Ethiopia: Program Development and Fundraising Manager

IR/INT/EXT/VN/007.18
January 22, 2018

Job Title: Program Development and Fundraising Manager

Reporting To: Country Director

Staff Reporting: Program Development Team (Currently None)

Matrix Management: Ethiopia Program

Base Location: Addis Ababa with 20% Travel to the field offices

BACKGROUND:

Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) is an international non-profit making organization founded and registered in 1984. We are working in more than 46 countries globally and our headquarters is in Birmingham UK. IRW offers humanitarian relief support with aim of reaching the vulnerable communities affected by both man-made and natural disasters. As an international agency we participate in development and also promote strengthening of household economic situation with support from the community themselves in line with humanitarian guiding principles. The office officially started operation in Ethiopia in 2004. Islamic Relief Ethiopia (IRE) is operational in four Regions: Somali, Afar, Oromia & Addis Ababa.

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Program Development and Fund raising Manager is expected to come up with context based high quality proposals that can attract funding both from within and outside Ethiopia in line with strategic focus areas of IRW. The candidate should possess vast experience within the humanitarian world in developing high quality proposals and fundraising based on the gaps identified by the needs assessment reports. . The holder of this position is going to engage with IR partners , institutional donors as well as other organizations or institutions mapped by the Country Director and Regional Desk Coordinator to identify opportunities, provide up-to-date accurate information in regards to teaming, bid strategies and build strategic partnerships. The Manager will work closely with the entire Program Department team and with Islamic Relief’s technical & regional experts to coordinate and develop technical proposal narratives that respond to donor requirements and thereby ensure the submission of high-quality, winning proposals. This position demands a leading role in coordinating proposal development, including substantial writing of sections. Assist in the standardization of business development and marketing documentation and materials.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategic Planning

Based on the IRW’s Global Goals and the strategic plans of the Country, the country business Plan (CBP) and other relevant policies, the incumbent is responsible for leading proposal development strategies that aims at advancing IR’s programs in depth as well as in breadth.

He/she is to lead the development of those strategies in which IRE harnesses all possible opportunities in line with the global strategies aimed at bringing sustainable development as well as leaving meaningful legacy.

Contribute to the global strategic development. The Program Development and fund raising Manager will be required to lead the review process for the program development strategies periodically.

Specific Responsibilities

· Develop and implement an effective fundraising strategy, in line with the IR CSP

· Ensure organization’s income grow and improve the sustainability of the organization by proactively securing funds from new income streams

· Maintain fund raising base and build on existing relationships with donors and encourage and guide staff to develop fundraising tools

· Initiate, lead and coordinate the proposal development process for specific grant applications in collaboration with technical and regional program teams.

· Continuously engage relevant sectors within the program during the proposal initiation or development process.

· Strengthen, expand and nurture partnerships and networking

· Participate in the needs assessment surveys while identifying priority areas for humanitarian intervention.

· Continuously update the program and regional team on requests for proposals and other grant solicitation announcements and guide the program team on proposal development based on the needs and implementation capacity.

· Participate in decision- making on grant applications.

· Assist the country director in updating the donor mapping matrix complete with available resources.

· Contribute to project design, including developing proposal strategy, project results framework and performance indicators in response to specific grant requirements.

· Serve as the lead proposal writer and coordinate inputs and writing assignments from other team members including sub-grant partners.

· Ensure that the comments from the reviewers are appropriately incorporated in the proposal. Write up the final document and/or sections and annexes as needed.

· Ensure that proposal narratives adhere to donor and IR's internal guidelines and quality standards. Confirm the proposal is complete, fully responsive to the RFP/RFA and meets the evaluation criteria.

· Establish a proposal calendar and ensure it is strictly adhered to, ensuring that all appropriate inputs are received on time and complete from others.

· Work closely with the Program Manager, Regional Desk Coordinator, Regional Technical Advisors and the Country Management Team as a whole to align the proposal budget with the technical narrative.

· Identify and track grant opportunities, contact competing organizations, pursue intelligence and review winning proposals to strengthen IR's efforts in future applications.

· Identify and reach out to appropriate partner organizations, complete partnership or teaming agreements and scopes of work on time and maintain a list of potential partners with their institutional capacity.

· Track all proposal results and collect feedback from donors and reviewers on each proposal and incorporate that feedback to improve quality of future bids.

· Frequently participate in meetings with donors, partners, competitors and other organizations in the country or at the Regional Office.

· Lead and coordinate program development team by developing personal plans, setting performance objectives and handling periodic appraisals.
Perform other responsibilities as assigned by the organization.

Advocacy and Policy Development

· Be fully aware of national policies, strategies and other initiatives and developments by government and other stakeholders relating to our strategic focus areas (SFAs).

· Regularly asses and communicate the implications for IRE’s programmes and priorities of any changes in the operating environment in close collaboration with the relevant actors.

· Produce advocacy strategy which articulates compelling messages for the Programs. Take lead role to develop an advocacy plan (with timeline and key outcomes) - Ensure follow up on implementation of the advocacy strategy.

· Develop policy briefs and position papers as required related to our SFAs in coordination with other relevant country team members.

· Represent and advocate for IR-Ethiopia with UN agencies, donors, Ethiopian Government, NGOs and others at the highest levels in both verbal and written communications to ensure IRE is seen as the lead international agency in terms of innovation and quality of implementation that focus on our SFAs.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

· Master’s degree in Social Science Fields (preferably) in rural development, livelihoods and food security or related fields.

· At least ten years’ experience in program development is required.

· Demonstrated track record of developing emergency response and development proposals for a variety of clients, including for EU, DFID, OFDA/USAID and UN Agencies

· Proven track record of successful institutional proposal writing as well as direct program implementation or management

· Experience should include designing, writing and reviewing technical proposals.

· Possess knowledge of innovations and policy papers submitted or presented in the international development arena

· Demonstrated experience weaving state-of-the-art information into innovative and exciting proposal content

· Excellent oral and written communication skills

· Highly organized person able to manage multiple priorities, function as a team leader, work with a minimum of supervision and direction and able to adjust to changes and work-related demands on short notices

· Adept and comfortable in networking with other organizations and seeking intelligence and information

· Able to travel to field offices and abroad

Application Procedures
Interested candidates shall provide a non-returnable application dossier contains the followings:

1. Application letter stating clearly the job applying for;
2. Up-to-date CV with (Salary history; Daytime telephone number and or an e-mail address)
3. Names and addresses (email and telephone) of three referee persons, at least one of them should be from the recent employer
4. Photocopies of all credentials, testimonials and supporting documents;
5. Closing date for application is February 5, 2018.
6. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Please send all application through one of the following address:

Ethiopia.HR@islamic-relief.org.et