Program Technical Lead (Grid Backbone)

Position Title: Program Technical Lead (Grid Backbone)
Organization: Ten X Group
Work Arrangement: Full-time or project-based annual contract, subject to assignment
Location: Syria - As assigned, including fragile and complex operating environments
Reports To: Program Director / Managing Director / Authorized Project Executive

Position Summary

The Program Technical Lead (Grid Backbone) is the senior technical authority responsible for end-to-end engineering leadership of high-voltage grid backbone recovery, rehabilitation, expansion, and modernization programs. The role provides technical direction across transmission lines, substations, grid stability, protection, telecom, SCADA interfaces, implementation planning, commissioning readiness, and overall package integration.

This position is intended for a senior-level power sector professional capable of leading multidisciplinary teams, interfacing with ministries, utilities, lenders, donors, EPC contractors, Owner’s Engineers, and technical counterpart institutions, and converting strategic energy priorities into technically sound, procurement-ready, financeable, and executable programs.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

· Lead the full technical architecture for transmission backbone and interconnection rehabilitation and modernization programs.

· Direct multidisciplinary engineering integration across transmission, substations, protection and control, SCADA/telecom, grid operations, and commissioning workstreams.

· Review, validate, and approve technical approaches, system configurations, design criteria, engineering assumptions, and implementation methodologies.

· Lead technical due diligence, site validation planning, scope definition, design review, gap analysis, and package development.

· Develop and quality assure technical narratives, concept papers, white papers, implementation plans, owner’s requirements, scopes of work, and technical annexes.

· Ensure technical outputs are aligned with utility practice, lender expectations, procurement requirements, environmental and social obligations, and security constraints.

· Support prioritization of network interventions based on operability, system criticality, reliability improvement, restoration sequencing, and capital efficiency.

· Lead technical engagement with counterpart ministries, transmission entities, national research institutions, donor technical teams, and investor-facing stakeholders.

· Oversee technical risk identification, mitigation planning, constructability considerations, testing philosophy, commissioning logic, and handover requirements.

· Provide final technical QA/QC of deliverables prior to submission to clients, donors, evaluation committees, or procurement entities.

· Support bid clarification, technical negotiation, contractor evaluation, and implementation troubleshooting as required.

· Mentor junior engineers and technical specialists and enforce disciplined engineering management across the program.

Minimum Required Education

· Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Power Engineering, Energy Systems Engineering, or closely related discipline from an accredited institution.

Preferred Education

· Master’s degree in Electrical Power Systems, Power Transmission, Energy Infrastructure, Utility Engineering, or related field.

· Additional executive or postgraduate training in project management, infrastructure finance, utility regulation, or grid modernization is advantageous.

Minimum Required Experience

· Minimum 15 years of progressively responsible experience in power transmission, substation engineering, utility infrastructure rehabilitation, grid modernization, or equivalent high-voltage power sector programs.

· Minimum 10 years in senior technical leadership, lead engineer, chief engineer, technical manager, owner’s engineer, or program technical lead roles.

· Demonstrated experience on systems involving 220 kV, 230 kV, 400 kV, or equivalent extra-high-voltage infrastructure.

· Demonstrated experience integrating multiple engineering disciplines into a single bankable or executable infrastructure program.

· Proven experience producing technical packages for donor-funded, lender-funded, EPC, design-build, or utility-led infrastructure programs.

Required Technical Experience

Candidates should demonstrate substantial hands-on and leadership experience in most of the following areas:

· High-voltage transmission system rehabilitation and expansion

· EHV/HV substations, transformers, switchgear, auxiliaries, and grid interfaces

· Transmission line rehabilitation, uprating, or reconstruction

· Protection and control interface requirements

· Utility telecom, OPGW, SCADA, dispatch visibility, and systems integration

· Testing, energization, commissioning, and operational readiness planning

· Technical specifications, engineering standards, QA/QC, and acceptance criteria

· Package integration across engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning

· Technical review of EPC or plant contracts

· Development of technical scopes, TORs, owner’s requirements, and engineering annexes

Preferred Sector Experience

Strong preference will be given to candidates with experience in one or more of the following:

· Fragile, post-conflict, austere, or complex operating environments

· National grid restoration or emergency power recovery programs

· Cross-border interconnection or regional power exchange systems

· Multilateral development bank, UN, or donor-funded energy infrastructure programs

· Utility reform, transmission utility interface, or ministry-level technical advisory assignments

· Brownfield rehabilitation of legacy grid infrastructure

· Programs involving security constraints, restricted access, or ERW-contaminated areas

Required Certifications / Licenses

At least one of the following is strongly preferred, and candidates with multiple credentials will be prioritized:

· Registered Professional Engineer / Chartered Engineer / equivalent national engineering licensure in a relevant jurisdiction

· PMP, PgMP, or equivalent recognized project/program management certification

· Valid driver’s license and ability to travel as required by assignment

Preferred Certifications

· Chartered Engineer (CEng), PE, EUR ING, or equivalent

· PMP or PRINCE2 Practitioner

· FIDIC training or certification

· Utility asset management, substation, transmission line, or commissioning-related specialist training

· Health, safety, and construction risk management training relevant to infrastructure delivery

· Training in donor procurement or multilateral project delivery environments

Core Competencies

· Senior technical judgment

· End-to-end systems thinking

· Multidisciplinary engineering integration

· High-voltage infrastructure expertise

· Technical writing and executive briefing capability

· Technical due diligence and risk assessment

· Program structuring and implementation planning

· Stakeholder and counterpart management

· QA/QC and document control discipline

· Decision-making under uncertainty and operational constraints

Functional Skills

· Ability to lead engineering reviews and challenge assumptions

· Ability to convert conceptual priorities into procurement-ready packages

· Ability to identify critical path technical dependencies

· Ability to brief senior government, donor, investor, and executive audiences

· Ability to manage competing technical priorities under compressed timelines

· Ability to enforce deliverable quality, consistency, and traceability

Language Requirements

· Professional fluency in English, written and spoken, is required.

· Arabic is highly desirable.

· Additional regional languages are advantageous but not required.

Deliverables Typically Expected

· Technical strategy and integrated delivery framework

· Program-level technical narrative and engineering basis

· Priority intervention matrix and sequencing logic

· Technical work package definitions

· Scope books, terms of reference, or owner’s requirements

· Technical review memoranda and decision papers

· Technical risk registers and mitigation recommendations

· Commissioning readiness and integration frameworks

· Final technical QA sign-off of submission packages

Job Types: Full-time, Contract
Contract length: 12 months

Work Location: In person