Business Development Lead - Sierra Leonne & Liberia

Work with programme staff and partners in the design, development (and where appropriate, implementation) of high-quality programmes and projects in line with the Sierra Leone and Liberia strategy and programme frameworks. 

Contribute to the development of Sierra Leone and Liberia strategy plans, resource development plans, as well as identifying new funding opportunities through donor mapping and support regional or joint programme funding opportunities, as necessary. 

Participate in surge requests from other International Programmes Teams as necessary. 

In agreement with partners and programme staff, assess existing partner capacities and systems to manage and implement institutionally funded programmes and, jointly develop programme and project funding proposals. 

Lead, co-ordinate or support the preparation of institutional / donor funding applications with donors such as: ECHO, DEC, FCDO, EC, UN, Comic Relief, Big Lottery Fund, etc.; in close co-operation with programme colleagues in-country, with CAFOD’s Integrated Funding and Business Innovation Unit in London, CAFOD advisors and partners  

Keep up to date with donor policy developments and trends, both within Sierra Leone and Liberia; raise awareness of donor requirements and partner obligations to fulfil these; more generally, and represent CAFOD in funding review groups/networks as appropriate. 

Contribute to investing in partners’ capacities, by jointly identifying funding needs, developing plans to strengthen capacities, e.g. proposal writing, programme development, monitoring & evaluation, etc., or identifying sources of support.  

Support the development of Partner Direct Funding approaches in agreement with the CAFOD Country Representative and CAFOD guidelines. 

Provide training to staff and partners on topics including proposal development, budgeting, report writing and donor compliance requirements.  

Lead on reporting, monitoring, and evaluation of institutionally funded programmes, in line with CAFOD and donor standards. 

Working with colleagues and partners to manage various contracts, including financial and narrative reporting, and monitoring and evaluation of institutionally funded programmes, in line with jointly agreed standards (Programme Cycle Management), donor requirements, and CAFOD’s value of Stewardship. 

Responsible for reporting to donors – including financial reporting.  

Support programme staff and partners on the development of plans, accounting frameworks and work plans, etc.  

Responsible for capturing and sharing learning and best practice with colleagues and partners from externally funded programmes. 

Develop, nurture and manage relationships with donor organisations, and create opportunities to share CAFOD’s programme experiences with donor staff and other INGOs where relevant.  

Communicate with other teams within CAFOD to ensure that the programme is understood and that information is available for fundraising and communication needs. This may involve participation in sessions/events with supporters, communities of practice, working groups, etc. 

Where appropriate, consult with the International Programme colleagues to ensure coherent donor engagement strategies are developed and maintained. 

Collaborate with partners to regularly assess the quality of the relationship, ensuring that effective communication channels are in place, and that funding-related issues are timely addressed. 

In agreement with partners, contribute to raising the profile of partners’ work with relevant donors.   

Effectively use CAFOD’s programme management information systemsto ensure programme and project information and documentation is up-to-date.  

Ensure the effective use of CAFOD’s systems to share knowledge and inform decision regulations and requirements attached to our work and donor contracts; and keep appropriate records. 

Ensure compliance with agreements, regulations and requirements attached to our work. 

In consultation with the CAFOD Country Representative and Funding and Business Innovation teams in London, monitor, identify and map potential new business opportunities and calls for proposals in country, which are aligned with CAFODs strategic direction.  

Regularly monitor local and international donor data bases and websites for new funding opportunities and business intelligence for CAFOD, in country. 

Monitor and advise the Country Representative about new and innovative approaches to funding development and humanitarian programmes.  

Understanding international development: Understanding and experience of international development and programme management, quality standards within this context and the funding trends and landscape 

Communicating: Able to engage in effective communications with colleagues and partners at a distance. 

Looking outwards: Understanding of effective and values-based partnership work between northern and southern organisations and communities. Actively engage in consortia building and initiating for increased funding chances 

Managing resources: the ability to prepare and monitor budgets, contribute to assessing the appropriateness of partner financial systems, and ensure compliance. 

Achieving results: experience of developing successful funding applications for institutional donors; experience of participatory project design, and use of analytical tools. 

Managing our performance: experience of developing and implementing monitoring systems to track the effectiveness of programmes.  

Understanding and first-hand experience of institutional funding work/projects, priorities, trends and donor conditions within the international development sector, ideally with first-hand experience of working with the EC; ECHO, DEC, FCDO, UN, Comic Relief, Big Lottery Fund, etc. 

Experience of using programme cycle management tools effectively to deliver work within an agreed programme framework. 

Able and committed to working with and strengthening or complementing the capacity of partner organisations and colleagues. 

Finance management and budgeting understanding and experience.  

Ability and willingness to travel within Sierra Leone and Liberia/or to the UK (approximately for 2 months per year), sometimes at short notice 

Thematic experience in one or more of CAFOD AREAS (Livelihoods & Food security, Participatory Governance, WASH, and Shifting the Power) 

First-hand work experience with a values-based partnership approach (between northern and southern organisations and communities 

First-hand work experience with a values-based partnership approach (between northern and southern organisations and communities 

Previous work experience in Programme Development and Funding with an international non-governmental organisation