Job Openings at Handicap International (HI)

YOUR MISSION:

Under the hierarchical supervision of the Technical Head of Program (THOP), and in close collaboration with the Regional Director, Country Managers, Country Directors, country-based business development officers, Operations Managers, shared service managers and other technical Unit members, the Business Development Specialist actively contributes to the development of the East Africa regional program by designing, implementing, and monitoring its fundraising strategy. The role includes identifying funding opportunities and leading the development of concept notes and project proposals through submission to donors, including public institutions, foundations and private sector partners

Responsibility 1: Strategic positioning and planning

• Participate in the development and monitoring of the operational strategy (StratOp), with particular focus on the fundraising action plan and internal project documents
• Ensure follow up, implementation and monitoring of the fundraising strategy
• Observe donor strategies and priorities at country/regional level and monitor opportunities in order to anticipate calls for proposals and identify bidding opportunities
• Interact with identified donors to understand their perception of HI's current programming, and identify their areas of interest in order to target fundraising efforts
• Draw up a mapping of (regional) humanitarian and development actors (INGOs, UN agencies, government representations) to monitor trends and remain competitive
• Analyse fundraising trends and inform the program on transformation rate, project coverage, duration and amounts secured
• Coordinate fundraising efforts, especially networking, monitoring of donor opportunities
• Liaise and mobilise adequate team members to support fundraising efforts (technical specialist, program directors, country managers, etc).
• Organise regular meetings with country directors/country managers/operations managers
• Coordinate with other programs/countries to gather and promote best practices, facilitate dialogue with donors (for prospection / replication of activities)

Responsibility 2 : Relationship management

External

• Work with the Country Directors, Country Managers & Technical Unit members to strengthen HI's attractiveness and influence, developing key relationships with relevant decision makers in, national and local organizations, donors and major international organizations;
• Develop active and quality working relationships with donors and strategic partners in the country identify potential consortium.
• Participate in various platforms and meetings on behalf of the Geographical Director, Country directors/country managers to increase HI's visibility and allow for information gathering on funding opportunities
• Promote HI's technical positioning, approaches, know-how and skills within the relevant networks with a view to developing consortium agreements with the support of the Technical Unit.
• Develop supporting documents, such as "project sheets" and/or "donor sheets"; and develop new tools such as capacity statement

Internal

• Share funding opportunities with country teams
• Ensure that CRM is updated, if needed send reminders to people in charge
• As long as necessary (depending on CRM use) maintain internal BD communication and sharing tools up to date (Teams channel, follow up table of ongoing opportunities…) in order to allow country teams to have access to the latest, up to date documents

Responsibility 3 : Proposal development

• Coordinate proposal development, distributing tasks among the key people involved in the writing of the project proposal for submission to the donor, in accordance with HI's proposal writing process and tools (PDM tool, PD-tool, CRM, etc.), including the development of: logical frameworks, MEAL plans, narrative descriptions planning, staffing and budgeting
• Ensure the position of primary writer for some complicated, multi country projects.
• Ensure coordination and triangulation framing with, IPSO, shared services, operational teams and (global) technical specialists
• Proactively coordinate the involvement and input of all relevant technical advisors (HQ and mission staff) for all proposal development
• Identify, where appropriate, relevant/competitive arrangements (consortia, multi-country projects, etc.) and facilitate negotiations;
• For consortia: ensure coordination and communication, coordinate initial screening, (pre) teaming agreements and manage stakeholder input during project development;
• Review the project proposal/final concept note prior to submission for compliance with donor guidelines and expectations, consistency between the budget and the technical description, and overall quality;
• Proceed (if necessary) with the final submission of concept notes and project proposals to donors.
• Coordinate and collaborate with HI national associations (IPO/IPSO) for all relevant donor proposals

Responsibility 4 : Capacity building

• Develop training modules on proposal writing and project cycle management for all programs' staff and local partners when relevant
• Provide training on donor rules, regulations and strategies for all programs' staff involved in the writing of proposals
• Provide training on the use of CRM to new users, coaching as needed. Support the country teams in the use of new features
• Ensure proper transition between Business development and project implementation

Requirements

• You have a minimum of 5 years of professional experience in development and/or humanitarian work
• You have at least 3 years of business development experience
• You have a strong experience in proposal writing, financial planning and budget development (including co-funding principals)
• You are able to develop SMART indicators
• You have experience in Donor Contract Analysis and negotiation capacities
• You have excellent written and verbal communication skills, suitable for high-level external representation and proposal development
• You are autonomous, flexible, and can prioritise
• English and French mandatory

go to method of application »

Responsibility 1: TECHNICAL EXPERTISE.

Leads sector strategy and contributes to regional and global strategic thinking:

• Provides sector-specific technical input to the regional operational strategy (StratOp) in line with the global technical strategy (StraTech);
• Leads the development and monitoring of the regional rehabilitation sector strategy and ensures its implementation in the various countries where it is applied;
• Contributes to synergies and promotes integrated programming approaches with other sectors, based on strategic and operational priorities and standard projects;
• Supports HI's technical assistance (TA) strategy to help development actors, as well as public and private service providers, become more competent.

Provides technical support to projects in accordance with global technical standards and frameworks in its area of expertise

• Develops and contextualises rehabilitation technical guidance and specific tools (including contextual analysis, needs assessment, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, etc.);
• Provides advice and technical support to a portfolio of projects in development, emergency and protracted crisis contexts, through the rehabilitation (senior) technical officers;
• Supports programs in designing strategies aligned with a Nexus approach and prepares for emergency responses;
• Integrates and promotes HI's cross-cutting approaches: disability-gender-age (DGA) marker, conflict sensitivity and protection integration in its interventions.

Ensures technical quality control and monitoring.

• Carries out technical monitoring missions in the field to support teams and partners through training assessments, internal audits, team coaching, etc.;
• Develops, applies and adapts quality control tools and frameworks (project reviews, checklists, dashboards) defined by headquarters, alerts the THOP and reports any problems or needs for adaptation of the technical reference framework in terms of quality;
• Provides technical support to national teams during key phases of the project cycle (design, implementation, evaluation);
• Recommends project adjustments in response to possible contextual changes (e.g. humanitarian crises).

Responsibility 2: BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Provides strategic technical monitoring:

• Monitors regional dynamics and multi-stakeholder initiatives to anticipate opportunities for collaboration and tracks trends in the rehabilitation sector in relation to national and regional contextual developments.
• Analyses internal strengths and weaknesses, considering the institutional ecosystem, and ensures that proposals are aligned with strategic frameworks and donor requirements.
• Contributes to the strategic monitoring of relevant calls for proposals at regional level.

Develops strategic partnerships:

• Identifies opportunities for partnerships and/or consortia with development and humanitarian actors, research institutes and multilateral organisations within the overall framework of the Stratech;
• Supports teams in developing strategic partnerships with local, national and international organisations according to needs and technical complementarities, and within the framework of HI's strengthened commitment to localising aid.

Supports the development and drafting of new project proposals:

• Provides technical support to national teams in drafting concept notes and proposals, ensuring the technical quality of intervention logics, results frameworks and budgets;
• Leads or contributes to the drafting of concept notes and proposals;
• Supports and/or develops technical assistance (TA) offers to support and strengthen the capacities of partners and development actors.

Represents HI in external coordination and advocacy forums:

• Actively participates in relevant regional sectoral groups (clusters, alliances, inter-institutional groups);
• In collaboration with the Institutional Funding Division (IFD), identifies potential donors (private and institutional), networks, partners, NGOs and advocacy groups in line with HI's technical and strategic vision, and ensures the development of technical and strategic links.

Contributes to technical visibility and external communication:

• Supports the organisation's technical visibility through presentations, publications and participation in regional and national events or workshops, with the aim of strengthening HI's recognition and credibility within its sector;
• Produces content (capacity statements, project sheets, thematic fact sheets) to promote HI's approaches and positioning within its sector to an external audience.

Responsibility 3: KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT / LESSONS LEARNED.

Coordinates a knowledge management system and promotes research and innovation initiatives:

• Designs participatory tools and processes to document field experiences (case studies, lessons learned, innovations) and identifies lessons learned through recommendations from evaluations;
• Leads transnational learning workshops and actively participates in global communities of practice (CoP);
• Contributes to the drafting of analytical reports, technical notes and capitalisation documents, and ensures their internal and external dissemination;
• Facilitates reflection and the development of innovative thematic outcomes, ensuring that issues related to gender, disability, climate change adaptation and digital transformation are meaningfully integrated into programming.

Supports and ensures capacity building for technical and non-technical staff (managers, technical officers, etc.) in accordance with the framework defined at the global level:

• Participates in the recruitment ("Responsible" for technical test and technical interview) and validation of technical positions within projects and at country level;
• Ensures the integration of new employees so that they become familiar with rehabilitation priorities and objectives;
• Conducts training needs assessments in collaboration with field teams;
• Contributes to staff capacity development through the implementation and monitoring of a capacity building plan, including training and coaching mechanisms, to promote continuous learning in line with HI's professional competency frameworks.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE POSITION:
The security situation in the region varies from country to country, with some areas affected by tensions or travel restrictions, particularly in Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan. Appropriate risk management mechanisms are in place to ensure the safety of teams.

Requirements

YOUR PROFILE:

• Master's degree in the relevant field;
• At least 7 years of relevant professional experience in the sector;
• Excellent interpersonal skills and support for technical teams in the field;
• Strong written and oral communication skills, suitable for high-level external representation;
• Experience in strategy and project management in the sector;
• Ability to develop public relations/communication and represent the organisation to various stakeholders (donors, networks, ministries, local authorities, technical services, etc.).