- The Specialist II, Education & Proposal Management will lead and support the development of high-quality, donor-ready proposals and technical documents for education programming across Africa. Combining strong proposal management and coordination skills with technical expertise in education, the role will contribute to the identification of strategic funding opportunities and the development of competitive, evidence-based, and compelling proposals for donors and partners.
- The Specialist will also strengthen the organization's education approach across country offices, analyze donor priorities and funding trends, and cultivate strategic partnerships within the education sector. Serving as a bridge between technical education expertise and regional donor engagement, the role will support the sustainability, growth, and impact of education programming across Africa
Required Experience and Education
- Bachelor's degree in Education, International Development, Social Sciences or a related field; Master's degree preferred.
- At least 5 - 7 years of progressively responsible experience in education programming, education technical advisory, or related roles within international development
- Demonstrated experience coordinating education-focused proposals, concept notes, technical narratives, and donor-facing materials.
- Strong understanding of education programming in the Africa region, including approaches that improve education quality, teaching and learning practices, equitable learning opportunities, and learning outcomes.
- Experience managing proposal development processes, coordinating cross-functional teams, and ensuring high-quality, compliant submissions within tight deadlines.
- Proven experience in donor engagement, fundraising, business development or partnership development within the education sector.
- Demonstrated knowledge of major education donors and funding mechanisms in Africa, including bilateral, multilateral, foundation, and corporate donors.
- Experience supporting education initiatives across multiple African countries and collaborating effectively with country offices, technical teams, and external partners in multicultural and geographically dispersed environments.
Primary Responsibilities:
Proposal Coordination and Management
- Lead and coordinate proposal development processes for education-focused funding opportunities, ensuring submissions are well structured, compliant, and submitted on time.
- Serve as the proposal lead and coordinator, managing inputs from program, education, finance, grants, compliance, and country office teams to ensure high-quality and competitive submissions.
- Develop clear proposal workplans, calendars, review timelines, and submission checklists.
- Ensure all proposals meet donor requirements, evaluation criteria, formatting instructions, and internal quality standards.
- Maintain proposal templates, reusable education content, capability statements, past performance references, and standard proposal language.
- Document lessons learned from proposal submissions and apply feedback to improve future education proposals.
- Lead and coordinate the development of concept notes, expressions of interest, full proposals, and other funding submissions for education opportunities across Africa.
Technical Expertise in Education
- Provide technical leadership during proposal design, ensuring submissions are evidence-based, contextually relevant, and aligned with regional education priorities.
- Provide technical guidance informed by global and regional best practices in areas such as foundational learning, inclusive education, early childhood development, life skills, and youth learning pathways across humanitarian and development contexts.
- Translate education program models, country office experience, and evidence into strong technical approaches for donor proposals
- Work with education specialists and country teams to define outcomes, indicators, activities, assumptions, and learning questions.
- Support the development and refinement of regional education strategies, technical frameworks, and value propositions for priority funding opportunities.
Donor Engagement and Sector Mapping
- Conduct research and analysis to identify donor trends, priorities, and opportunities in the education sector.
- Support the cultivation and management of strategic relationships with donors, partners, and education stakeholders, presenting compelling cases for investment in education programming
- Support country offices in donor engagement planning, opportunity positioning, partnership development, and business development capacity strengthening.
- Track and disseminate information on donor priorities, funding trends, and strategic opportunities relevant to education programming across Africa.
Regional Collaboration and Capacity Strengthening
- Collaborate with country offices to strengthen the quality and consistency of education programme design and proposal development.
- Facilitate knowledge sharing, learning, and the dissemination of promising practices across education teams in the region.
- Provide mentoring and technical support to country office staff involved in education program design, proposal development, and donor engagement.
- Remain alert and responsive to child safeguarding risks; acquire relevant knowledge and skills to promote strong safeguarding practices; understand the child safeguarding policy and procedures; and conduct oneself in a manner consistent with ChildFund's Child Safeguarding Policy.