job Description

To support WV Zimbabwe’s growth of grant and private partner portfolio, through strategic donor and partner engagement, grant acquisition and high quality proposal development in close cooperation with WV’s technical advisors and other related teams. The position leads grant acquisition and donor engagement processes in alignment with WVZ’s and WVI process guidelines, policies and structures and support the Resource Development and Donor Engagement Program Officer (RDDE) team members with technical and managerial line management, in them confidently executing their mandate. The Senior Programs Officer (SPO) works as an integrated part of WVI and WVZ, representing the organization and RDDE respectively in internal and external forums/ working groups promoting WV’s Grant acquisition strategy and operational performance and reputation.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Donor engagement
Further strengthening of relations with multilateral/ bilateral and private sector donors, along developed and updated donor engagement plans, technical support and development of donor strategy aligned materials
Evolve diverse funding sources, through Call for Proposals research and unsolicited opportunities with existing and potential new donors within the private and institutional donor landscape, in coordination with Technical Advisors and the Strategic Evaluation and Learning unit of WVZ.
Liaise with World Vision Offices worldwide and in-country partners for joint strategic engagements and pre-positioning purposes.
Engage with stakeholders specifically on global opportunities, i.e. World Vision Regional Office and WV field offices in SAR, Africa and globally.
Strengthen WVZ portfolio towards commercial contract funding, financial institutions and multilateral donors, such as AfDB, Global Fund, Green Climate Fund, etc.
Represent the WVZ RDDE team in national, regional or international forums/ working groups

2. Proposal development
Lead proposal development processes from Expression of Interest (EOI) to contract stage (hand over to operations), adhering to WVZ and WVI process guidelines and regulations, by coordinating internal experts and local partners along donor regulations and expectations for qualitative project proposals.
Support on proposal writing along donor language and expressing WV’s capacities and capabilities along CfP guidelines.
Liaise and negotiate with WVs Support Offices and in country donors for effective and efficient proposal development and contract conditions, including the insurance of match funding through diverse sources (i.e. G2G).
Steer local and international partnering processes along WVI protocols
Update and maintain Proposal Development documentation, Grant list, trackers and WVI management tools/ systems.

3. Technical support
Lead and keep oversight of grant development tools for accurate resource acquisition accountability
Contribute to grant acquisition strategic developments and review/ development of operational tools for enhanced standardization of processes
Provide technical support to internal counterparts and local partners towards donor and proposal requirements

4. Staff support
Mentor, manage and build the capacity of RDDE staff in order to enhance the quality and timeliness of their duties
Support, where requested, Grant Management on interlinking grant acquisition and prepositioning processes, related to donor visibility, field visits, amendments, compliance and accountability
Review and approve proposals of RDDE members before submission
Support developing and conducting team building and team meetings on a regular basis

Qualifications and Experience

Degree in International Relations, Social Sciences, Development or other relevant fields . A Master’s Degree is preferred but not essential.

A minimum of 5 years’ experience engaging at the national and international level with government, UN and private sector donors, including leading programme design processes, negotiating contracts and representing recipient organization and program interests and priorities in meetings and other settings

In-depth knowledge of project design and proposal writing, especially at grant level

Knowledge of funding sources, donor trends and regulations of USAID, various UN, INTPA, SIDA, Global Fund, AfDB, ECHO, etc.

Passionate about World Vision's mission and translating program outcomes and stories into compelling cases for support

Demonstrated capacity to manage complex consortia and processes

Demonstrated analytic and strategic thinking skills

High self-organizational/ coordination skills

Ability to work independently and as part of the team to set priorities and manage multiple projects simultaneously with competing deadlines;

Ability to maintain a positive attitude and collaborative style that fosters workplace excellence and collegial teamwork;

Ability to pursue thoroughness and appropriate attention to detail

Excellent written, oral and relational skills

Strong interpersonal skills to relate with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.