Who we are and what we do

Catalyst Energy Advisors is a boutique consultancy focused exclusively on tackling the global energy access deficit. Many of our team members come from the industry itself, enabling us to offer an insider’s perspective to our clients and partners. We collaborate with a range of actors, including enterprises, investors, international organizations, development partners, and
philanthropic organizations.

A highly sought-after firm, our clients and partners include The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), The Rockefeller Foundation, Sustainable Energy for All, Shell Foundation, Facebook, GOGLA, the UK Government’s British International Investment (formerly CDC Group), The World Bank, USAID, International Finance Corporation, Norfund, and others. Here’s just some of our recent work and innovations:

• VentureBuilder – an innovative financing vehicle that helps scale African-owned and managed off-grid energy companies. We provide equity in the form of cash investments and in Enterprise Development Services delivered by our team for financing and support.
• PAYGo Lab – developed to tackle off-grid solar’s consumer credit challenge, the Lab helps build systems, tools and capabilities to sustainably manage a portfolio at scale, including deploying a self-learning customer credit scoring tool alongside credit metrics and dashboards that give early warning signals if credit management is going off track.
• GEAPP – Launched at COP27, the Powering People and Planet (P3) report is GEAPP’s first annual impact report. It highlights why the alliance exists, explains its impact methodology and showcases GEAPP projects across the globe. Catalyst provided research, analysis and drafted core report content.

What it’s like to work with us

At Catalyst, you’ll work in a fast-paced environment with a team spanning several time zones. We work on multiple mandates concurrently, which provides an exciting opportunity to learn by doing. Our staff and collaborators work fully remotely (aside from occasional business trips) and value and respect work/life balance.

The Role

We are seeking a highly motivated Associate with a strong interest in energy access and climate change mitigation to support delivery on several existing mandates. This role will collaborate with stakeholders inside and outside of the firm and be an independent contributor to various projects. We are looking for someone dynamic and collaborative who is eager to support and learn from our existing senior team members.

Responsibilities:

• Independently execute research across a broad range of topics.
• Track and manage reliable data as needed.
• Lead quantitative analysis and modeling activities within specific project scopes.
• Draft clear and compelling presentations and written reports.
• Support the VentureBuilder team in delivering Enterprise Development Services and pipeline development as needed.
• Support various other administrative tasks, including social media and website updates.

Location: Remote, while Catalyst is headquartered in Berkeley, CA, the team is fully decentralized.

Hours: expected engagement varies depending on needs of the firm. We are looking for a minimum of 20 hours per week, with a preference for this to be up to 40 hours per week depending on workload. We can be accommodating (to an extent) regarding candidate availability.

Pay: commensurate with experience.

You’ll succeed in this role if you:

• Have an undergraduate degree in an applicable field such as engineering, business, economics, computer science, mathematics, physical and social sciences and significant work experience.
• Are pursuing an advanced degree in economics, business administration, international development, public policy, or related fields.
• Are a highly personable self-starter with the ability to work remotely and independently.
• Thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced environment while meeting deadlines.
• Have superb writing and analytical skills and outstanding skills in MS PowerPoint, Excel and Word, experience in management consulting a plus.
• Have experience working or living in sub-Saharan Africa on energy access, climate, renewables, and demand-side topics is a plus.
• Have a willingness to plunge into unfamiliar disciplines by exploring and testing new ideas.
• Have experience supporting social enterprise initiatives in emerging markets.
• Have experience working with global carbon calculation methodologies is a plus.

To Apply

Catalyst will consider individuals with a broad range of experience and skills. To apply, please submit a resume, a brief cover letter and short writing sample to: jobs@catalyst-advisors.com.
Candidates will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Catalyst values a diverse team and strives to increase the diversity of thought, perspectives, ideas and experience in the team. As such, we are committed to equal opportunities for all. All candidates will be considered without attention to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.