Climate Finance and Country Platform Specialist - Maseru, Lesotho

The Climate Finance and Country Platform Specialist will provide strategic technical support to the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning in Lesotho to mobilize, coordinate, and effectively utilize climate finance resources. The role supports the development and operationalization of Lesotho’s Just Energy Transition Country platform and facilitates alignment between national priorities, development financing frameworks, and international climate commitments.

Responsibilities

• Support the operational coordination of Country Platform initiatives, working closely with consultants and strengthen collaboration among government institutions, development partners, private sector, and other stakeholders.
• Facilitate inter-governmental coordination to ensure alignment of climate investments with national priorities and sector strategies.
• Contribute to the identification, prioritization, and initial development of bankable climate investment projects.
• Assist in the preliminary classification of pipeline projects against recognized global green taxonomies and perform taxonomy-alignment screening, including Do No Significant Harm (DNSH) assessments at the Project Information Note (PIN) stage.
• Support Ministries and agencies to develop investment-ready proposals aligned with climate finance requirements.
• Support the development and implementation of strategies to mobilise climate finance from bilateral, multilateral, and private sector sources.
• Support the development of resource mobilization strategies by conducting research and mapping potential climate finance instruments beyond blended finance, focusing on green and sustainability bonds, de-risking mechanisms, results-based financing, and Article 6 carbon markets.
• Support preparation of funding proposals, concept notes, and investment cases.
• Coordinate engagement with development partners, climate funds, and investors.
• Support donor investment roundtables, climate finance forums, and partnership-building initiatives.
• Provide technical advice on climate finance frameworks, policies, and financing mechanisms.
• Support integration of climate finance into national planning, budgeting, and public investment processes.
• Maintain and update systems for tracking climate finance flows, investments and results.
• Apply standardized climate classification systems with explicit mitigation vs. adaptation tagging and safeguards against double-counting.
• Support reporting on climate finance commitments and implementation progress.
• Support activities that promote private sector participation in climate investments.
• Assist in the integration of Just Transition finance principles and minimum social safeguards into project screening and private/public financing frameworks.
• Support the development of blended finance and public-private investment opportunities.
• Support initiatives to strengthen government capacity on climate finance access, project preparation, and resource mobilisation.
• Assist in the development and implementation of capacity building program on climate investment planning and mobilization.
• Conduct a capacity needs assessment to identify knowledge gaps among stakeholders and design a program to address these gaps through workshops and training sessions.
• Operationalize the program with follow-up support to enable practical application.
• Support the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning in accessing technical assistance.
• Facilitate technical assistance for the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning to strengthen its capacity to supervise and implement climate finance initiatives effectively.
• Provide mentoring and on-the-job training to ensure long-term institutional capacity development.
• Facilitate knowledge sharing and dissemination of climate finance best practices.
• Work closely with existing knowledge and learning platforms like the NDC Partnership Knowledge and Learning Team.
• Document success stories and organize learning events to promote peer learning and enhance stakeholder engagement.

Requirements

• A master's degree, preferably in climate change, economics, finance, natural resources, livelihoods, environmental sciences, or a related field.
• A bachelor's degree with two additional years of work (in total 7) experience can be accepted in lieu of an advanced degree.
• At least 5 years of progressively responsible professional experience in climate finance, sustainable development, or related fields, including a minimum of five years working with climate funds, multilateral development banks (MDBs), international financial institutions, or development partners.
• Demonstrated experience in mobilizing climate finance, developing investment pipelines and project proposals, and supporting public-private partnerships, capital raising, or blended finance initiatives.
• Proven experience working with government institutions on climate change policy, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), climate investment planning, and/or implementation of national climate and development strategies.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and coordination skills, with a demonstrated ability to build partnerships and facilitate collaboration among government agencies, development partners, private sector actors, financial institutions, civil society organizations, and other key stakeholders.
• Demonstrated familiarity with global climate finance taxonomies (EU Taxonomy, Climate Bonds Taxonomy, MDB Common Principles) and energy-sector project finance (hydropower, solar, transmission, and energy access).
• Familiarity with UNFCCC processes, including subsidiary bodies, Conference of Parties (COP), and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), as well as prior experience supporting government climate change processes.
• Experience facilitating the implementation of NDCs and contributing to national strategies addressing climate change.
• Proven ability to foster networks and strengthen collaboration between government, private sector actors, NGOs, and other stakeholders.
• Experience engaging across multiple global contexts, with a focus on international climate finance.
• Familiarity with the GCF/NDC Partnership Climate Investment Planning and Mobilization Framework, using it as the guiding instrument for implementing the specified tasks.
• Fluent English language proficiency.

Skills

• Climate Finance
• Sustainable Development
• Investment Pipeline Development
• Project Proposal Preparation
• Public Private Partnerships
• Capital-Raising Strategies
• Blended Finance Structuring
• Climate Change Policy
• Nationally Determined Contributions
• Climate Investment Planning
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Partnership Building
• Collaborative Facilitation
• Climate Finance Taxonomies
• Energy Sector Project Finance
• UNFCCC Activities
• Conference of Parties
• NDC Implementation
• Climate International Finance
• GCF/NDC Partnership Framework

Languages

English