The post-holder will have a successful track record in developing programmes and leading new business development efforts with institutional donors such as Global Affairs Canada (GAC), the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), the European Union (EU), UN agencies, and European Governments such as Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). Additional experience in mobilising resources from trusts and foundations and other non-traditional funding mechanisms is desirable.

Strong applicants will have proven programme experience, such as in project management or programme support, which equips them to lead and inform high-quality programme design. They will be skilled in coordinating complex processes, facilitating participatory co-creation with partners, and ensuring proposals are robust, contextually relevant, and strategically aligned.

Key areas of responsibility

Programme design and proposal development

• Work with country teams and partners to make informed go/no go decisions on calls for proposals and invitations to submit funding applications.
• Lead participatory, partner-centred programme co-design and development of programme concept notes and proposals that link to Saferworld’s organisational theory of change and enable delivery of country strategies. This includes coordinating across teams, facilitating locally informed ideas from country teams and partners, and leading the drafting of high-quality funding applications (including narratives, budgets, theories of change, MEL frameworks, and risk matrices).
• Ensure programme design and proposal development processes are non-extractive and non-hierarchical, in line with Saferworld’s values and guidelines, including meaningful partner leadership throughout the full design cycle, participatory budget development, equitable budget sharing, and transparent communication of donor requirements and obligations.
• Ensure strong gender and conflict analysis, informed by local partner knowledge and contextual expertise, is integrated into programme design and proposal development.
• Provide guidance and capacity strengthening to country teams and partners on donor policies, strategies, and funding opportunities, supporting high-quality programme design and proposal development through coaching, joint drafting, and shared reflection.
• Support efforts to diversify funding sources from trusts and foundations within country portfolios, with a focus on flexible, long-term funding suited to locally led approaches.
• Support due diligence processes when entering into partnerships with INGOs and new or deepened funding relationships with donors, ensuring processes are proportionate, transparent, and partnership-focused.

Strategic development

• Support country teams and partners, where appropriate, to develop, plan, and implement resource mobilisation plans to fund country strategies, including coordinating efforts to cultivate and maintain strong donor relationships.
• Track donor priorities and opportunities for engagement, and work with country teams and partners to cultivate and influence donor relationships, including advocating for less top-down and less hierarchical funding approaches, greater flexibility, and increased funding flowing directly to local partners and civil society actors.
• Monitor country resource mobilisation plans and analyse fundraising performance, including proposal success rates, while conducting learning on the effectiveness and quality of programme co-design and partnership processes.
• Ensure cross-organisational collaboration by working closely with colleagues across the Funding Team to align country and regional resource mobilisation plans with global donor outreach and cultivation efforts.
• Keep up to date with donor policy developments and funding trends, maintaining relevant funding intelligence to inform country strategies and organisational positioning.
• Participate in and support negotiations with donors related to new and/or existing grants, advocating for flexible, equitable, and partnership-friendly terms wherever possible.

External representation

• Represent Saferworld at relevant donor conferences, seminars, and other fundraising events, actively promoting Saferworld’s partnership-centred and locally led approach to programme design.
• Engage with the wider NGO and fundraising community, particularly on funding trends related to locally led peacebuilding, co-design, equitable partnerships, and shifting power within the aid system.

Key working relationships

• Regional directors, country managers, and country teams: Working together on programme design, proposal development, and the development of resource mobilisation plans to enable the implementation of country and regional strategies.
• Programme support: Working closely together to ensure proposal development and programme design is of the utmost quality and in line with organisational approaches to partnership, gender, climate, MEL, and advocacy.
• Colleagues in the fundraising team: Regularly coordinating to ensure country and regional resource mobilisation plans are connected to global outreach and donor cultivation plans, ensure approaches to institutional and non-institutional donors are coordinated with other parts of the organisation, leverage donor research support, support global efforts to diversify Saferworld funding basis in collaboration with Saferworld affiliate offices in the US and Brussels.
• Colleagues in the finance team: Working collaboratively to develop programme budgets, ensuring effective cost recovery and budget sharing with partners.
• Colleagues in the policy team: Ensuring linkages between donor trends and policy developments, and supporting the integration of policy insights into programme design and resource mobilisation approaches.

Scope and accountability

Decision-making and limits of authority

• Lead effective programme development and co-design processes.
• Develop fundraising plans and ensure programme impact and quality in the proposals written.
• The post-holder is expected to show considerable leadership within the organisation and a high level of analytical thinking, creative thinking, and problem-solving capacities. This includes developing systems and processes to meet new needs; identifying and applying appropriate programme design approaches; collecting and analysing a range of information from different sources; and developing new ideas and approaches to design and securing funding from statutory and institutional donors.

Financial resources

• N/A

Other resources

• Responsible for cross-regional and organisational information-sharing and lesson learning on fundraising areas.

People management

• Technical supervision and supervision and oversight responsibilities may be assigned to this post-holder, including but not limited to consultancies and/or dotted line management of staff. Within the team, line management of programme design coordinators, officers, or interns may be a possibility.

Legal, regulatory, and compliance responsibility

• Supporting internal and donor compliance as part of programme design and proposal development support to country programmes.

Person specification

Essential

Knowledge and Experience

• Demonstrable experience of co-designing, developing, and implementing international development programmes, preferably in conflict-affected contexts, that deliver community-led change and influence policy and practice.
• Experience leading collaborative design processes alongside civil society partners and a strong understanding of partner-