Under the supervision of the APRA director, this position will support external engagement by maintaining day-to-day liaison with key partners, helping to identify opportunities, supporting resource mobilisation and strategic outreach.
The Accelerated Partnership for Renewables in Africa (APRA) is an African country-led international partnership that brings together governments and stakeholders working to accelerate the deployment of renewables to enhance energy access, energy security and enable green industrialisation. To accelerate and optimize the implementation of APRA on the ground and enhance its operational and programme management capacities, UNOPS/ESAMCO is hosting the APRA Implementation Office (APRA IO).
The role focuses on external relations support and coordination, helping to translate APRA’s objectives into concrete collaborative activities and initiatives, while ensuring alignment with guidance from the APRA IO Director and UNOPS policies and procedures. The Programme Management Specialist will:
Maintain regular liaison and coordination with key stakeholders;
Help to identify and shape new partnership and collaboration opportunities;
Support resource mobilisation; and
Assist with APRA IO’s representation and strategic outreach.
Functions / Key Results Expected
External liaison, stakeholder engagement and day-to-day relationship management
Support the development of partnership opportunities
Support the resource mobilisation and donor engagement
Representation and communication support
Reporting, data collection and analysis
Knowledge management and innovation
External liaison, stakeholder engagement and day-to-day relationship management
Maintain regular contact with key APRA stakeholders.
Support the development and implementation of stakeholder engagement plans, ensuring timely information-sharing.
Coordinate stakeholder engagement and communication activities (briefing calls, follow-up emails, meetings), ensuring effective preparation and follow-up.
Ensure stakeholders are kept informed of activities, progress and planned deliverables.
Maintain updated contact lists, engagement logs and records of meetings to support consistent and coherent external relations.
Development of partnership opportunities
Monitor and analyse climate, energy, economic and development trends, as well as partner priorities, to help identify potential areas of collaboration.
Research and systematise information on relevant events, initiatives, funding windows and publications to detect opportunities for engagement.
Contribute to the preparation of concept notes, briefing materials and talking points to support the Director and team in external outreach.
Support, as requested, the negotiation and formalisation of new partnerships and programmes.
Support to resource mobilization
Regular updating of donor and partner mapping, including analysis of priorities, instruments and potential entry points for APRA.
Support the proposal development process by drafting sections, consolidating technical inputs and ensuring data and figures are up to date.
Assist in the identification of new project ideas in line with APRA strategy, country priorities and partner interest.
Support the establishment of contacts with potential partners, including organising and documenting meetings, preparing summaries and agreed follow-up actions for internal use.
Representation and Communication Support
Contribute to the preparation of materials, presentations and key messages for meetings, forums or events.
When designated, participate in working groups or coordination meetings, providing agreed technical input and preparing follow-up notes for the APRA IO Director and team.
Support communication and visibility activities for APRA partnerships.
Reporting, data collection and analysis
Support the preparation of donor reports, helping to ensure results-based and coherent reporting.
Prepare inputs for ESAMCO quarterly assurance reporting for APRA IO and other internal reporting requirements, as requested.
Collect and organise data on APRA IO activities, outputs and partnerships to inform reporting, briefings and presentations.
Knowledge management and innovation
Contribute to creating a learning environment by sharing lessons learned from stakeholder engagement and partnership processes.
Actively interact with the wider ESAMCO and UNOPS community, sharing relevant case studies, lessons learned and good practices.
Stay abreast of latest developments and good practices in stakeholder engagement, partnership development and energy/green industrialisation, and participate in learning activities to advance own proficiency.
Help ensure relevant lessons learned are captured and shared in a timely manner.
Provide feedback to corporate and functional practice groups on policies, tools and systems related to partnership and external relations, to support continuous improvement.
United Nations Office for Project Services
