lead on regional strategy discussions, including Research and Software strategy development, applying commercial Advisory insights strategically to unlock growth potential.
Team management and Leadership
• Balance the delivery of projects with coaching and inspiring teams of analysts and energy modelers with the aim of optimising performance and developing potential.
• Contribute to team culture and development in Aurora’s South African office, as the most senior Advisory member.
• Willingness to take on responsibilities beyond your day-to-day role as and when the need arises (e.g., graduate programme oversight).
• Willingness to engage with the Market Lead on wider team management, with the ultimate aim of growing into a more senior market leadership role.
Skills, Knowledge and Expertise
Required attributes:
• Relevant experience in the electricity and energy sectors, either at a consultancy, government/regulatory body, or industry participant.
• Demonstrated experience in using data to deliver electricity market insights.
• Strong project management skills to consistently ensure the management and delivery of clients’ projects exceeds their expectations.
• Have a proven track record of winning new business, both through writing compelling proposals in response to client requests, and through proactive business development
• Collaborative by nature and have an empathetic leadership style that demonstrates skill in inspiring, raising performance and developing your teams.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, both internally, with clients and on public platforms.
• High initiative and ambition to ultimately grow from the Advisory Project Lead position into the Market Lead position for the region; constantly looking for new opportunities and areas for improvement.
• Proven academic track record in high quality degree, typically in science, technology, engineering or mathematics subject, or equivalent professional experience.
• Proficiency in English (C1 level).
What we offer
Some of the benefits we include are:
• The opportunity to substantially influence major decisions in the energy sector
• Direct engagement with clients through Aurora conferences, workshops and webinars
• The opportunity to grow into a publicly visible industry expert
• A fun, informal, collaborative and international work culture
• A competitive salary package
• Access to regular coaching and mentoring sessions and the opportunity to learn from experienced professionals
• Access to the Aurora Academy, our training programme offering a range of opportunities to develop your skills within the responsibilities of your role and within the wider context of the industry.
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), offering a complete support network that offers expert advice and compassionate guidance 24/7/365, covering a wide range of personal and professional aspects
At AER, we are committed to offering flexibility in the way we work. Most of our roles are hybrid with a mix of in-office/home working and potentially adjustable working hours. Let’s discuss what works for you and AER during the interview process.
Aurora Energy Research is committed to employment equity in line with the Employment Equity Act, 55 of 1998. We encourage applications from suitably qualified candidates from designated groups as defined in the Employment Equity Act. All appointments will be made on the basis of merit, experience and business requirements.
To apply, please submit your Résumé / CV, a personal summary, your salary expectations and please inform us of your notice period.
Unfortunately, we are unable to accept applications via email, telephone, or social media platforms. To be considered for this position, please submit your application using the link provided. Applications submitted through any other channel will not be reviewed.