Responsible to: East Africa Regional Manager
Location: Nairobi
Purpose of role:
1) To build up Sense International’s in-country funding income primarily through developing strategic funding partnerships with, and making in-country applications to, statutory donors, , foundations and global funds whilst also supporting fundraising applications made in the UK.
2) To manage all regional grants and support country specific grant management where required.
Contract type: 3 year fixed term contract, with the potential to transition into a permanent contract.
Responsibilities
Planning and scoping
Maintain a thorough knowledge of the current funding and fundraising developments, trends and culture within East Africa.
Contribute to the finalisation of the SI East Africa fundraising strategy and conduct an annual review of the strategy
Contribute to the finalisation of a 3 year fundraising plan to support the SI East Africa fundraising strategy and update the plan on a quarterly basis. This will identify key areas of opportunity for generating income and activity plans for maximising income from these opportunities and will include a resource plan and budget.
Continually conduct scoping of new funding opportunities from statutory funders and foundations and input new opportunities into a live funding sources database.
Initially this role will have regional responsibility. As part of developing the 3 year fundraising plan the post holder will be responsible for identifying capacity needs across the region and helping to recruit and mentor new fundraising staff. Sense International’s long term goal is to establish fundraising capacity in each of the EA countries where we operate, at that stage this role would become focused on Kenya.
Delivering against income targets
Deliver on targets for fundraising from statutory donors and foundations at country and regional level working within agreed expenditure budgets.
Seek, anticipate, plan and respond to funding opportunities from institutional donors and foundations.
Oversee and coordinate the development of concept notes, expressions of interest and proposals including written applications, project Logframes, budgets and supporting documents (in close collaboration with Country Teams, East Africa Regional Manager and relevant UK based staff, ensuring that proposals are compliant with donor requirements and are highly competitive).
Strong focus on medium to large-scale funding opportunities (over £300k), including the identification and realization of consortium funding opportunities.
Ensure that the fundraising activities undertaken are effective and efficient and that their financial contribution is maximized, aiming to obtain full cost recovery in all proposals.
Grant management and reporting
Manage all regional grants and support country teams with the management of country specific grants. Ensure the terms and conditions of all in-country funded grants are complied with.
Lead on the process of revising and reallocating in-country funded project budgets as needed ensuring all internal stakeholders are involved as required and support the SI UK Programme Funding manager with the same process for UK funded grants.
Review financial reports prepared by the Finance and Admin Officer
Manage and develop relationships with grant account managers for all in-country funded grants.
Coordinate the development and submission of funding reports to donors ensuring compliance with all reporting requirements and deadlines, with the most accurate information
Keep track of donor portfolios (e.g. management systems for communications, reporting etc.)
Raising Sense International’s profile and build funding partnerships
Ensure that Sense International’s programmes in the region have a high profile among donor communities and development networks.
Develop relationships with potential consortia, corporate and major donor partners, in support of joint-programming opportunities at the national,regionaland international levels.
Establish, maintain and develop relationships with key personnel within existing donor organisations.
Research, collect donor intelligence and develop relationships with prospective funders with the view of achieving fruitful long-term relationships.
Assist the Country Representative with developing relationships with High-Net-Worth individuals.
Networking internally and externally
Ensure that an accurate and timely overview of the region’s fundraising efforts and achievement is shared with the Sense International UK office, Uganda office and Tanzania office through regular (quarterly) reporting and analysis of fundraising activity and results including income and expenditure updates and forecasts.
Update the Fundraising Against Targets (FATs) spreadsheet on a monthly basis and share with the SI UK team.
Work with the Sense International UK based fundraising department to strengthen and sustain partnerships with restricted income donors that are based outside of the East Africa regionbut which have an interest in directly supporting Sense International’s work.
Facilitate sharing of information among country teams to ensure maximum appropriate involvement around specific donor opportunities and proposal development processes.
Plan and prepare annual budgets in conjunction with the country teams, East Africa Regional Manager and SI UK team, monitor performance and take remedial action where necessary ensuring the achievement of net income targets.
Support fundraising activities in the UK by liaising with local donor offices and contributing to the writing of drafts for statutory fundraising applications.
Contribute to the development of a comprehensive portfolio of project information, for SI East Africa, in consultation with the relevant colleagues which can be used to develop funding proposals.
Build confidence and excitement in Sense International’s work and vision both internally and externally.
Other
To be self-administrating.
Any other tasks relevant to the duties of the post, including support to colleagues in the team
To ensure fundraising activities comply with current law, Sense International’s ethical policy and Sense International’s In-country Fundraising Protocol.
To undertake such other tasks as may be required by and agreed with the East Africa Regional Manager.
Some travel within East Africa as required.
Key Performance Indicators
Income against targets
Year on year growth in income – Year on year growth in the percentage of overheads covered by in-country income.
Diversification of donor base
The number of institutional donors, trusts and foundations (directly or via NGO partners) supporting Sense International’s work in the region increases.
Grant management
Level of compliance with grant terms and conditions.
Level of adherence to donor reporting schedules with high-quality reports.
Level of adherence to internal reporting schedules.
Person Specification: Skills / Experience Required
Experience in leading proposal development and securing major funding from statutory donors such as EU, USAID, DFID, UN or other institutional funders, including developing multi-country, regional and/or consortia programmes as well as managing grants and ensuring compliance to grant terms and conditions
Programme management experience including leading on complex budget reallocations
Proven ability to develop multi-year fundraising strategies incorporating and prioritising multiple types of fundraising
Proven ability to network and develop opportunities for long term funding partnerships
Excellent interpersonal skills, including written, verbal and presentation skills used in international settings (with appropriate technological support as required)
A thorough knowledge of how statutory funding operates in East Africa
Proven ability to develop project Logframes and complex multi-year/multi-country project budgets
Experience of financial planning and control, setting and exceeding targets with a proven ability to undertake systematic forecasting.
Ability to research new funding opportunities and making appropriate bid/no-bid decisions
Experience of preparing compelling, high quality proposals tailored to different audiences (statutory, major donors, foundations)
Understanding of the key elements of collating and recording a national portfolio of project information in an efficient and accessible format
Educated to degree level
An understanding of the current issues in the disability sector
Sensitivity to, and willingness to develop an understanding of, deafblind issues
Experience of working with colleagues from different cultures and with teams based overseas
Computer literacy with a good knowledge of MS Word and MS Excel
Strong administrative and organizational skills
Close attention to detail at all times, including when under pressure.
[Applicants must already have the right to live and work in Kenya]
