Purpose of the Role

• The Regional Business Development Officer plays a key role in project writing and donor engagement for the Southern-East Africa area. Under the guidance of the head of regional unit, the person oversees the work with the country team on projects’ design, contact with donors in the country and region, contact with the country team on project and donor relations, and capitalising on past and ongoing project experiences for the development of new opportunities.

MAIN TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Proposal Development (50%)

• Analysis of the calls, contributing to the definition of the risk assessment, providing the necessary elements for the Head of Regional Unit to decide on the go/no go.
• Supports the country team in defining and creating partnerships so that they are consistent with the call request and add value to the proposal, and in managing the partnership throughout the proposal writing process.
• Plays the role of proposal development manager, editor and/or coordinator as directed by the country team and the regional team.
• Works closely with the country team to manage co-ordination and specific proposal development tasks, such as developing work plans, drafting the narrative, budget, consolidating and editing written contributions, developing technical annexes, drafting the budget and other tasks as required.
• Facilitates design sessions in coordination with country staff, partners, regional teams and HQ, and ensures that proposal design is in line with the country strategy.
• Facilitates design sessions in coordination with country staff, partners, regional teams and headquarters, and ensures that proposal design is in line with the country strategy.
• Contribute to ensure that proposals are of high quality, meet internal and donor standards and are submitted on time to the donor.
• Collaborate with regional administrator/finance to ensure that project writing reflects regional financial target.
• Supports in due diligence processes.

Regional Donor Development (30%)

• Collaborates with the Head of Regional Unit and Country Representatives in intercepting more funding opportunities to strengthen WeWorld’s thematic and donor-based positioning, deepening knowledge and expertise on regional funding instruments, building more structured relationships with donors and relevant stakeholders in the regions.
• Analyses donor trends and growth opportunities for the organization at regional level in collaboration with HQ Partnerships team.

Capacity building and knowledge management (20%)

• Contribute to the development of training materials/modules and/or adapt and contextualize training resources and materials to meet country needs.
• Strengthening local skills in identifying funding opportunities and identifying and writing projects.
• Support to the country team in strengthening donor relations at country level and in acquiring and pre-positioning for upcoming funding opportunities.
• Provides technical guidance on donor rules and regulations to the country team to ensure projects comply with donor guidelines and procedures
• Supports the region in the knowledge management process, through the capitalization of information, the production of tools and documents for cross-regional use and the sharing of information between regions.
• It captures best practices and lessons learnt and supports cross-learning opportunities in the region and globally.
• Regional Support
• When not busy, covers and provides support to other positions within the SEA regional team.

Requirements

ESSENTIAL REQUIRMENTS

Qualifications and Knowledge

• An advanced university degree or equivalent in the fields of Social or Political Science, Development Studies, International relations, Project Management, Human rights
• Good knowledge of MS Office 360 pack
• Fluent in English, French both written and verbal

Professional experience

• Minimum 5 years’ relevant working experience in related fields
• Working experience with international NGOs in management or development of international cooperation projects funded by institutional and private donors
• Proven experience in Proposal Development and Capacity Building