Job Summary

This role will contribute to the growth of ECEWS’s institutional funding portfolio in Nigeria and support the organization to ensure strong contract management of its funds from institutional donors.
The holder will lead work with Nigeria and initiate new donor engagements and sustain relationships with current donors; coordinate the development of funding applications and contribute to the development of donor-funded programmes; and advise and provide support on the delivery of ongoing contracts ensuring compliance with donors’ and ECEWS’s regulations.
This is a senior role that is expected to engage at strategic levels to influence ECEWS’s business models and the way we deliver our programmes. The role will be critical in representing the organization to donors and other external stakeholders, and in improving ECEWS’s in-country and global visibility.

Job Description

Provide programme funding expertise in positioning, capture planning and proposal preparation for specific opportunities with institutional donors (government and inter-governmental award issuing organizations, as well as foundations, private sector, and other awarding non-governmental organizations).
Coordinate proposal development processes to ensure timely submission of high-quality proposals that are responsive to donor requirements, applicable regulations, and ECEWS technical and cost standards and Lead and support proposal budget processes and propose recommendations to develop a competitive proposal.
As appropriate, serve as proposal coordinator or other lead role in the proposal team, and participate in bid analysis and proposal review panels. Serve as a lead or support writer on proposals, contributing both technical and non-technical content and integrating inputs from staff and partners into a responsive, coherent proposal with a compelling vision and clear win themes.
Train and mentor staff, as needed, to improve their skills in proposal development, representation to donor and partner organizations, intelligence-gathering, and marketing within their country program or portfolio.
Support and guide the identification of partners and negotiation of ECEWS's role in proposal consortia, ensuring a competitive position for ECEWS that adheres to the agency’s partnership principles and strategic directions. Research, track and analyse new opportunities and ECEWS competitive position within the marketplace.
Support senior management to cultivate and strengthen institutional relationships with institutional donors, partner organizations and other stakeholders.
Work with appropriate staff to maintain data on past performance and corporate capacity, in order to provide timely information for proposal submissions.
Supervise and support the ECEWS Communications Unit.
End-to-end quality proposal delivery responding to both published and unsolicited opportunities.
Acquire and retain new donors and funding relationships from a range of donors, with named key donor account responsibilities.
Provide strong leadership on developing funding proposals, including assembling and managing proposal development teams; working with colleagues in the design and development of high-quality projects; and taking responsibility for the submission of strong proposals that respond to donor criteria and ECEWS strategic objectives.
Support ECEWS staff to deliver on existing contracts.
Gather intelligence about upcoming opportunities; develop and share opportunity-specific competitive intelligence analysis and support the CEO in deciding on consortia formulation.
Carry out post-bidding debrief and lead post-award negotiations.
Ensure that ECEWS programmes meet our gender and inclusion quality standards and incorporate the latest thinking around our digital strategy.
Participate in and/or manage project teams involved in strategic proposals or other initiatives.
Network and build relationships with both traditional and non-traditional players within the development sector to create new opportunities and ways of working.
The postholder will provide expert technical guidance related to the design, inception and delivery of large and complex programmes.
They will work with ECEWS staff across projects to plan and execute quality interventions in line with ECEWS strategy and programme/contractual obligations.

Minimum Recruitment Standard

University degree or equivalent in health, education, economics, international relations, development studies, agriculture, or a relevant subject.
A master’s degree in the above field of studies will be an added advantage.
Minimum of 8 years implementing Health, Education or Economic Empowerment projects.
Minimum of 5 years’ experience in a similar role.
Knowledge and expertise in working with institutional donors, which may include CDC, FCDO/DFID, USAID, Global Fund, European Union / ECHO, UN, BMGF, Foundations and the private sector.
Experience with both USAID and CDC RFP and RFA funding mechanisms is highly desirable.
Demonstrated experience utilizing diverse, proactive strategies to competitively position his/her organization for new funding and productive institutional relationships.
Significant and proven experience of successful bid leadership across development grants.
Outstanding communication and networking skills for relationship building and facilitation, including consortium development.
Exceptional writer with expert command of English grammar and AP style.
Demonstrated experience leading and producing competitive proposals in programming contexts similar to ECEWS.
Comprehensive familiarity with a broad range of institutional donor technical and cost requirements.
Demonstrated experience managing teams and processes, leading teams to produce deliverables under tight deadlines and at exceptional quality.
Knowledge of ECEWS programs, Mandate and values is a plus.
Expertise in Project Cycle Management and Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning methodologies.
Proficiency in MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint: Advanced level
Proficiency in Internet-based collaboration tools and video calling: Advanced
Experience in Data Visualisation: Intermediate
User of social media: Intermediate
Ability in building and maintaining relationships with Donors, INGOs, NNGOs, Private Sector Actors, and government agencies.
Experience in developing, motivating, and coaching programme staff linked to institutional-funded projects under their management responsibility.
Required to be a team worker and be proactive in bringing innovation and solutions.