Manager, Proposal Development at Conservation International

RESPONSIBILITIES

Proposal Development & Fundraising

• Lead grant prospecting and identify potential funding partners across public and corporate philanthropic donors (including corporate foundations)
• Draft clear and persuasive project descriptions, problem statements, objectives, outputs, and activities.
• Develop tailored proposals, concept notes, budgets, pitches, and due diligence forms for diverse donor audiences.
• Support the Director in cultivating and stewarding relationships with public-private donors, leveraging networks to secure large financial commitments.
• Coordinate with CI’s global government, corporate, and public funding teams to integrate Africa opportunities into global pipelines.
• Provide thorough copy edits and ensure proposals meet donor templates, formats, and submission requirements.
• Proofread all documents for accuracy, consistency, and completeness before submission.

Budget & Financial Alignment

• Collaborate with finance teams to ensure budgets align with proposal narratives.
• Prepare and refine budget justifications/narratives as required by donors.
• Check coherence between activities, timelines, human resources, and financial allocations.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning

• Work with program and M&E staff to define results frameworks (outputs, outcomes, indicators).
• Integrate donor-required logframes, results chains, or theories of change into proposals.
• Ensure Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning components are clearly articulated in all submissions.

Knowledge Management & Process Coordination

• Maintain and update CI’s stock text, boilerplate language, and past performance reports.
• Keep proposal development processes on track by scheduling meetings and ensuring internal deadlines are met.
• Provide project management support for large proposals and manage smaller grant/contract submissions independently.
• Communicate with project staff to obtain information for proposals and support work plan development.

Analytics & Pipeline Development

• Maintain a live database of global and regional public and corporate donors engaged in CI’s focus areas.
• Track trends in corporate philanthropy (including corporate foundations), and public funding to inform fundraising strategy.
• Use CRM tools for pipeline management and revenue forecasting.
• Support reporting on fundraising progress and coordination with key partners.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• Typical office environment with occasional extended hours.
• Local and/or international travel may be required.
• Ability to work in remote locations or under difficult working conditions.
• Flexible working hours will be discussed during the interview process, aligned to the requirement to be available to work across time zones.
• This is a fixed-term assignment, expected to last 2 years initially, with potential for extension, based on performance and funding.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in environmental sciences, international development, or related field.
• 4 to 6 year of experience in proposal development and grant writing, including public and private funding streams.
• Excellent command of written and spoken English at first language speaker level.
• Strong interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills.
• Proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and coordinate interdisciplinary teams.
• Experience working with finance teams on budget alignment and justification.
• Knowledge of donor requirements, compliance standards, and proposal formats.
• Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to meet deadlines.
• Track record of initiative, independent work, and collaboration with dispersed teams.
• Passion for conservation and commitment to CI’s mission.
• Candidate must be eligible to live and work in the country in which they apply to work.