Grants and Partnership Manager

Transform Lives with Children Believe!

Join us to help break the barriers to education that steal children’s choices one by one until they have none. Together, we can foster an environment where education unlocks a world of choices, nurturing creativity, resilience, and hope for a better tomorrow. At Children Believe, we won’t stop until every child can dream fearlessly and grow up to live the life they choose to live.

Children Believe is currently recruiting for the following position:

Grants and Partnership Manager – Ethiopia Office

The Grants and Partnership Manager (GPM) is responsible for driving the organization’s grants acquisition, management, and business development efforts in Ethiopia and in the region. The role is pivotal in expanding Children Believe’s funding base, ensuring compliance with donor requirements, and fostering partnerships with donors, government agencies, NGOs, and other key stakeholders to advance the organization’s strategic goals and develop strategies for long-term sustainability of projects beyond initial grant-funding, ensuring continuous impact. The position requires the ability to influence outcomes of others without direct authority.

The incumbent will lead the process to identify and pursue new funding opportunities, including multi-country and consortium partnerships. Establish relationships and maintain regular and pro-active communications with select current and prospective institutional donors. The GPM will be responsible for overseeing the development of high-quality project proposals and ensuring alignment with donor expectations. S/he will be responsible for training and supporting country teams in proposal development using frameworks like Sustainable Livelihoods and Logical Framework. S/he will promote a learning culture within an organization, ensuring best practices in grants and partnership management are shared and adopted across teams.

The GPM will report directly to the Country Director, offering tactical input on building partnerships and driving revenue generation through innovative Resource mobilization techniques and tactics

 

This role includes, but not limited to:

1. Grants Acquisition and Management

• Internalize the CB’s Grant acquisition strategy and ensure the resource mobilization is guided by the organization strategy and logical framework.
• Identify, research, and pursue new funding opportunities from bilateral, multilateral, foundation, and corporate donors.
• Lead the proposal development process by working with program and finance teams to create high-quality concept notes, proposals, and budgets.
• Ensure that all grant proposals meet the donor’s requirements and align with the organization’s mission.
• Oversee the grants management process, ensuring timely reporting, compliance with donor guidelines, and achievement of project objectives.
• Manage the grant lifecycle from submission to close-out, including budget monitoring, donor communications, and performance reporting.
• Conduct proposal development debriefs and document lessons learnt and best practices for continuous improvement and learning.
• Contribute generic and context related contents for the technical proposal when needed.

2. Partnership Development and Management

• Conduct prospective donor mapping and analysis, aligned with Children Believe’s strategic program priorities, and stay on top of changes in donor strategic approaches and funding opportunities in order to pre-position Children Believe as a relevant partner of choice in programming, service delivery, advocacy and research initiatives
• Cultivate relationships with new donors and partners, while maintaining strong relationships with existing funders.
• Act as the primary point of contact for donor and partner communications when delegated by either the CD and/or DGP.
• Advocate for the organization’s priorities in external forums, ensuring the NGO is seen as a credible and effective partner.
• Negotiate partnership agreements, memoranda of understanding (MOUs), and other formal agreements when delegated by either the CD and/or DGP.

3. Capacity Building and Support

• Provide training and support to program and finance teams on donor requirements, proposal development, and reporting standards.
• Build the capacity of local partners in grant acquisition and compliance.
• Mentor and train staff on effective grant management practices, ensuring a culture of accountability and compliance.

4. Compliance and Risk Management

• Ensure compliance with all donor regulations, local laws, and organizational policies throughout the grant management process.
• Conduct regular grant audits and compliance checks, identifying and mitigating risks.
• Manage the funding opportunity risk assessment and Go-NoGo processes in alignment with Children Believe’s grants and fiscal policies and procedures

5. Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting

• Work with the M&E team to ensure proper tracking of grant performance and results.
• Develop reports and presentations for internal stakeholders and donors, highlighting the impact of programs and partnerships.
• Coordinate with program teams to ensure the timely collection of data required for donor reporting and proposal submissions.
• Provide bi-weekly organized updates to the CD related to all movements in the grants pipeline, new awards and any anticipated opportunities based on the agreed reporting format.
• Ensure completeness of business development documentation related to grant proposals and donor mapping.

6. Liasioning & Special Tasks

• In coordination with the CD & DGP, liaise with government authorities, donors, NGOs, and other operational partners, including attendance at scheduled and ad hoc meetings, and represent Children Believe and Children Believe’s interests by maintaining positive, constructive relations, and to raise the profile of the organization.
• Supervise and complete special projects, as assigned, by the supervisors.
• Lead new grant opportunities that occur in the areas of Resource Procurement and/or Disaster Risk Reduction and/or Emergency Response in coordination with CD and Canada office counterpart.
• Develops targeted messaging, e.g. corporate capabilities statement and fact sheets.
• Prepare draft Terms of Reference for consultants, and coordinate their work in project development-related assignments.
• Ensure Safeguarding protocols are adhered at all levels and all times.
• Other related duties as assigned by the supervisors.

The ideal candidate possesses:

• Master’s degree in Project Management, Business Administration, Social Sciences, or a related field; an MBA or other relevant postgraduate degree is a plus.
• 8+ years of experience in development, with at least 3+ years in senior leadership, focusing on education and related priority areas.
• 5+ years in leadership roles, building relationships with development and funding agencies, and successfully writing grant proposals and donor reports.
• 7+ years in grants acquisition for international development organizations, with proven success in securing grants from governments, foundations, and corporations, and meeting grant targets.
• Track record of winning major grant awards exceeding $2M.
• Strong project planning, management, budgeting, monitoring, and evaluation experience.
• Experience with Results Oriented and Participatory Development Approach (PDA) tools; familiarity with Logical Framework Analysis (LFA) is an asset.
• Excellent interpersonal, networking, and negotiation skills, with a focus on donor and agency engagement.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills in English, with proficiency in local languages being an asset.
• Experience engaging with bilateral and multilateral donors, with a proven ability to identify new business opportunities and partnerships.
• Proficiency in MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and the internet.
• Willingness to travel extensively and work flexible schedules in time-sensitive environments.
• Commitment to Children Believe’s Vision, Mission, and Values.

Attributes, Traits, and Behaviors

• Strong organizational skills with attention to detail.
• Demonstrates ownership, emotional intelligence, and creative problem-solving.
• Champions organizational values, including respect for diversity, integrity, professionalism, and accountability.
• Ability to manage multiple projects under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Results-oriented, proactive, self-motivated, and responsible.
• Flexible, adaptable, and able to manage changing priorities.
• Effective communicator and collaborative team player.
• Skilled at stakeholder engagement and influential leadership.
• Ability to manage personal health, stress, and well-being.
• Credible presence that commands attention, respect, and instills confidence.