Senior Business Development Lead - Africa
Senior Business Development Lead - Africa

Senior Business Development Lead - Africa

Full-Time 36000 - 60000 £ / year (est.) No home office possible
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At a Glance

  • Tasks: Lead business development efforts to secure funding for impactful programmes across Africa.
  • Company: Join CAFOD, a leading charity dedicated to fighting poverty and promoting social justice.
  • Benefits: Enjoy competitive salary, remote work options, and opportunities for international travel.
  • Why this job: Make a real difference in the lives of vulnerable communities while developing your professional skills.
  • Qualifications: Experience in project management, donor engagement, and proposal development is essential.
  • Other info: Fluency in English and French is preferred; commitment to safeguarding vulnerable individuals is crucial.

The predicted salary is between 36000 - 60000 £ per year.

Senior Business Development Lead – Africa

Location : Abuja, Harare, Kinshasa or Nairobi

Contract Type : Fixed Term

Salary : Salary will be paid in USD$ in Kinshasa and Harare and the equivalent in local currency in Abuja (NGN) and Nairobi (KES)

Senior Business Development Lead – Africa

Salary: Salary will be paid in USD$ in Kinshasa and Harare and the equivalent in local currency in Abuja (NGN) and Nairobi (KES)

Work Pattern: Full-time

Location: Abuja, Harare, Kinshasa or Nairobi. Terms and Conditions will depend on the country of registration. The candidate must have the right to work in one of the four locations.

Interview Date: W/C 8th of September

Job Profile

The Senior Business Development Lead (SBDL) will work closely with programme and funding colleagues to develop high-quality programmes and projects that enable CAFOD and its partners to maximise income from institutional donors. Through this work the SBDL will help extend the reach and impact of CAFOD’s programmes in delivering positive and lasting change for some of the world’s poorest communities. The SBDL will provide support to the Integrated Funding & Business Innovation Unit (IFBI) managers and CAFOD’s Africa programme teams as CAFOD drives forward its resource mobilization ambitions.

The SBDL is a member of the Integrated Funding & Business Innovation team (IFBI) and reports to the International Development Funding Team Leader (IDFTL). The SBDL will lead on establishing, maintaining, and strengthening relationships with key global and/or UK-based donors; developing and driving donor funding engagement strategies; leading on proposal development and contract management; identifying new funding opportunities and fostering innovation and shared learning among colleagues and partners, including through the Institutional Funding Community of Practice. Where relevant they will be expected to collaborate and develop synergies with other fundraising streams within CAFOD. The post holder will be expected to engage with the Humanitarian/Development/Peace Building Nexus and also on shorter-term humanitarian resource mobilisation, if required.

The SBDL role will include specific responsibilities for supporting a number of CAFOD’s larger, more complex and multi country institutionally funded programmes. This will involve the design and development of proposals and reporting back to institutional donors.

Donor-lead responsibilities are a component of this role; the post-holder will hold and develop expertise on a portfolio of allocated donors to be determined (current examples of donors CAFOD works with include the UK Government, UN, START, DEC, EU, various other Governments etc). The SBDL will work with other funding colleagues as well as with programme staff, thematic advisers, and colleagues in the Finance, Fundraising and Advocacy and Education Groups, to help build CAFOD’s reputation and grow income.

The SBDL may undertake international travel to support teams and partners with proposal development and contract management activities, as well as to meet with key donors and/or collaborate and preposition with INGOs and sister agencies within the Caritas Internationalis confederation. They may also provide cover for Business Development Leads.

The SBDL is not a budget holder but may carry out some supervision tasks or matrix management of other staff members, consultants, or volunteers. For specific tasks they may be matrix managed by Core Programme Managers/Country Representatives.

Under the oversight of the IDFTL, the SBDL will have responsibility for certain organisation wide tasks including organising and co-chairing the Institutional Fundraising Community of Practice meetings and coordinating the collection of data for annual planning exercises and processes.

Key Responsibilities

Donor engagement, proposal development, and contract management (60%)

  • Support or lead on large scale/ complex/ single or multi country programme funding opportunities, including proposal development and design, providing expert input on design elements and task managing staff where necessary.
  • Act as CAFOD’s donor lead for designated donors. In collaboration with programme and funding colleagues and in line with CAFOD’s Integrated Funding & Business Innovation Approach, support the development and coordination of donor funding engagement strategies and drive their implementation across CAFOD with other key stakeholders. This includes coordinating internal project selection processes, providing donor-specific technical and compliance advice and working collaboratively to increase the quality of funding bids and contract management.
  • Provide flexible surge support when requested to International Programme colleagues on institutional funding opportunities, this may include changes to contract portfolios and work-plan priorities.
  • Represent CAFOD externally with agreed priority donors, leading on strategic relationship management in liaison with programme and funding colleagues; this includes attending relevant external fora and leading on the management and review of donor registration and due diligence processes and/or framework agreements where required.
  • When required, lead on contract management, including the preparation, review and timely submission of financial and narrative reports, facilitating external evaluations and ensuring quality and compliance standards are met.
  • Work closely with Finance, the International Operations team, and other colleagues to ensure CAFOD’s business systems and processes satisfy specific donor requirements, including on financial and supply chain management, document retention, audit, transparency, and accountability.
  • When required, travel to support country programmes with institutional funding requests, including provision of in-country support during the absence of other BDLs.

Shared learning, new business development, and innovation (25%)

  • Lead in the early identification, prospecting, and development of potential new donors and innovative funding streams for thematic or geographic areas. Develop a pipeline of new prospects and opportunities, prioritise, and schedule those opportunities, supporting IFBI managers in overseeing CAFOD’s prospect management tool and ensuring that it is up to date.
  • Develop and maintain professional and productive relationships with allocated donors, carrying out research, proactively disseminating information on new funding opportunities and sharing donor updates with programme and funding colleagues.
  • Keep abreast of evolving donor-specific, thematic or sector-wide policies and trends by representing CAFOD externally in agreed external networks and groups, and through professional contacts within the sector; disseminate learning through organising and co-chairing the Institutional Funding Community of Practice.
  • Lead on the periodic review of donor feedback and trends, particularly those relating to priority donors, where appropriate preparing learning documents and presentations for dissemination and sharing with colleagues and partners.
  • Where delegated, coordinate and support the development, and champion funding focus areas such as Partner Direct Funding. This may include identifying new partner direct funding opportunities, institutional funding, crowd funding or community based fundraising.
  • Support colleagues in programme teams to strengthen CAFOD’s and our partner’s institutional funding capacities, e.g., on proposal writing, programme development, monitoring & evaluation, and ensure learning on this is captured and shared across the international programme, including through the Institutional Funding Community of Practice.
  • Contribute to the implementation of CAFOD’s Integrated Funding & Business Innovation Approach and Institutional Funding Strategy, ensuring alignment with donor funding engagement strategies and responding to evolving donor trends.
  • Under the oversight of the IDFTL, provide support to Business Development Leads to ensure coherence in the delivery of organisation wide processes including prospect management and ICD management.
  • Support and lead reporting and planning processes in designated countries if/where requested.
  • In collaboration with funding colleagues and those in programme teams, contribute and where requested lead annual planning process providing donor-specific data and analysis for annual income projections, cost recovery targets and country resource development plans, and contribute to country funding context analyses.
  • Effectively use CAFOD’s institutional funding information systems to ensure project information and documentation is up-to-date and accessible.
  • Support IFBI managers to monitor the performance of institutionally funded contracts and contribute to quarterly/ annual institutional funding analysis and reports particularly for allocated priority donors.

Person Specification

  • Understanding Catholic identity; Commitment to and understanding of the role of the Catholic Church in development.
  • Understanding CAFOD; Shares and supports CAFOD’s values; able to communicate the differences in mission and approach between CAFOD and other agencies.
  • Understanding international development; Solid understanding of key issues in development funding across a diverse range of development, advocacy, and humanitarian settings.

Working together

  • Managing ourselves; Recognises what needs to be done and takes action to achieve results; shares knowledge and expertise with colleagues; open to challenge and able to adopt and adapt new ideas and concepts in a short timescale; shows drive and initiative.
  • Working with others; Provides guidance and support to colleagues working towards shared outcomes and targets; builds and maintains collaborative relationships at all levels of the organisation to negotiate and ensure effective and mutually acceptable results; ability to influence others without direct authority, including at a distance.
  • Communicating; Presents complex issues simply and clearly; delivers convincing proposals and reports internally and externally; shares knowledge and information across the organisation.
  • Looking outwards; Keeps abreast of developments in sector; builds co-operative, professional relationships with donors, partners, supporters, etc.

Making change happen

  • Managing resources; Monitors budgets and spend in line with funding requirements; uses information systems and processes to ensure work is recorded and reported efficiently; offers ideas to improve monitoring, reporting, and learning processes; finds ways to achieve more with the available resources.
  • Achieving results; Makes clear what has to be achieved by colleagues and ready to help them get things done; identifies and develops better processes and ways of working to achieve results; anticipates risks and takes active steps to mitigate them.
  • Managing our performance; Negotiates and monitors standards of performance across diverse settings through task management structures; takes timely action on performance issues; tackles problems or conflict in a balanced way; demonstrates high standards and attention to detail in all work.
  • Taking the lead; Provides a clear sense of direction and purpose for colleagues; builds close working relationships with leaders across the organisation; acts quickly to deal with emerging challenges; motivates others to get things done, takes a lead in identifying solutions and making change happen.

Job-Specific Criteria

  • Excellent written and spoken communication skills in English.
  • Project and process management experience, including planning, M&E skills and familiarity with programme cycle management tools and methods.
  • Experience of budget development processes for institutionally funded programmes.
  • Significant experience of working cross-organisationally with demonstrable ability to build effective working relationships internally and externally.
  • Experience of leading significant resource mobilisation within an NGO context including demonstrable experience in securing large (seven figure) contracts .
  • Experience of working in Humanitarian/Development/Peace Building Nexus contexts and leading large multi country bids within these.
  • Experience of representation and engagement with donors at embassy or mission level.
  • Demonstrated experience of distance managing professional relationships.
  • Solid track record developing successful proposals and high-quality reports for institutional donors .
  • Experience of leading bid development teams.
  • Experience of task or line managing staff.
  • Experience of capacity building staff in theories of change and project cycle management within the context of proposal development.
  • Experience of commercial contracting with institutional donors.
  • Experience of working in large consortia.
  • Experience of partnership-based development and humanitarian work overseas.
  • Proficiency in French.

Salary Information

  • Nairobi Starting Salary: KES 6,625,844

Safeguarding for Children and Vulnerable Adults

CAFODrecognisesthe personal dignity and rights of children and vulnerable adults, towards whom it has a special responsibility and a duty of care and respect. CAFOD, and all its staff and volunteers, undertake to do all in our power to create a safe environment for children, youngpeopleand vulnerable adults and to prevent their physical, sexual or emotional abuse. CAFOD is committed toacting at all timesin the best interests of children and vulnerable adults, seeing these interests as paramount. Any candidate offered a job with CAFOD will be expected to adhereto CAFOD’s Safeguarding policy and sign CAFOD’s Code ofBehaviouras an appendix to their contract of employment and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these documents. This post involves contact with children, young people and vulnerable adults, or has responsibility for people who will do, and applicants will be subject to specific checks related to safeguarding issues. If based in the UK the post holder is required to present or obtain a Disclosure from the DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service). If the post is based outside the UK the post holder will be subject to a different checking process.

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references, and appropriate screening checks can include criminal records and terrorism finance checks. CAFOD also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme . In line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. Bysubmitting an application, the job applicant confirms his/her understanding of, and consent to,these recruitment procedures.

Please click here for a full list of CAFOD’s Staff Benefits

Come and join us and help make a real difference in the lives of the world’s poorest communities.

CAFOD is an equal opportunities employer and encourages applications from people of all backgrounds, faiths, race and ge nder.

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Senior Business Development Lead - Africa employer: CAFOD’s group

CAFOD is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work environment that fosters collaboration and innovation in the heart of Africa. With a strong commitment to employee growth, we provide opportunities for professional development and meaningful engagement in international development efforts. Our inclusive culture values diverse perspectives, ensuring that every team member can contribute to impactful projects that transform the lives of the world's most vulnerable communities.
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Contact Detail:

CAFOD’s group Recruiting Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫

We think this is how you could land Senior Business Development Lead - Africa

Tip Number 1

Familiarise yourself with CAFOD's mission and values. Understanding their approach to development and how they engage with institutional donors will help you align your experience and ideas with their goals during discussions.

Tip Number 2

Network with professionals in the international development sector, especially those who have experience with CAFOD or similar organisations. Attend relevant conferences or webinars to build connections that could provide insights or referrals.

Tip Number 3

Stay updated on current trends in funding and donor engagement within the humanitarian and development sectors. This knowledge will not only enhance your conversations but also demonstrate your commitment to staying informed and proactive.

Tip Number 4

Prepare to discuss specific examples of your past successes in securing large contracts and managing donor relationships. Highlighting your achievements will showcase your capability to contribute effectively to CAFOD’s resource mobilisation ambitions.

We think you need these skills to ace Senior Business Development Lead - Africa

Excellent written and spoken communication skills in English
Project and process management experience
Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) skills
Familiarity with programme cycle management tools and methods
Experience in budget development for institutionally funded programmes
Cross-organisational collaboration skills
Resource mobilisation expertise within an NGO context
Experience securing large contracts (seven figures)
Knowledge of Humanitarian/Development/Peace Building Nexus contexts
Experience leading multi-country bids
Donor engagement and representation skills
Distance management of professional relationships
Proven track record in developing successful proposals and high-quality reports
Experience leading bid development teams
Task or line management experience
Capacity building in theories of change and project cycle management
Commercial contracting experience with institutional donors
Experience working in large consortia
Partnership-based development and humanitarian work experience
Proficiency in French

Some tips for your application 🫡

Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV highlights relevant experience in business development, particularly in securing funding from institutional donors. Use specific examples that demonstrate your success in similar roles.

Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Your cover letter should clearly express your passion for international development and how your skills align with the responsibilities of the Senior Business Development Lead role. Mention your understanding of CAFOD's mission and values.

Highlight Relevant Experience: In your application, emphasise your experience in managing donor relationships and leading proposal development. Include any specific achievements related to resource mobilisation and multi-country programme management.

Showcase Communication Skills: Since excellent communication is crucial for this role, provide examples of how you've effectively communicated complex ideas to diverse audiences. This could include presentations, reports, or successful negotiations with donors.

How to prepare for a job interview at CAFOD’s group

Research CAFOD's Mission and Values

Before the interview, take some time to understand CAFOD's mission and values. Familiarise yourself with their approach to development and how it differs from other organisations. This will help you articulate why you're a good fit for the role and demonstrate your commitment to their cause.

Prepare for Donor Engagement Scenarios

Given the focus on donor engagement in this role, think about past experiences where you've successfully managed relationships with donors or stakeholders. Be ready to discuss specific strategies you've used to secure funding or improve engagement, as this will showcase your relevant experience.

Showcase Your Proposal Development Skills

As the role involves leading proposal development, prepare examples of successful proposals you've worked on. Highlight your process, the challenges faced, and how you overcame them. This will demonstrate your expertise and ability to contribute to CAFOD's resource mobilisation ambitions.

Demonstrate Cross-Organisational Collaboration

This position requires working closely with various teams. Be prepared to discuss how you've effectively collaborated across different departments or organisations in the past. Emphasising your ability to build relationships and work towards shared goals will be key to impressing the interviewers.

Senior Business Development Lead - Africa
CAFOD’s group
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  • Senior Business Development Lead - Africa

    Full-Time
    36000 - 60000 £ / year (est.)

    Application deadline: 2027-08-28

  • C

    CAFOD’s group

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