Programme Development and Funding Manager - West Africa at Christian Aid (CA)

Christian Aid (CA) is a UK-based international NGO, partnering with others to end poverty in Africa. At the heart of this vision is the transformation of the lives of people who live in poverty, empowering them to have a brighter future. Christian Aid works in more than 30 countries and has been operating in Nigeria since 2003. The Nigeria Country programme focuses on Community Health and HIV, Accountable Governance including humanitarian response and Gender.

We are recruiting to fill the position of:

Job Title: Programme Development and Funding Manager- West Africa

Location: Abuja
Type of Contract: Fixed Term
Contracted Hours: 35
Contract Length: 2 Years
Reports to (Job Title): Head of Programme Funding Africa
Salary Band: C Low
Competency Level: 3

Role Purpose

• This role is based in Nigeria and contributes to the growth of Christian Aid’s institutional funding portfolio in Angophone West Africa, and supporting the country programmes to ensure strong contract management on their funds from institutional donors.
• The post holder will lead work with Nigeria and support country programmes across the region to initiate new donor engagements and sustain relationships with current donors; to coordinate development of funding applications and to contribute to the development of donor funded programmes; and, to advise and provide support on delivery of on-going contracts ensuring compliance with donors’ and Christian Aid’s regulations.
• This is a senior role that is expected to engage at strategic levels both at global, country and corporate levels to influence Christian Aid’s business models and the way we deliver our programmes.
• The role will be critical in representing the organisation to donors and other external stakeholders, and to improving Christian Aid’s global, Africa wide and in-country visibility.
• The role will participate in and/or lead project teams within PIF and across the Global Partnership, and will have a substantial element of humanitarian interventions and funding within its portfolio. The post holder may also support work elsewhere in Africa and globally, in response to priorities and deadlines.

Key Outcomes:

• 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 submission of strong proposals that respond to donor criteria and Christian Aid strategic objectives.
• Support Country Programme staff to deliver on existing contracts. The PDFM specifically takes responsibility for enabling compliance with donors and Christian Aid policies and ensuring timely and quality reporting to donors
• Gather intelligence about upcoming opportunities; develop and share opportunity-specific competitive intelligence analysis and support Country Managers in deciding on consortia formulation
• Carry-out post-bidding debrief and lead post-award negotiations
• Ensure that Christian Aid programmes meet our gender and inclusion quality standards, and incorporate latest thinking around our digital strategy.
• Participate in and/or manage project teams involved in strategic proposals or other initiatives.

Role Context

• The role works within the Programme Funding Division(PFD), which facilitates access to restricted funding across Christian Aid. The role will work lead work with Nigeria and support country programmes across the region and supporting functions, particularly the Humanitarian Division to access and manage funds in support of their strategic priorities. This will include humanitarian and development work.
• As such the postholder will be expected to travel regularly to project locations across these countries as well as elsewhere in Africa. The post holder will 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 design, inception and delivery of large and complex programmes. They will work with staff from across the Global Partnership to plan and execute quality interventions in line with corporate strategy and programme/contractual obligations.

Working Relationships

• External: Builds and maintains relationships with Donors, INGOs, NNGOs, Private Sector Actors, government agencies
• Internal: Works closely with Programme Funding colleagues in Africa, HQ and globally. Works directly with Country Programme colleagues in Nigeria, Sierra Leone and elsewhere in Africa, and with Humanitarian Division colleagues, in development of proposals and supporting on donor compliance. Draws on expertise from across the organisation, including Finance, HR, and technical advisors.

Applied Skills / Knowledge and Expertise
Essential:

• University Degree or equivalent in Health, Business, Economics, International Relations, Development Studies, Environmental Management, Agronomy or a relevant subject.
• Knowledge and expertise in working with institutional donors, which may include FCDO/DFID, USAID, Global Fund, European Union / ECHO, UN World Food Programme, UN OCHA
• Significant and proven experience of successful bid leadership across development and/or humanitarian grants
• Outstanding communication and networking skills for relationship building and facilitation, including consortium development
• Excellent writing skills.
• Fluency in English
• High level of numeracy and understanding of financial controls and procedures.
• Project Cycle Management and monitoring, evaluation and learning methodologies.

Desirable:

• Training and facilitation skills
• Ability to read and communicate in French.

Full Time Salary and Benefits

• N14,825,051 - N 16,926,573 annually.
• You can expect a wide range of rewards, benefits and flexibility that will ensure you enjoy a good work/life balance.

Application Closing Date
17th November 2021.