Village Enterprise’s Director, Business Development will join a passionate and dedicated team.  The Director, Business Development will be part of a grants fundraising team that aims to raise $38M in restricted grants over the next three years and $6M in unrestricted grants.  The grants team is co-led by this position and Village Enterprise’s Director of Grants (based in Washington DC, USA).  This role will report into the Chief Strategy and Partnerships Officer (based in Nairobi) and work closely with the Senior Grants Manager (based in Nashville, USA).  The Director, Business Development will be responsible for leading fundraising efforts within Africa, building networks and strengthening relationships with bi and multi-lateral country and regional offices, and supporting the US-based grants team as required.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Fundraising Strategy:

Work with the Director of Grants to set annual fundraising targets and quarterly Objectives and Key Results that are in line with the Development Team’s overall targets and Village Enterprise’s organizational strategy

Identify funding and partnership opportunities across Sub Saharan Africa, and particularly East Africa:

Support Village Enterprise Country Directors to map out key donors and implementation partners in each of Village Enterprise’s implementation countries, and to break this down by county/district as appropriate

Map key donors and implementation partners in priority countries where Village Enterprise does not have a presence

Research and monitor bi and multi-lateral trends across priority geographies and thematic areas

Use formal (e.g. multi and bi-lateral funding platforms) and informal means (e.g. strong networks with donor and non-profit partners) to track current and pipeline funding opportunities across Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and other priority geographies in Africa

Track and update all Africa based opportunities in Salesforce

Develop prospect profiles for Africa-based restricted funders, including bi/multi-lateral African offices

Build and cultivate partnerships and networks in Africa:

Identify champions within African based current and potential and current partners (including donors and non-profit partners) and support Village Enterprise to build authentic relationships – both where you hold the relationship and where you support others to hold the relationship (e.g. Country Directors, Chief Strategy & Partnerships Officer)

Identify key networks operating in priority geographies and thematic areas and both represent Village Enterprise and coordinate and support other Village Enterprise representatives as needed (e.g. Country Directors)

Build and manage engagement plans for priority funders/partners based in Africa

Coordinate African conference attendance and preparation

Coordinate with Country Directors and relevant members of the Programs team to prepare for and support funder visits to the field

Develop fundraising proposals and reports:

Coordinate project design for funding opportunities based in Africa, including working closely with Village Enterprise (and consortium partners as appropriate) Country Directors, other program staff, M&E staff, and finance staff

Lead proposal development and writing of proposals and reports for fundraising opportunities where the funding is coming from an African based office/mission/partner (e.g. USAID Kenya, but USAID DC would be led by the Director of Grants)

Support proposal development and writing of proposals for fundraising opportunities where the funding comes from outside Africa, in conjunction with the Director of Grants and Senior Grants Manager

Processes and Systems:

Complete all Village Enterprise processes (including opportunity details form, Go/No Go process, Salesforce entries etc.) for all funding opportunities based in Africa

Coordinate with Finance to track grant disbursements

Monitor proposal and reporting timelines using Salesforce

QUALIFICATIONS

Essential:

4-7 years’ track record in raising funds from institutions (bi-laterals, multi-laterals, foundations etc)

Experience fundraising in East Africa, preferable across multiple Village Enterprise geographies

Excellent communication skills, both written and oral, including the ability to collaborate with a culturally and geographically diverse team

Existing donor and non-profit networks in East Africa

Desire, drive and ability to be an ambassador for the mission and work of Village Enterprise

Desirable:

Experience leading consortium and complex proposals that have resulted in securing multi-millions USD in funding

Experience in economic livelihoods or similar sector