Senior Manager, Program Design and Proposal Development at VisionSpring

About You

• You are passionate about social enterprise models and building relationships with partners and stakeholders. That makes you an exceptional organizational ambassador.
• You are an exceptional writer and storyteller. You find joy in personal collaboration with internal stakeholders across time zones to uncover the colorful details that make your stories compelling.
• You shine when communicating with internal and external organizational stakeholders, and your words inspire excitement about what we can do together.
• You enjoy creating structure, have exceptional focus and follow-through, and prioritize before you act.
• You are flexible and thrive in environments where each day is unlike the next.

About Us

• VisionSpring increases lifelong earning, learning, safety, and well-being through eyeglasses for people vulnerable to poverty. We believe in the wonder of clear vision for everybody. Our vision is to ensure that everyone who needs eyeglasses will have them by 2050, and your role as a Grant Writer will be instrumental in achieving this inspiring goal.
• We sell and deliver radically affordable optical products and services and develop markets for eyeglasses. This 700-year-old technology has failed to reach 1 billion people in need of vision correction, most of whom live on less than $4 a day.
• We serve low-income consumers, not as beneficiaries but as customers. Our customers expect high-quality, affordable products and eyecare services, and are willing to spend their limited discretionary income on the immediate and tangible benefits of vision correction.
• As a social enterprise, we are purpose first. We blend philanthropic and earned revenue, drawing on nonprofit and business practices, and utilize sales and efficiency metrics, as well as social impact measures, to bring vision correction to an ever-growing number of people.
• We catalyze collaborative action in an expansive, multisector partner network and use our evidence and experience to influence systems change and close the global clear vision gap.
• We believe in scaling our impact, not our organization. We are a lean team of doers, which means you'll have the opportunity to take on significant responsibilities and make a direct impact on our mission.
• Our big goal: Everyone who needs eyeglasses will have them by 2050.

Job Requirements

• B.A. degree in Business Management, History, Literature, Linguistics, Journalism, Education, Marketing, Communications, English, Creative Writing, or related field.
• Minimum 8 - 10 years of experience in technical writing and proposal development for international development organizations.
• Proven track record of winning proposals for bilateral and multilateral donors (e.g., USAID, World Bank, FCDO, EU, GIZ, UN agencies).
• Experience writing proposals for philanthropic donors, corporate partners, and high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs).
• Strong knowledge of international development sectors, such as global health, education, livelihoods, and economic development. Experience in the vision sector is a plus
• Excellent ability to synthesize technical programmatic content into compelling, donor-friendly narratives.
• Strong research skills and familiarity with donor funding landscapes, compliance requirements, and proposal evaluation criteria.
• Exceptional writing, editing, and proofreading skills with keen attention to detail.
• Experience managing technically sound and evidence-based proposal development processes, including coordinating inputs from multiple teams across different time zones.
• Ability to work independently, meet tight deadlines, and manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Technology savvy, including excellent Word and Excel skills.
• Fluency in spoken and written English language with high verbal/written communication skills.
• Preferred experience: (1) Working with organizations that have multi-country operations.
• Must be highly organized and detail-oriented.
• Must meet the highest standards of ethics and personal integrity.

Job Responsibilities

Proposal Development and Writing

• Master writing with the VisionSpring “voice,” and develop the capacity to tell our story to a variety of audiences.
• Leading the full lifecycle of proposal development (from concept note to full proposal).
• Designing technically sound, evidence-based proposals aligned with donor priorities.
• Collaborating with cross-functional teams (program, finance, monitoring & evaluation) on program design, log frames, budgets, and impact frameworks.
• Developing internal processes and templates to strengthen our overall proposal capacity.
• Supporting relationship management activities (though not managing accounts directly, they will assist with donor stewardship).
• Serve as the lead writer for competitive proposals, ensuring clarity, coherence, and alignment with donor requirements.
• Concept notes, full proposals, and expressions of interest (EOIs) tailored to various donor types, including bilateral and multilateral funders (e.g., USAID, World Bank, FCDO, EU), philanthropic foundations, corporate donors, and individual funders.
• Collaborate closely with program, finance, and M&E teams to develop compelling content that reflects the organization’s capabilities, impact, and strategic priorities.
• Adapt writing style and messaging to meet specific donor guidelines, compliance requirements, and thematic focus areas.

Grant Reporting and Documentation

• Review and edit grant reports to ensure consistency, clarity, and adherence to donor guidelines.
• Collaborate with country teams and program leads to develop high-quality content for donor reports, impact assessments, and project updates.

Quality Assurance and Knowledge Management

• Ensure all proposals meet donor formatting, page limits, and submission requirements, while coordinating with relevant teams to facilitate compliance checks.
• Maintain a repository of successful proposals, case studies, and organizational capabilities statements to improve efficiency in proposal development.
• Develop templates for concept notes, proposals, grant reports, and pitch decks to streamline proposal development processes.
• Monitor proposal success rates, identify areas for improvement, and update content to reflect evolving industry trends.