Proposal Coordinator

ROLE PURPOSE:

The Proposal Coordinator will support the Head of Business Development and other country programme staff to strengthen Save the Children’s funding base and partnerships at the country level.

To achieve the country programme’s ambitions in line with Save the Children’s Global Breakthroughs, the Proposal Coordinator will coordinate the proposal development process and ensure that final products are responsive, competitive, and delivered on time.

The role holder will work closely with cross-functional teams—including programmes, operations, monitoring and evaluation, and finance—to coordinate the design and development of high-quality proposals. The Proposal Coordinator will also ensure that proposals are competitive and well written, including providing editing and quality assurance of all submissions.

If required to meet critical donor deadlines, the role holder may be expected to work beyond the usual scope of responsibilities and adjust working hours as necessary.

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: Director of Advocacy and External Engagement 

Staff Reporting to this Post: N/A

Key working relationships: Ensures appropriate coordination between the Senior Management Team, Technical Experts, Operations, Programme Director, Finance, Awards, Human Resources, Supply Chain, Security, Partnerships, and other necessary stakeholders to establish and execute a strong proposal development process.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY

Proposal Writing and Management – 80% 

• Coordinates the proposal development process for funding opportunities with country office team members from various functions, including: 
  • Holds proposal development kick off meetings 
  • Produces proposal development timelines
  • Follows up closely with various functions to ensure process stays on track
  • Ensures proposal is responsive to details in calls for proposals if applicable
  • Coordinates the narrative writing with technical leads and other functions as required 
  • Coordinates the logframe development process with technical leads and MEAL 
• Drafts key sections of the proposals that are standard inputs – such as capability statements, country context, and programme experience, while drawing on the expertise of technical specialists, MEAL, Operations, Finance, HR and Security.
• Ensures Child Safeguarding, PSEAH, and broader safeguarding considerations are integrated into proposal design, including contextual risk analysis, mitigation measures, accountability mechanisms, and appropriate safeguarding budgets.
• Supports technical teams to identify safeguarding risks and mitigation measures during proposal development and ensures donor safeguarding requirements are addressed in all submissions.

Capture Planning and Opportunity Preparation – 10%

• Works closely with the Head of NBD to regularly update and implement high quality Country Funding Strategies and Donor Engagement Plans
• Supports Head of BD to strengthen country office capabilities on long-term capture planning for major forthcoming funding opportunities
• Supports production of communication materials for public and private donors in close collaboration with the ACCM team 
• Upon request, participates in donor meetings 

Administrative – 10% 

• Supports updating of the SCI’s Award Management Platform (AMS) with required documentation
• Ensures timely management of AMS workflows prior to proposal submission
• Works closely with Awards to ensure administrative processes are on track 

QUALIFICATIONS 

• Bachelor’s degree in International Development, Business Administration, Political Science, Economics, Communications, Social Sciences, or a related field (or equivalent professional experience)

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS
Required 

• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in proposal development, grants management, project design, or fundraising 
• Demonstrated experience in coordinating and facilitating the development of major proposals to institutional donors, multilateral agencies, corporate donors, and/or foundations.
• Proven ability to write persuasive, competitive, and compliant narrative proposals for institutional donors. 
• Demonstrated ability to solve complex issues through critical thinking, analysis, definition of a clear way forward and ensuring buy in.
• A high degree of attention to detail and the ability to lead key tasks (eg. proposal development) to on-time completion under significant pressure.
• Highly developed networking skills and ability to form productive working relationships with a wide range of internal colleagues and stakeholders (eg. programme, technical, awards, compliance, finance, program operations).
• Good personal organisational skills, including time management, and ability to meet deadlines and work under pressure.
• Well-developed interpersonal and communication skills including communicating with impact, influencing, negotiation, and coaching. 
• A high degree of flexibility and adaptability in order to respond to changing needs.
• Ability and willingness to change work practices and hours in the event of major emergencies including travelling at short notice and for extended periods of time. 
• Fluency in French

Desirable

• English language fluency 
• NGO or nonprofit experience and an excellent grasp of operational issues.
• Familiarity with local context and funding landscape.
• A detailed understanding on funding mechanisms for development work such as Save the Children’s.