Proposal and Business Development Lead

ForAfrika is an African-founded and led organisation with over 40 years of impact across the continent. We partner with communities through our integrated development continuum: saving lives and building resilience to reach self-sufficiency through our Humanitarian & Development work and unlocking commercial viability through our Social Enterprise activities. We are Africans, delivering African-led solutions for Africa, and we stand by our promise: we’re committed to the long run, until the job is done and communities are enabled to thrive.Position SummaryThe Proposal & BD Lead is responsible for leading and managing the development of high-quality, competitive proposals to secure funding for ForAfrika’s programs. The position is based within the Global Support Office (GSO) and reports directly to the Business Development Lead, with a dotted-line reporting relationship to the Senior Director, Business Development.The role requires strong proposal leadership, excellent writing and coordination skills, and the ability to manage multiple stakeholders under tight deadlines, while providing support to other country teams as needed. The Proposal & BD Lead will be responsible for co-ordinating a minimum of 5 live bids, including capture opportunities at any given time as a core requirement.The Proposal & BD Lead leads the end-to-end proposal management process across all markets and client segments at ForAfrika. This role ensures the timely development, compliance, and delivery of high-quality proposals and related submissions that advance ForAfrika’s strategic growth goals. In addition to managing FA’s proposal operations, tools, and templates, this leader is responsible for designing and driving AI-enabled process improvements that increase proposal quality, speed, and competitiveness.The Proposal & BD Lead will play a pivotal role in shaping how FA leverages emerging technologies and artificial intelligence to enhance efficiency, consistency, and innovation in proposal development. All execution of BD/PM tasks will be aligned to the 2025-2028 Revenue and Resource Mobilization Plans.The core purpose of this role is to manage and continuously improve FA’s proposal development lifecycle ensuring compliant, high-quality, and persuasive submissions that position the company for successful recompetes and new business wins.Key Roles and Responsibilities 1. Proposal Strategy & Design▪Daily monitoring of opportunities and communication to teams for action.▪Lead the development of proposals for priority and strategic funding opportunities, including partner engagement, conceptualization, cost application support, and overall proposal coordination until submission.▪Develop and implement proposal design and win strategies aligned with donor priorities and ForAfrika’s organizational strengths.▪Contribute to opportunity qualification, capture planning, and positioning▪Collaborate with COs and SMEs to define win themes, discriminators, and value propositions.▪Use AI-driven insights and past performance analytics to tailor proposal messaging to agency missions and priorities.▪Guide teams to apply proactive, solution-forward principles and best practices—teaching, tailoring, and taking control of the proposal narrative to emphasize FA’s strategic and technical strengths.2. Proposal Development & Management▪Lead all proposal activities from pre-solicitation through submission, ensuring seamless coordination across capture, BD, and delivery teams to meet deadlines, compliance standards, and quality expectations.▪Oversee all phases of the proposal development process, ensuring timely, compliant, and high-quality submissions.▪Manage proposal calendars, workplans, and inputs across internal teams and external partners.▪Conduct post-submission retrospectives to identify process and content improvements, and apply lessons learned to refine workflows and win strategies.▪Serve as the authoritative compliance decision-maker, ensuring every deliverable meets or exceeds solicitation requirements & regulations, and FA’s internal quality standards.▪Drive the development of submissions that are not only fully compliant but strategically compelling—clearly communicating FA’s value, differentiators, and alignment with evaluator priorities.▪Hold proposal contributors accountable for meeting quality benchmarks and ensuring no gaps, inconsistencies, or risks to compliance remain at submission.▪Oversee proposal processes, templates, and content management systems for efficiency, consistency, and scalability.3. Writing, Editing & Quality Assurance▪Write and contribute to key proposal sections, including technical approaches, management and staffing plans, past performance, and organizational capability statements.▪Review, edit, and integrate inputs from technical teams, partners, and consultants into clear, coherent, and compelling narratives.▪Provide proposal writing inputs, reviews, and editing support to proposals in capture and development, ensuring alignment with donor requirements and ForAfrika’s strategic positioning.4. Stakeholder Engagements▪Support and contribute to partner negotiations, including drafting and finalizing teaming agreements, MOUs, and consortium arrangements.▪Coordinate closely with partners throughout proposal design and submission processes.▪Lead outreach efforts with COs to increase brand and partnering opportunities.▪Execute a stakeholder engagement approach to support proposal development and strengthen relationships with donors, partners, and other funding entities.▪Build and nurture strong working relationships with strategic prospective and existing donors in support of priority opportunities.▪Support donor communication and coordination during proposal development phases, as required.5. Budgeting & Financial Coordination▪Collaborate closely with the Budget Unit and Finance teams to develop compliant, competitive, and cost-effective budgets aligned with the compliance of the proposal▪Support the preparation of budget narratives, cost justifications, and financial annexes in line with donor guidelines.6. Business Development Strategy & Revenue Contribution▪Support the continuous improvement and implementation of the Business Development strategy through enhanced proposal quality, donor intelligence, and learning.▪Contribute to annual target setting within the overall ForAfrika corporate strategy.▪Be accountable for driving assigned large and strategically priority opportunities through to submission and award, revenue targets, while supporting broader team efforts to achieve business development goals.7. Country Office & Regional Support▪Provide surge proposal development oversight and support to regional teams and country offices as required.▪Foster a collaborative and supportive culture of continual learning, knowledge sharing, and professional growth across teams.8. External Representation & Knowledge Sharing▪Represent ForAfrika, as delegated, in innovation-related knowledge-sharing forums, including industry conferences, innovation working groups, and engagement with partner organizations.▪Contribute to internal learning and knowledge-sharing initiatives to strengthen proposal competitiveness and institutional capacity.Knowledge, Skills and Abilities▪A minimum of 8 years in international development, with at least five years in a senior partnership’s role focusing on strategic fundraising, competitive bidding, proposal and grant development, and business development in the international development space.▪Proven experience in proposal development from concept note to full proposal and experience in innovative strategies of resource mobilization, with a proven record in raising substantial donor funds.▪Demonstrated leadership capabilities, including coaching staff to high levels of performance and engaging in effective cross-cultural and cross-functional working to achieve shared goals.▪Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to train others, harness cross-functional contributions from colleagues in other locations, and effectively employ various communication methods with internal and external colleagues.▪Exceptional presentation and communication skills, experienced networker with the ability to develop strategic partnerships with C-suite level corporate executives, international donor representatives, and government authorities at various levels.▪Deep knowledge of or experience facilitating partnerships and funding opportunities for humanitarian and development aid work.▪Possesses a personal network and deep understanding of programs in the international development space, including working with multilateral agencies (e.g., World Bank, GAVI, UN agencies), INGOs, government agencies, and foundations.HOW TO APPLYInterested candidates should submit the following documents by 10th March 2026.1.Cover Letter explaining motivation and suitability for the role2.Detailed CV including relevant experience and achievements3.Contact details for three professional referencesClick HERE to applyPlease note that correspondence will be limited to short-listed candidates only. If you do not hear from us within one month of the closing date, please consider your application unsuccessful.