Operationalization of the Alliance
The Alliance can only become a strong player in the sector if it has a clear strategy which is implemented by motivated and knowledgeable staff and honorary office. While the SC will be in charge to develop the strategy and the focus areas of the Alliance, the CDO will be the most important position on an operational level to implement the strategy and to organize activities.
Coordination Desk Officer (CDO)
The Alliance shall be coordinated by a NEUTRAL coordination manager, who must not be associated to one of the member organizations; he/ she will be employed and paid by the Alliance. The principal ideas and features, on which the job description and required qualification shall be based on, are as follows:
Strong management: The person must be confident in dealing with the demands and inputs of the individual member organizations in a neutral manner;
Pro-active engagement: he/ she has to be knowledgeable and determined to develop and design activities and convince the SC/ member organizations, in consideration of their interests; he/she has to be capable to engage the member organizations (according to their commitments); the CDO has to ensure that the Alliance becomes visible and interesting for external stakeholders.
Sensitive management: At present member organizations have not collaborated, due to concerns, based on bad experiences with missing transparency. The CDO has to appreciate and address those concerns while coordinating the Alliance.
Professional management I -> Project management: Projects and activities, defined by the Steering Committee, have to be implemented effectively and efficiently. The coordination desk has to make sure, that each member organization provides the required inputs of sufficient quality and on time. He/ she has to be able to complement the inputs with own expertise. Sound project proposals/ concept papers have to be developed (by the CDO or at least with assistance of the CDO), which can be presented successfully to potential sponsors. The CDO has to realize risks of delays suggest corrections and make the SC to take decisions.
Professional management II -> Finance management: Based on a strategy, a business plan has to be developed which defines the growth path and states the budget on how to finance all planned activities. Definition of service fees and fundraising activities have to be included; decisions of SC have to be prepared by the CDO properly. The budget of the Alliance and of various projects/ activities has to be monitored; the monitoring has to be documented in a transparent manner. Every task organized, planned, and implemented will have its origin at the CDO’s desk and will ensure the implementation of the operational plan. Experiences, such as project management and skills such as leadership, analytical, and organizational proficiencies are deemed more important than sector-specific knowledge. The CDO ought to have crosssectoral work experience, including public-private dialogue instead of being a RE/EE expert. However, a passion for RE/EE and first experiences in this sector and the ability of developing a sufficient level of understanding about the market would be desirable.
