External Affairs and Partnership Lead at Pundit Space

• The External Affairs and Partnerships Lead will lead the strategy and execution of our client's  resource mobilization and organizational sustainability efforts. The role will be a critical  bridge between our client and its funding, donor, and strategic ecosystem partners. The primary  focus is fundraising for programmatic work while supporting broader business development  and partnership efforts across departments. The ideal candidate will be both a  relationship-builder and an opportunity seeker, someone who can identify, secure, and  sustain funding while positioning our client as a thought leader and impactful partner within the  tech education and young people employment space. 

Key Responsibilities 

Fundraising & Resource Mobilization 

• Develop and implement a resource mobilization strategy targeting grant-making 
• organizations, foundations, development agencies, and philanthropic institutions. 
• Lead the end-to-end proposal development process: opportunity scouting, concept  note drafting, partnership positioning, grant writing, and submission. 
• Maintain a robust pipeline of prospective funders and reporting obligations for active  grants. 

Strategic Partnerships Management 

• Build and sustain strategic relationships with key funders and ecosystem actors. 
• Represent our client in donor and partner engagements, ensuring alignment between  funder priorities and our client programmatic goals. 
• Ensure timely reporting, stewardship, and relationship cultivation with all external  funders. 
• Maintain a comprehensive, multi-country partnership tracker to manage, follow  through, and convert partnership conversations into funding and strategic support  across all of our client's program countries. 
• The External Affairs and Partnerships Lead shall proactively steward relationships from  initial introduction to funding closure, ensuring timely follow-through, sustained  engagement, and conversion of opportunities into secured financial support. 

Business Development Support 

• Identify opportunities for revenue generation through our client’s products and services (e.g.,  advanced courses, corporate training, tech talent placement). 
• Collaborate with program leads to position offerings for potential clients and partners. 
• Support pitch development, service pricing, and partnership proposals. 

Cross-Departmental Partnership Support 

• Serve as the central point of coordination for partnership-related efforts across 
• Outreach, Academy, Executive Director’s Office, Talent Hub, and Community teams. 
• Collaborate with departmental leads to identify partnership needs, co-develop  engagement strategies, and design value-aligned proposals. 
• Actively support teams in initiating, nurturing, and closing partnerships with  corporates, funders, government, and ecosystem actors relevant to their focus areas. 
• Represent our client in meetings, events, and forums that align with the strategic goals of 
• these departments, ensuring consistent messaging and value delivery. 
• Facilitate alignment between partner interests and internal program needs, ensuring 
• strong internal coordination and follow-through. 
• Track, document, and report on partnership pipelines and outcomes for each 
• department, contributing to organisation-wide visibility and strategic planning. 
• Provide capacity-building and advisory support to internal teams on best practices 
• for partner engagement, proposal development, and relationship management. 

Organizational Positioning & Visibility 

• Work closely with the Communications & PR team to ensure our client's leadership is present 
• in the right platforms: key industry events, panels, forums, and member organizations. 
• Track and map influence-building opportunities for senior management. 
• Draft strategic briefing notes, talking points, and speaker profiles as needed. 

 Market Research & Ecosystem Insights 

• Lead ongoing research on trends in tech talent development, digital skills, young people's  employment, and related ecosystems across Africa. 
• Track and analyze market data, policy shifts, and sector best practices to inform our client’s  strategy, fundraising priorities, and program design. 
• Conduct benchmarking of global social enterprise models, funding approaches, and  sector innovations to guide our client’s growth and positioning. 
• Prepare insight briefs and presentations for the Executive Director and leadership  team to support decision-making and external engagement. 
• Provide actionable recommendations on partnership opportunities, funding trends,  and ecosystem gaps relevant to our client’s mission and impact goals. 

Preferred Qualifications & Competencies 

• Proven track record in fundraising, grant writing, and donor relationship management. 
• Experience in nonprofit or impact-focused business development. 
• Strong communication and proposal writing skills. 
• Ability to manage multiple stakeholders and drive collaborative initiatives. 
• Familiarity with the tech education, young people's employment, or social enterprise sectors is a  plus.