Partnerships & Project Development Manager (Nigeria/Fulltime)

The role 

As the Partnerships & Program Development Manager, you will support the growth of Bopinc Nigeria’s project portfolio. You will support in building and managing relationships with donors, implementing partners, and private sector actors. You will coordinate proposal development, support fundraising efforts, and represent Bopinc in external engagements. You will also liaise  between the Nigeria office and our global partnerships team. 

We believe you are most effective in developing new projects if you also work on projects yourself. So the person in this role, like all of our partnerships team members, spends some of their time on developing new partnerships and projects and some of their time working on implementing projects with our local and global team. 

Responsibilities

1. Fundraising

• Proactively identify and assess funding opportunities that align with Bopinc’s mission and Nigeria strategy.

• Lead the design and writing of high quality, compelling, winning technical proposals and concept notes, including budgets and supporting documentation.

• Proactively lead the development, sustainability and scale of high yielding partnerships with like minded organisations, donors, and other strategic partners.

• Sustain, scale or deepen collaboration with existing strategic partners.

• Maintain a partnerships pipeline and regularly update internal systems with prospects and engagement status.

2. Project Implementation

Some of your time will be spent working on projects. You will manage projects in which we strengthen inclusive business models, interacting with donors and ensuring quality implementation, evaluation and reporting within budget. You would also provide business advisory to companies, ranging from small and medium-sized enterprises (SME’s) to multinationals, and social enterprises so they can enhance their commercial viability and social impact.  These can be early-stage or growth-stage companies, who are developing products and services targeted at low-income populations.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor or (preferably) Master’s degree in Business, Economics, Marketing, Innovation or a related field;

• At least 7+ years relevant experience working with start-ups, scale-ups, and/or corporates  in emerging markets as a consultant, entrepreneur or manager with a focus on inclusive business, reaching low-income customers, marketing and distribution, circular economy, business modelling and/or digital innovation.

• Demonstrated track record of >5 years of experience in Partnerships and program development, fundraising, grant writing (successfully securing and managing proposals exceeding 500k EUR), Monitoring evaluation & learning and research.

• Exceptional writing skills to craft compelling proposals tailored to the requirements of funders, with the ability to synthesize information coherently. You excel at grasping new concepts, connecting ideas, and crafting narratives in alignment with Bopinc’s style.

• Deep understanding of the development sector relevant to Bopinc’s sectors of work.

• Excellent communication in English, both written and verbal, able to build trust and influence senior-level clients leadership and manage complex stakeholder dynamics.

• Strong organizational and project management skills.

• An enthusiastic team player who is also able to coach and mentor other team members.

• Strong relationship management and negotiation skills.

• Ability to work independently, manage multiple tasks, and thrive in a fast-paced, international environment.

Key Competencies

You:

• are a proactive self-starter with a high level of independence. 

• take responsibility for your own time and effectiveness. 

• are alert to opportunities to contribute and take the initiative to act on them.

• are able to bring a conversation to a concrete concept or project idea including activities.

• actively listen and proactively share knowledge.

What we offer

• A motivated, multidisciplinary and culturally diverse team of professionals

• A great team to work with across all our markets

• Training and support to (further) develop your proposal development skills and content expertise

• Culture of dedication to delivery whilst also ensuring creativity and innovativeness

• Opportunity to travel

• Market-based remuneration and conditions

• Flexible office hours and opportunity to partially work from home 

Hours : 40 hours per week 

Reporting To : Country Director - Based in Nigeria 

Functional Alignment : Head of Partnerships - Based in the Netherlands 

Term : Fixed-term contract of 1-year (including a 3 months probationary period) 

Starting Date : ASAP