Regional Business Development Specialist for the South Asia Program

Handicap International Federation (HI), also known as Humanity & Inclusion Globally, is an independent and impartial aid organisation, founded in 1982, active in 60 countries. HI works with vulnerable populations, regardless of context, and takes action to respond to their essential needs, improve their living conditions and promote respect for their dignity and fundamental rights.

HI, South Asia (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka) Regional Program is seeking applications from qualified local candidates for its Regional Business Development Specialist (National point of view).

Job Title: Regional Business Development Specialist for the South Asia Program

Mission: Under the authority of the Regional Technical Head of the Programme (THOP), and in collaboration with the Regional Programme Director (RPD), Country Managers/Country Directors and Operations Managers, the Regional Business Development Specialist (RBDS) actively contributes to the development of the programme by designing, implementing and monitoring the fundraising strategies of the South Asia Regional Programme (including sectoral fundraising strategies/action plans). He/she identifies funding opportunities and leads the process of developing concept notes and project proposals through to their submission to donors (public institutions, foundations and the private sector).

Location: Colombo/Dhaka/Kathmandu/Noida (one of 4 locations depending on the nationality of the candidate)

General terms and conditions: Fixed term 3 year (renewable) contract

Main Responsibilities:

Strategic positioning:

• Observe donor strategies and priorities at country/regional level and monitor opportunities to anticipate calls for proposals and identify bidding opportunities
• Participate in the development and monitoring of the operational strategy, with a specific focus on the fundraising strategies and action plan (including sectoral fundraising action plans)
• Ensure follow-up, implementation and monitoring of fundraising strategies and action plans in the country/region
• Lead the development and implementation of a donor engagement plan and ensure regular/periodic interaction with identified donors to understand their perceptions of HI’s current programming and identify their areas of interest to focus fundraising efforts
• Make an inventory of other humanitarian and development actors (INGOs, UN agencies, government representations) to monitor trends and remain competitive
• Analyze fundraising trends and inform the program (Institutional Financing – IF Boost Cell in the region) about transformation speed, project coverage, duration and amounts secured
• Coordinate fundraising activities, especially networking and monitoring donor opportunities. Share relevant information with IF Boost Cell members.
• Establish good contacts and mobilize sufficient team members to support fundraising efforts (regional technical specialists, regional program director, THOP, Country Managers, etc.). Organize regular meetings with regional program directors, country managers/directors, operational managers and THOP to update and plan fundraising initiatives in the country/region.
• Coordinate with other programmes/countries to collect and promote best practices and facilitate dialogue with donors (for prospecting/replication of activities)
• As a member of the South Asia IF Boost Cell core team, you will fulfill a secretarial role in organizing periodic meetings of the IF Boost Cell, preparing minutes of meetings and keeping track of action points of the Cell.
• Ensure that progress on the regional fundraising strategy key indicators, STRATOP fundraising-related KPIs and Management By Objectives (MBOs) indicators is monitored on a monthly basis.

Relationship management:

• Work with the Regional Programme Director, Country Managers/Directors and Regional Technical Specialists to strengthen the attractiveness and impact of HI, by developing key relationships with relevant decision makers in national and regional organizations, donors, UN agencies and major international organizations.
• Develop active and high-quality working relationships with donors and strategic partners in the country and identify potential consortia
• Lead the development and implementation of a donor engagement plan to influence identified donors in the region/countries
• Participate in various platforms and meetings on behalf of the RPD to increase the visibility of HI and gather information on funding opportunities
• Promote HI’s technical positioning, approaches, know-how and skills within the relevant networks to develop consortium agreements with the support of the Country Managers/Directors, Regional Technical Specialists and THOP
• Develop supporting documents, such as ‘project sheets’ and/or ‘donor sheets’; and develop new tools, such as a capacity statement of HI in the country and region (including sector-wise in the country and region)
• Ensure the establishment or implementation of a CRM policy/guideline in the region/countries and ensure it is updated as necessary

Developments in the proposal:

• Coordinate the proposal development, allocating tasks among key persons involved in the design and writing of the project proposal for submission to the donor, according to the proposal writing process and HI tools (PD tool, project proposal development tracking/monitoring tool – PDMT, ARCI for proposal development, etc.), including the development of: logical frameworks, theory of change, MEAL plan, narrative description of the technical approach, cross-cutting approaches, planning, staffing and budgeting
• Ensure coordination and triangulation framework with O², IPSO, HQ Shared Services, HQ PDO and technical reference personnel, as relevant.
• Proactively coordinate the involvement and input of all relevant technical specialists (regional, country and head office staff) for all proposal development
• Where applicable, identify relevant/competing arrangements (consortia, multi-country projects, etc.) and facilitate negotiations
• For consortia: ensure coordination and communication and manage stakeholder input during project development
• Before submission, review the project proposal/final concept note for compliance with donor guidelines and expectations, consistency between budget and technical description, activities and overall quality
• Proceed (if necessary) with final submission of concept notes and project proposals to donors
• Coordinate and collaborate with HI National Associations (IPO/IPSO) for all relevant donor proposals.

Capacity building:

• Develop training modules on proposal writing and project lifecycle management for all programme staff and, where relevant, local partners.
• Provide training on donor rules, regulations, and strategies for all program staff involved in proposal writing.

Required qualifications and skills:

• Master’s degree in international development, social development or another relevant field.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in developing project proposals and managing donor relations (including experience in developing consortia and local partnerships)
• Experience in providing context, needs and donor analysis.
• Expertise in developing successful project proposals with excellent writing skills
• Experienced in facilitating project design workshops in collaboration with the HI team, consortium partners and local partners.
• Strong analytical skills and excellent communication and representation skills.
• Strong in drawing up financial proposals/budgets.
• Creativity to explore innovative ways to develop existing opportunities and/or acquire new grants
• Knowledge of the basic principles of disability and inclusion, rehabilitation, inclusive health care, inclusive education, economic inclusion and post-emergency response is an advantage.
• Proficiency in written and spoken English