For Project: EU-Lesotho Technical Assistance Project - Cooperation Facility and Visibility/Communication Strategy
Assignment Title: Support to Water, Energy and Natural Resources Sector Coordination, Policy Dialogue and Portfolio Oversight
Under the Cooperation Facility Technical Assistance Support, the European Union in Lesotho seeks to mobilise a Junior Non-Key Expert (JNKE) to provide technical oversight and in-country support for the EU water and energy portfolio in Lesotho, reporting to programme manager based in the EU Southern Africa Regional Hub Office in Pretoria.
The expert will contribute to sector analysis, programme follow-up, stakeholder networking and in-country coordination to facilitate EU engagement in the water, energy and related natural resources sectors. The assignment will include support to policy dialogue, investment pipeline development, collection and analysis of information on prospective interventions, coordination with ongoing programmes and partners, and preparation of practical recommendations to inform EU strategic positioning.
The assignment will also facilitate and reinforce EU’s ability to coordinate with relevant stakeholders in the sector, including through closer engagement with Member States, government counterparts, development partners and the private sector.
Overall Objective
The overall objective of this assignment is to provide in-country programme oversight, sector intelligence, policy-dialogue support and stakeholder coordination to advance the EU water, energy and related natural resources portfolio in Lesotho. The expert will ensure effective programme follow-up, information gathering, stakeholder engagement, preparation of concise analytical inputs and support to projects and missions, reporting to the Programme Manager based in the EU Southern Africa Regional Hub Office in Pretoria.
Specific Objectives
The specific objectives are to:
- Provide in-country programme oversight and follow-up support for the EU water, energy and related natural resources portfolio;
- Monitor sector developments, programme implementation, emerging risks, bottlenecks and opportunities relevant to EU cooperation;
- Provide background information, stakeholder contacts and logistical support to facilitate policy dialogue with ministries, public institutions, development partners, utilities, civil society and private-sector actors;
- Collect, organise and analyse information on prospective water, energy and natural resources interventions and support the updating of the relevant project or investment pipeline;
- Map and regularly update EU and EU Member States’ interests, programmes and interventions in the relevant sectors;
- Facilitate EU coordination in the sector, including with ongoing programmes and partners- as well as with government institutions, development partners, implementing organisations and other relevant stakeholders;
- Prepare regular programme reports, background notes, briefing materials and practical recommendations for the Regional Hub and, when requested, the EU Delegation to Lesotho; and
- Support the preparation, organisation and follow-up of missions and visits to Lesotho by the Regional Hub.
Scope of Work and Key Tasks
The expert will work in close coordination with the Regional Hub in Pretoria and relevant EU counterparts. The expert’s work will cover the following areas:
Programme Technical oversight and portfolio support
- Provide in-country programme technical oversight, implementation follow-up and coordination support for the EU water, energy and related natural resources portfolio in Lesotho.
- Support monitoring of programme implementation, sector developments, institutional issues, bottlenecks, risks and opportunities relevant to EU cooperation.
- Collect and communicate information on technical, operational and institutional matters affecting the portfolio.
- Identify issues requiring follow-up by the Regional Hub, the EU Delegation, implementing partners or specialised technical experts.
- Identify practical entry points for strengthening EU engagement, programme coordination and stakeholder partnerships in the sectors concerned.
Policy dialogue and stakeholder engagement
- Collect and prepare background information and analysis on policy, institutional and programme developments to facilitate and support policy dialogue with relevant ministries, government departments and agencies, public authorities and other relevant institutions, particularly those responsible for energy, water, natural resources, climate, public investment and planning.
- Maintain regular working-level contact with national authorities, public utilities, regulatory bodies, development partners, financial institutions, civil society organisations, implementing partners and relevant private-sector stakeholders.
- Support the preparation of agendas, stakeholder lists, discussion points, briefing notes and background materials for EU meetings and consultations.
- Support follow-up of agreed actions arising from policy dialogue, sector coordination meetings, programme reviews and missions.
- Facilitate technical consultations, stakeholder meetings and coordination sessions when requested.
Project identification and Investment pipeline development support
- Collect, organise and analyse information on existing and prospective interventions in the water, energy and related natural resources sectors.
- Support the identification and preliminary screening of potential projects and programmes in coordination with the Regional Hub, the EU Delegation, government counterparts and ongoing EU-funded initiatives.
- Assess, at a preliminary level, the relevance, readiness, institutional requirements, stakeholder interest and principal constraints affecting prospective interventions.
- Support the preparation and updating of project profiles, concept summaries, pipeline matrices and other relevant documentation.
- Review the alignment of prospective interventions with national policies, sector priorities and relevant regional and EU frameworks.
- Identify potential opportunities for engagement with private-sector actors and provide initial information on possible private-sector participation, where relevant.
- Flag initiatives requiring more detailed technical, financial, legal, environmental or feasibility analysis by specialised experts.
- Provide practical recommendations on possible follow-up actions and programming priorities.
Mapping and coordination
- Prepare and regularly update a mapping of EU, EU Member State and other major development-partner interests, programmes, institutions and interventions in the relevant sectors.
- Identify complementarities, synergies, overlaps, gaps and potential opportunities for coordination across ongoing and planned initiatives.
- Map relevant ministries, public institutions, utilities, regulatory bodies, development partners, implementing organisations, civil society actors, research institutions and private-sector stakeholders.
- Liaise, as appropriate, with ongoing programmes, implementing partners, sector working groups, clusters and other coordination mechanisms.
- Support information exchange and practical coordination among relevant stakeholders.
- Maintain an updated stakeholder contact database for use by the Regional Hub and the EU Delegation.
Sector intelligence, programme reporting and briefing support
- Prepare at least two concise reports per month for the Regional Hub summarising relevant sector developments, stakeholder engagement, programme implementation issues, risks, opportunities and recommended follow-up actions.
- Monitor and report on relevant policy, institutional, regulatory, programme and market developments in the water, energy and natural resources sectors.
- Prepare background notes, meeting briefs, stakeholder profiles, programme updates, issue notes and other concise written inputs as requested.
- Provide practical recommendations on actions that may be undertaken by the Regional Hub, the EU Delegation, implementing partners or other relevant stakeholders.
- Maintain an organised record of key meetings, commitments, follow-up actions and sector developments.
- Ensure that reporting is evidence-based, concise, operationally focused and suitable for use by programme managers and decision-makers.
Support to mission visits and meetings
- Support the organisation and facilitation of missions and visits to Lesotho by the Regional Hub and other relevant EU representatives.
- Assist with stakeholder identification, scheduling, meeting arrangements, logistics, technical briefings and preparation of background documentation.
- Prepare mission agendas, stakeholder profiles, briefing notes, talking points and meeting summaries.
- Participate in meetings and field visits when requested.
- Prepare mission follow-up notes, action matrices and recommendations, and support follow-up with relevant stakeholders.
N.B. The assignment is primarily an in-country programme oversight, stakeholder-coordination, sector-intelligence and reporting function. The expert will not be expected to undertake specialised engineering design, detailed financial modelling, legal due diligence or full feasibility studies. Where such specialised analysis is required, the expert will support the identification and mobilisation of the relevant technical expertise.
DAI is looking to recruit Junior Non-Key Expert (JNKE) - Designation: Water, Energy and Natural Resources Portfolio Oversight Expert
Expert Profile
Qualifications and skills
- University degree in water, energy, natural resources management, environmental studies, development studies, social sciences, public administration, economics, public policy, project management or another discipline relevant to the assignment.
- Where the university degree is not directly specialised in water or energy, a combination of a relevant university degree, specialised postgraduate training and substantial professional experience in water, WASH, integrated water resources management, climate resilience, energy access, environmental management, natural resources or development cooperation may be accepted.
- A relevant postgraduate qualification, professional certification or specialised training in water, WASH, water resources management, water diplomacy, climate resilience, environmental management, energy, development cooperation or project management will be considered an advantage.
- Strong analytical, communication, coordination, reporting and facilitation skills.
- Demonstrated ability to prepare concise programme reports, background notes, briefing materials and practical recommendations.
- Fluency in written and spoken English.
- Fluency in Sesotho will be considered a strong advantage.
General professional experience
- At least five (5) years of professional experience in development cooperation, programme or project management, stakeholder coordination, water, WASH, energy access, infrastructure, climate resilience, environmental management, natural resources, livelihoods or other related sectors.
- At least five (5) years of directly relevant experience in water, WASH, energy, natural resources, climate resilience or related programme oversight and coordination.
- Demonstrated experience in programme oversight, implementation monitoring, project management, technical or operational advisory support, stakeholder coordination or policy support in a development cooperation context.
- Proven experience working with public institutions, international organisations, development partners, implementing organisations, civil society organisations or private-sector stakeholders.
Specific professional experience
- Demonstrated experience in supporting policy dialogue, technical consultations, stakeholder engagement or coordination with ministries, government departments, public authorities, utilities, regulatory bodies or similar institutions.
- Experience in project identification, programme design, proposal development, preparation of project concepts, collection and analysis of information on prospective interventions, or support to project or investment-pipeline development.
- Experience in stakeholder identification and mapping, partnership development, donor coordination, sector coordination, cluster participation or community engagement.
- Experience in monitoring the implementation of donor-funded or development-cooperation programmes and identifying implementation risks, constraints and follow-up actions.
- Experience in preparing programme reports, monitoring reports, donor reports, background notes, briefing materials, recommendations or other written inputs for programme managers and decision-makers.
- Professional experience in Lesotho or a comparable Southern African context.
- Demonstrated knowledge of Lesotho’s water, WASH, energy, climate, natural resources and development-cooperation institutional landscape will be considered a strong advantage.
- Experience working with EU-funded programmes, an EU Delegation, EU Member State agencies, international organisations or other development partners will be considered a strong advantage.
- Familiarity with EU programming frameworks, Team Europe, Global Gateway or related EU cooperation approaches will be considered an asset.
Location: Maseru, Lesotho, with no remote input days.
Total Working Days: Up to 50 working days (Max. 3 days/week)
Assignment Period: September 2026 – January 2027
Interested candidates shall send their CV in English asap, not later than 27 July, 2026!
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted!
