Open call: JET Research, Strategy & Engagement Consultants

Open call — rolling expression of interest

• Title: Just Energy Transition (JET) Research, Strategy & Engagement Consultants

• Type: Rolling expression of interest, matched to consultancy engagements as they arise

• Reporting to: IHRB's Head of Climate & Just Transitions Programme

• Location: South Africa, Indonesia or Senegal; open to other locations for candidates with strong relevant experience, network and language fundamentals

• Duration: Varies by engagement; opportunities in this cycle run to on or before 30 April 2027

• Pay: Day rate consultancy; specific budget confirmed per engagement

The Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) is building a pool of experienced consultants to support the closing phase of its Just Transitions Programme's work on Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) countries. We are looking to hear from thoughtful researchers, strategists and engagement practitioners with genuine depth in one or more JETP contexts - South Africa, Indonesia, and Senegal.

This is not a single fixed role. It is an open call: IHRB will draw on this pool to fill specific, time-bound consultancy engagements as they are scoped over the remainder of the current grant period, and to build relationships for future phases of this work. Not every expression of interest will lead to paid work in this cycle, but strong candidates will be kept on file and approached directly as needs arise.

We are looking for people who can bring one or more of the following:

• rigorous policy and systems research in a fast-moving field, particularly where justice/human rights issues and private sector/economic activity intersect;

• strategic judgement on how to sequence and frame engagement with senior stakeholders across business, finance, government and civil society;

• hands-on experience designing or facilitating convenings, dialogues, or other engagement formats;

• strong, accessible writing for funder, policy and public audiences;

• deep, credible relationships within one or more of the three JETP contexts

IHRB’s Just Transitions Programme focuses on a central challenge: current climate action models are structurally misaligned – and this is undermining delivery. Decision-making remains top-down across sectors, financial systems misprice social risk, and practitioners lack awareness of usable, investable models. The result is an implementation gap, where ambition is rising but delivery is contested, delayed, or fragile – raising material risks for workers and communities, company operations, and the transition itself.

Our core contention is that climate action succeeds when governed as a social process, not just a technical or financial one. Embedding the rights and agency of workers, communities, and affected stakeholders into how decisions are designed, sequenced, and financed is not a moral add-on – it is a precondition for effective, investable climate action. This approach is grounded in international standards, including the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which establish participation, accountability, and due diligence as baseline conditions.

IHRB works to shift practice through three interconnected approaches:

• making risk visible – by demonstrating how social exclusion translates into financial and operational costs

• making the possible tangible – by identifying real-world models and mechanisms, and translating them into operational insights for diverse practitioners

• making change actionable – by convening and engaging business, finance, policy, and civil society in dialogue on shared challenges and emerging issues

As part of this broader Just Transitions Programme, IHRB has undertaken a focused stream of work on the just energy transition landscape and progress in JETP countries. JETPs were launched in 2021 at COP26 as a new model for mobilising climate finance in support of national-level energy transitions. IHRB’s “J in JETP” project clarifies how justice is being interpreted and applied in national JET investment and implementation plans, and provides practical guidance on how private sector engagement can support, rather than undermine, social outcomes.

This work began in South Africa, with a comprehensive mapping of actors and policies within the national just energy transition framework, investments and implementation plans, as well as a deeper dive into distributive justice and the role of business in the country's energy transition. This formed the foundation for a companion study in Indonesia, which is in-process and nearing completion. Senegal is a new addition to this comparative work, with a bounded scoping study now being initiated.

South Africa and Indonesia are both cases of an incumbent fossil industry being phased out and open questions about the sequencing for which green systems each country will transition-in to. Senegal is structurally different: a low-base renewables buildout with no comparable incumbent industry to phase out. Candidates should be comfortable working with, rather than flattening, this kind of structural nuance between contexts.

Depending on capacity and how the remainder of the grant period develops, potential engagements may include:

• desk research, actor mapping, or documentation review in Senegal's JET context;

• support with stakeholder engagement or dissemination activities around published South Africa or Indonesia research;

• contributions to comparative analysis across the three JET contexts;

• support around COP31/32 as well as national dialogues and related convening activity;

• other research, strategy or engagement work that fits an expression of interest closely enough to be worth scoping.

The specific scope, timeline and budget for any engagement will be confirmed directly with candidates whose expertise is a strong fit.

Knowledge & skills:

• Genuine depth in the unique energy systems, transition governance, and political economy landscapes of Senegal, Indonesia, and/or South Africa;

• Strong understanding of business and human rights and responsible business frameworks and incentives/disincentives, and of distributive justice approaches to energy transitions;

• Strong analytical and writing skills, able to translate complex material into clear outputs for funder, policy and public audiences;

• Relevant language fluency for the context in question (in particular, Bahasa Indonesia and French), alongside strong written English;

• Ability to work independently within a small, globally distributed team, and to deliver reliably against fixed, often compressed, timelines.

Experience:

• A demonstrable track record of independent research, stakeholder engagement with seasoned experts and practitioners across business, finance, government, and civil society, as well as knowledge product development in a comparable policy space.

• Candidates based outside South Africa, Indonesia or Senegal must bring correspondingly strong career experience, network, and language fundamentals from one or more of the three countries to justify the fit.

• Timeframe: Varies by engagement; opportunities under this call are expected to run as soon as possible and up to the 30th of April 2027

• Contracting: Consultancy agreement, subject to UK law, agreed per engagement

• Compensation: Day rate consultancy, in line with IHRB's standard rate, negotiated and confirmed per engagement.

This is an open, rolling call rather than a single recruitment round with a fixed deadline. To express interest, please send:

1. a short note (less than 500 words) on your relevant experience and the JETP context(s) you know best,

2. along with your CV, and

3. your preferred day rate.

IHRB will reach out directly if and when a specific engagement is a strong match; we are not able to respond individually to every expression of interest.