Community Liaison Officer (Fixed-Term Contract - Newcastle Municipal area)

Mulilo; Newcastle; On-site; ZAR 500 000 - 700 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading renewable energy company in South Africa is seeking a Stakeholder Engagement Manager. The role involves managing community relations, implementing grievance mechanisms, and ensuring compliance with social impact strategies. Candidates should have a Bachelor's degree in a related field and at least 5 years of experience in stakeholder management. Excellent communication and organizational skills are essential. The position offers a competitive remuneration package and the opportunity to positively impact communities through renewable energy projects.

Benefits

Competitive total remuneration package

Career progression opportunities

Qualifications

• 5 years experience in community engagement or public affairs.
• Strong ability to build consensus among diverse stakeholders.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office tools.

Responsibilities

• Manage community relations and stakeholder expectations.
• Implement grievance mechanisms for community concerns.
• Maintain detailed records of stakeholder engagements.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Strong communication skills

Organizational skills

Proficiency in Microsoft Office

Education

Bachelor’s degree or National Diploma in Public Relations or Social Sciences

Job description

About the Company

Since its establishment in 2008, Mulilo has grown into one of the leading Independent Power Producers (IPP) in Southern Africa. Mulilo is majority owned by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, the world’s leading private equity investor in renewable energy assets, through its New Markets Fund I. Mulilo has concluded numerous PPA's in both the Department of Mineral Energy's Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Programme (REIPPP) and with several large corporate energy users. Mulilo currently operates 450MW of wind and solar PV projects and has a further 500MW of projects under financial close. Having adopted a strategy that aligns with the company's long‑term vision, Mulilo has accumulated a pipeline of projects exceeding 25GW, and is now positioned as a key player in the renewable energy sector.

Mulilo places strong emphasis on its human capital and prides itself in providing a world class working environment for all its employees, thereby placing huge value on career progression and personal growth.

Mulilo is guided by strong ethical principles and adheres to its environmental, social and governance responsibilities.

About Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP)

Founded in 2012, CIP is the world’s largest dedicated renewable energy fund manager and a global leader in offshore wind. CIP currently manages over 30 billion Euro’s, with a target of having 100 billion Euros under management by 2030. The funds managed by CIP focus on investments in offshore and onshore wind, solar PV, biomass and energy‑from‑waste, transmission and distribution, reserve capacity, storage, advanced bioenergy, and Power‑to‑X.

About this role

Mulilo is expanding its Social Impact outlook to include BEE strategy, Economic Development, Social Impact, Bursary Fund Management and ESG integration. In this new and expanded team, you will use your stakeholder management experience to provide internal and external stakeholders with assurance that all our implementation, reporting and compliance obligations are met. You will also work closely with our Social Impact and Corporate Affairs teams to identify and implement a Community Engagement plan. The role requires building rapport and fostering relationships, managing community relations, identifying and addressing community outreach strategies. This selected individual will be responsible for understanding the Corporate Affairs and Social Impact strategy as designed by Senior Management and ensuring that the strategy is delivered through execution diligence. This role requires a real passion for making a positive impact in communities, working with others and delivering on strategy. Your strong project management capabilities, structure, logic and attention to detail will make you successful in this role.

Duties and responsibilities

Stakeholder Management

• Co‑create and deliver on a Community Engagement plan;
• Develop and maintain an understanding of economic profiles and needs of the region and community;
• Assist with the day‑to‑day liaison with various stakeholders within the designated communities i.e. Communities, Community Trusts, Non‑Governmental Organisations, Business Chamber, Landowners and the municipality;
• Keep up with the weekly and daily developments of the project;
• Ensure formal meetings, between Mulilo Head Office and various stakeholders, are organized once a quarter at the very least, including organizing meeting spaces;
• Provide a link between local service providers/contractors/resources and the Project Company by ensuring that relevant stakeholders gain access to economic development opportunities by disseminating information to small business and community;
• Provide answers to questions, about the project, from relevant stakeholders and keeping the sponsors of the project informed;
• Perform other duties as may be assigned

Mobilisation, building rapport and fostering relationships

• Manage the expectations of the local community;
• Participate in Community Stakeholder Forums to build relationships.
• Keep Management informed of community affairs and any possible dynamics, objectively report items/trends/issues that may emerge and impact the implementation of project company programmes;
• Communicate with agencies, businesses and communities who seek business opportunity

Support conflict resolution and mediation

• Implement grievance mechanisms for communities;
• Respond to community concerns by ensuring that they are brought to the attention of Social Impact and ESG teams and facilitate the process of resolving the issue;
• Mediate issues between the community members and the sponsors of the project;

Document management

• Maintain detailed and accurate indicators and record of meetings including agendas, meeting minutes, follow‑up/action points, pictures. Details of meeting held or cancelled should also be maintained;
• Gather information and provide clear and objective reporting for the Project Company for reporting to government and other relevant institutions;
• Deliver documents to all the interested parties and similarly receive and collect documents from both external and internal parties relating to the project company;

Monitoring and evaluation of stakeholder engagements

• Responsible for the stakeholder feedback platform for the purpose of improving services and programs provided and forecasting future needs of the district and community.
• Provide a quality assurance role in the implementation programme(s) of the project company.
• Support administrative activities including compliance and economic development obligations; implementation, reporting and forecasting
• Support the preparation of information and presentations for Mulilo Group and Project Company board meetings and/or shareholders

Required skills and education background.

• Bachelor’s degree or National Diploma (NQF Level 6) in Public Relations, Social sciences, Communications or a related field.
• Own reliable transportation.
• Demonstrated ability in stakeholder management, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in Community engagement, stakeholder relations or public affairs.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to build consensus and influence decision‑making among diverse stakeholders.

• Excellent organizational and time management abilities, with a proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and meet tight deadlines.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office productivity tools
• Commitment to sustainability and renewable energy development, with a passion for driving positive social and impact through finance and investment.

Desirable attributes

The ideal candidate would have a passion for the Renewable Energy sector and personality traits would include a high level of diligence, determination, resilience, and agility.

Mulilo is an employer of choice and is offering an extremely competitive total remuneration package for this position.

Additional Information

Able to work overtime according to operational needs.