Fundraising Specialist

About the Role

Fresh Life is looking for an exceptional individual to join our Business Development team. The Fundraising & Partnerships Specialist will be responsible for leading the fundraising efforts to secure and manage significant income from a diverse range of funders to support Fresh Life’s operations and growth in Nairobi, Kenya. They will lead collaborative research, engagement strategy and proposal development for funders to increase the scale and impact of the organization. A confident networker, they will represent the organization at meetings, forums and events in order to initiate and strengthen strategic relationships. They will support the organization in the research and development of strategies for Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with government entities. They will contribute to the organizational business development knowledge with best practices, procedures, and tools for the diversification of financing structures.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Achieve Fresh Life’s ambitious fundraising targets for Nairobi’s growth through building and maintaining partnerships with key external stakeholders, including philanthropic and institutional funders.
• Lead all aspects of donor relationships, including conducting prospect research, preparing proposals, managing internal execution of grants, and reporting, working closely with the Operational and Finance teams.  
• Craft strong, tailored messages that resonate with existing and new partners and funders. 
• Ensure reporting requirements for all funders are met and reports are completed to deadlines.
• Build and manage strong, trust-based relationships with key stakeholders at multilaterals, governments, and in the WASH industry.
• Represent Fresh Life externally with funders, government, and other key stakeholders. 
• Remain abreast of sectors and funders’ trends in line with sustainable development goals, build organizational understanding of new funders and contribute information for prioritization of funding opportunities for scale.
• Improve efficiency and effectiveness of business development processes, including proposal development, partnership management, financial reporting, etc.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in International Development, Economics, Project Management, or equivalent preferred.
• 5+ years of work experience in fundraising in a global development context.
• Demonstrated understanding of and experience in international development or the social sector more broadly. Knowledge of the sanitation sector is a plus.
• Confident external communication and excellent writing skills.
• Highly organized team player, with proactive and flexible work style, and able to follow through and prioritize tasks.
• Strong existing funder networks preferred. Ideal candidate would be able to leverage past relationships to develop a strong pipeline of new partnerships.
• Impeccable integrity and ethics.