Start date
August 18, 2025

End date
February 9, 2026

Duration
25 weeks

ELIGIBILITY: Must be at least 18 years of age. Must be a U.S. citizen.

Activity/project background

Matsapha Town Council (MTC) is a local government responsible for approximately 2,000 hectares of land. Located in the upper middle-veld of Eswatini, it was originally designated as an industrial park, declared an urban area in 1969, and declared a town in 2012. While the area’s night-time population falls around 7,600 people, during the day, the population reaches an estimated 35,000 from local business activity. The Matsapha Town Council has adopted the following six thematic areas as key anchors for its 2024-2028 Integrated Development Plan: (1) financial viability, (2) institutional capacity building, (3) infrastructure development, (4) environmental sustainability and social development, (5) spatial development, and (6) local economic development

Matsapha is a destination of choice for investors and businesses, and it’s the heartbeat of Eswatini’s industrial and economic activities. However, growth of the town and demands on service delivery often exceed the revenue generated through rates and central government funding subvention. The inability of the municipality to maintain a healthy infrastructure for businesses to thrive compromises Eswatini’s ability to attract and retain investors. Therefore, the town is exploring resource mobilization, innovative partnerships, and robust stakeholder engagement to meet the needs of the town in sustaining industrial and economic activity. The municipality also lacks sufficient capacity to drive innovative partnerships and resource mobilization.

To meet these challenges, MTC is requesting the support of a Virtual Service Pilot Participant (VSPP) to strengthen the council’s capacity to develop partnerships and to create a resource mobilization strategy and fundraising plan.

The organization has not previously collaborated with the Peace Corps. They understand that the role of a VSPP is very different than a two-year Volunteer.

Engagement and tasks

The VSPP will engage in the following tasks, in collaboration with their Host Country Partners:

• Co-identify donor and funding opportunities
• Co-develop a partnership development and resource mobilization strategy
• Co-draft a report that tells MTC’s story, outlines the impact of the gap in funding, and their resource needs
• Recommend innovative ways for optimal efficiency and resource planning
• Support the council in grant writing and strategic planning to boost the municipality revenue streams
  
  

VSPPs are expected to engage on the tasks listed above for an estimated 5-15 hours per week. This engagement is estimated to be 12 hours per week.

Online collaboration will generally occur between 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. South African Standard time. Specific times will be determined during orientation.

The Host Country Counterpart will have access to Zoom, email, WhatsApp, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams for regular communication and collaboration.

Per the Child Protection Code of Conduct, when engaging online with minors (0-18), two adults must be present.

Optional Additional Activities

The Peace Corps mission is to promote world peace and friendship by fulfilling three goals:

• To help the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
• To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
• To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.
  
  

Goal 1 will be achieved through the VSPP's engagement and completion of the above tasks. The counterpart and VSPP may also choose to identify an activity that aligns with Goal 2. Additionally, the VSPP may identify a Goal 3 activity to implement during their engagement. See recommendations and tools for Goal 3 activities.

Essential Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree in any field

Experience:

• Developing partnerships, especially cross-sectoral collaborations (e.g., public-private partnerships)
• Proposal development, donor engagement, and grant management
• Resource mobilization/fundraising
  
  

Intercultural skills and motivation: Flexible, strong cross-cultural agility, high tolerance for ambiguity, able to work independently, resourceful, creative, and genuinely motivated and capable to serve virtually