Sr. Manager of New Business Development – Africa

Job Description

About the Organization

Water For People is a global nonprofit working across nine countries, bringing together communities, local entrepreneurs, and governments to build and maintain water and sanitation services that will last. We have a sustainable solution to end the global water and sanitation crisis, and our employees across the world help drive this solution. 

Job Summary

This position plays a key role in contributing to Water For People’s business development for institutional funding partners – including multilateral agencies, alternative funding institutions and foreign governments – as well as the implementation of the grants management functions for the Africa region. The Senior Manager of Business Development (BD) will lead and manage teams in the design of projects for proposal opportunities and support the Director of New Business Development and Africa Regional Director in guiding pre-positioning and capture efforts with country and technical subject matter experts. 

The Senior Manager of New Business Development will oversee all aspects of Water For People’s business development processes for proposal opportunities, including management, development and production of compliant, timely and high-quality proposals for the Africa region. They will also monitor trends to support the Director in capacity building efforts and training initiatives aiming at mainstreaming industry best practices in proposal development across Water For People. This position may also serve as the proposal manager for funding opportunities. 

The position will report to the Director of New Business Development with additional reporting and accountabilities to the Regional Director for Africa.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Business Development and Proposal Management   (60%)

• In consultation with the Director, country teams, and Regional Director, coordinate outreach to strategic partners in alignment with the BD and institutional funding country strategies. 
• Mobilize resources to manage the production of proposals, including budgets, deliverables and timelines, with Finance, program staff in country, regional and USA employees.
• During the live bid process, create the proposal calendar, track technical and cost proposal progress, and ensure that every member of the proposal team – including sub- and prime contractors – clearly understands responsibilities and deadlines.
• Liaise with Country Program employees to enable full and effective utilization of grant management processes and systems; providing trainings, onboardings, answering queries on process guidance, and providing input in grant negotiation opportunities with partners.
• Manage cross-functional communication and develop knowledge management resources for institutional opportunities at every stage (i.e., pre-capture, capture, live bid, post-submission, and post-award).
• Package and submit technical and cost proposals, as well as associated annexes in compliance with donor guidelines for sequencing, page numeration, etc.  
• Oversee and ensure the strategic documentation and archiving of key business development discussions, decisions, and lessons learned throughout the proposal development process, enabling seamless knowledge transfer and alignment with organizational goals. 
• Provide high-level coordination and guidance for the new business development team, including managing the logistics of complex proposal processes, facilitating proposal meetings, and producing comprehensive records of key actions and outcomes to drive informed decision-making.

Management of Grant Awards 10%

•  In collaboration with the Director of New Business Development (Relationship Manager), support the coordination and facilitation of internal agreement review meetings, ensuring alignment with BD process guidelines and fostering stakeholder engagement to streamline approvals.
•  Support the strategic management and continuous improvement of the institutional repository of donor agreements and contracts, ensuring accessibility, compliance, and alignment with organizational policies.

Management of Grants Management System (GMS) 30%

• Adhere to the Grants Management Process for each opportunity by providing inputting and updating profiles for each opportunity within the system. 
• Conduct in-depth analyses of the grants management system, aligning functionality with organizational strategic priorities, and develop forward-looking recommendations for system enhancements to optimize operational efficiency and donor compliance.
• Collaborate with Grant Writers, Grant Managers, and liaise with teams across departments – both in Denver and the Africa Regional Team  – to ensure everyone is involved at each stage of the grant process, from identifying opportunities to proposal development, contracting, reporting, and closeout. 
• Lead the development and enforcement of protocols for organizing, storing, and sharing key business development documents on SharePoint, ensuring compliance with internal guidelines and alignment with the organization’s knowledge management strategy, best practices, and standards.

Behaviors & Competencies

• Connects to the Mission – embraces the mission of Water For People and is passionate about advancing the dynamic role it plays leading social impact in international development; understands and demonstrates how our efforts impact on the larger organization and operates in alignment with the vision, values and strategic objectives of the organization
• Demonstrates Cultural Awareness – shows empathy, a high comfort level in low- and middle-income countries, and unquestionable integrity; able to engage the wide range of stakeholders from a variety of backgrounds and cultures 
• Action-oriented – Recognizes additional actions that will improve quality or facilitate achievement of outcomes; does not hesitate to do more than expected, but may overextend; sees opportunities beyond job description and recognizes those they can handle and those that require higher level input; thinks outside the box, anticipates how actions affect the team
• Manages through Ambiguity – demonstrates flexibility and adaptability in responding to change and ambiguity
• Sense of Team – Builds effective working relationships at all levels of the organization; aligns own behavior with the needs or priorities of the team; promotes teamwork among groups; discourages “us versus them” thinking; knows and considers the capabilities of coworker

Educational Qualifications, Skills, and Experience Required

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent work experience is required; Master’s degree preferred.
• Knowledge of the Africa context and demonstrated relationships with regional institutional donors and multi-national implementing partners in Africa.
• 5 years of experience in proposal management, business development, proposal writing, nonprofit management, international development, or related field, including managing complex grants. 
• 5 years of experience in program design, project management or other related work; 
• Demonstrated leadership ability and group facilitation skills such as proposal development and partnership scoping meetings.
• Experience in process management, delegation, and/or organizational effectiveness.
• Demonstrated organizational skills, with ability to establish priorities, balance multiple assignments, and meet deadlines.
• Demonstrated cross-cultural communication skills.
• Experience developing and/or implementing project management tools, software, and resources to manage teams.
• Ability to influence through engagement rather than through direct authority.
• Knowledge of Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) business development process activities required.
• Demonstrates strong analytical, organizational, prioritization and problem-solving abilities.
• Familiarity with Humentum, APMP, Shipley Associates, or other proposal processes preferred.
• English language fluency required; additional language skills relevant to the East African context is desired.
• Act independently to resolve complex issues within scope.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office program suite required.

Physical Requirements/Working Conditions

• Ability to travel 10% of the time within the Africa region. 
• Willingness to work in an open office environment at a Water For People office in Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania or Uganda. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in their country of residence. 
• Ability to work outside regular business hours to meet with team members located in other time zones, such as the US.