Business Development Manager

Reporting to the Country Manager, the Business Development Manager will position and manage all components of the proposal development process, ensuring high quality and timely submission. S/he will proactively seek consortium-building opportunities. S/he will manage and/or support post submission and lessons learned processes as well as utilize program design expertise to guide and lead quality program design (with HQ and field-based technical and finance colleagues) that builds on evidence-based approaches and is responsive to the guidelines and specifications outlined by the donor.

The job holder will work with colleagues from various units in Amref Health Africa, including Programmes, Finance, Communications, and Monitoring and Evaluation, to develop and submit high quality institutional and high-value proposals and donor communication material. S/he must be Page 2 of 4 proactive in identifying new and non-traditional sources of funding from a range of institutional donors and working to leverage Amref Health Africa’s funding prospects.

The Business Development Manager will build the capacity of staff in developing and managing strategic consortium partnerships with other NGOs and private sector organizations where appropriate. S/he will liaise with Business Development counterparts at HQ in developing and implementing Amref Health Africa’s Fundraising Strategy and Operational Plan, as well as engage in the teams’ development of best practices and evidenced-based approaches for resource mobilization.

Primary Responsibilities

Pre-Positioning:

• Identify relevant upcoming funding opportunities, track grant forecasts, and use resources to advance intelligence gathering.
• Inform SLT on donor trends that may impact program-related decisions and the geographical expansion processes.
• Identify and nurture relationships with strategic partners (donors, NGOs, CSOs, academic organizations, and private sector firms) to increase Amref Health Africa’s chances of success in partnering with strong partners for competitive calls for proposals.
• Support communications team in developing adequate material to communicate with donors and partners.
• Prepare recommendations based on specific go/no-go decision criteria; identify and reach out to potential partners.
• Manage pre-solicitation proposal preparations and bid planning; lead pre-design meetings and drafting sections of the proposal in advance of the solicitation; coordinate and facilitate design workshops.
• Support field teams to collect relevant country and technical area information that inform design.
• Strengthen country-level team’s capacity in Business Development.

Proposal Preparation and Coordination:

• Lead the coordination and development of high-quality proposals from initial development to grant submissions; manage partners’ inputs to the cost application.
• Coordinate/provide technical input to the field and HQ-based Finance Officers to support the completion of the cost application in alignment with the technical program design.
• Manage the proposal review process and check for budget alignment, responsiveness, and compliance with donor guidelines.
• Build effective working relationships with partners on proposal bids; support the management of consultants recruited to support proposal development.
• Support the recruitment process to ensure the identification and inclusion of qualified key personnel in proposals.

Post Submission:

• Contribute to collecting and sharing proposal process lessons learned after the submission; coordinate program handover to Programme Manager(s).

External Engagement and Networking:

• Identify and engage international and local partners for future opportunities; develop and cultivate strategic partnerships that lead to the growth of Amref Zambia Page 3 of 4
• Work with the country team, business unit, and Europe and North America offices to gather, update and share intelligence on upcoming opportunities, pipelines, and donor priorities.
• Network with strategic donors, collecting strategic intelligence on opportunities, updating the donor contacts and database, and liaising with key in-country and international donors.
• Arrange and lead donor meetings and calls with partners.
• Conduct donor outreach and follow up with subject matter experts, organize exploratory meetings; support technical advisors to develop organizational capability statements in coordination with the communications team.
• Work collaboratively with team members to achieve the set business development objectives.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

Education and Professional Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Health, Public Health, International Development/Relations, or a related relevant technical discipline strongly preferred.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• At least Eight (8) years of experience with an NGO in a senior business development/programme funding position(s) involving proposal development and donor liaison.
• Four (4) or more years of experience working on USG proposal responses as a prime or sub partner, including participating in capture efforts, writing relevant sections of proposals, and developing proposal budgets.
• Experience in developing successful proposals and/or tender bids to Institutional Donors, Foundations, and Private Funders.
• Experience in technical implementation of health projects will be an added advantage.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Demonstrated strong writing, editing, and communication skills.
• Keen interest and excitement in business development with a willingness to learn and ambition to take on positions of increasing responsibility.
• Detail-oriented, flexible, and able to handle multiple concurrent tasks.
• Able to work independently as well as part of a team.
• Excellent interpersonal and negotiation skills to work effectively in a multi-cultural environment.
• Ability to prioritize own workload and work with minimal supervision.
• Ability to lead complex proposals, and development teams.
• Ability to work under pressure and multitask. Languages.
• Fluent in spoken and written English.

Languages

Fluent in spoken and written English.

Closing date for applications will be Monday, 11th March 2024. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Duly note that Amref Health Africa does not require applicants to pay any money at whatever stage of the recruitment and selection process and has not retained any agent in connection with recruitment. Although Amref may use different job boards from time to time to further spread its reach for applicants, all open vacancies are published on our website under the Vacancies page and on our official social media pages. Please also note that official emails from Amref Health Africa will arrive from an @amref.org address.

Amref Health Africa is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff to share this commitment. Amref Health Africa is an equal opportunity employer and has a non-smoking environment policy.