Proposal Development Specialist

The fact that 1 in 10 people in the world today doesn’t have clean water is unacceptable, and we need your help to change that.  

WaterAid started in 1981 because no non-profit like it existed.  As the #1 international nonprofit exclusively focused on bringing clean water, sanitation, and hygiene education (WASH) to the children and families who need it most. Our global WASH programs, led and maintained by the communities where we work, aren’t a quick fix. We strive for long-term access to WASH that truly transforms people’s lives.  

To support our global mission and programs, WaterAid America is searching for an experienced Proposal Development Specialist to deliver growth in our restricted funding pipeline by leading the collaborative process of developing compelling funding opportunities for our Foundation and Corporate partners.  Reporting to the Director of Awards & Compliance, the Specialist is the critical liaison across WaterAid’s internal teams and directly contributes to our ambitious fundraising goal of raising $30m in restricted awards to fuel WaterAid’s global programs.

To ensure high quality and compelling proposal packages are delivered on demanding timelines and deadlines, the Specialist must take ownership of their work and be exceptionally organized, detail-oriented, and highly proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).   To be successful, the Specialist must employ an inclusive approach to build effective working relationships across diverse teams and cultures and foster collaboration across WaterAid Federation stakeholders at all stages of proposal design. To do so, the Specialist is expected to possess strong writing, communication, and interpersonal skills. The Specialist must also be able to think and act across multiple levels of the organization simultaneously, exercise sound judgement, and elevate or escalate concerns where needed.  The role is also expected to ensure the integrity, security, and confidentiality of information under their management, and uphold their commitment to WaterAid’s Values and Global Code of Conduct.

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• In collaboration with the Partnerships teams, manage relationships with donors and external partners and, internally, become the “resident expert” on proposal guidelines issued by corporate and foundation donors to facilitate internal pre-award activities: ensure understanding and alignment with WaterAid’s global aims and Country/ Regional Program strategies; share critical information about donor deadlines, requirements, and expectations with program teams.
• Act as project manager by leading an inclusive proposal development process: outline roles and responsibilities, coordinate inputs from relevant stakeholders and keep them informed, provide timely updates, and identify and escalate risks and concerns. As needed, facilitate design workshops with the inclusion of stakeholders throughout the WaterAid Federation and consolidate learnings into the final proposal.
• Synthesize complex programmatic information from a variety of sources and languages to create compelling, well-structured narratives through effective storytelling, relevant data, and superior prose.
• Ensure consistency with WaterAid’s procedures, internal sign-off per the Delegations of Authority Policy and that proposal packages adhere to donor guidelines, internal cost recovery principles and other requirements.
• Review concepts and proposals (budgets, results frameworks, workplans); and ensure quality assurance /quality control and alignment with WaterAid’s global strategy and priorities by working with key stakeholders (internal WaterAid colleagues at the country and regional levels, programmatic/subject-matter experts, Bid Management teams, etc.)
• Work across internal Finance teams (at the Country Program, Regional, and other Federation Members levels) to review project budgets that are consistent with organizational finance policies and procedures, negotiating partner budgets, as required.
• Ensure opportunities are accurately recorded via internal systems to preserve institutional memory and track progress against targets.
• Ensure smooth handover from proposal stage to the Programs, Awards & Compliance team for implementation and oversight: share key findings of the proposal development process that inform and support successful project / awards delivery, support colleagues to deliver start-up workshops.
• In collaboration with local and international colleagues, contribute to ongoing Federation-wide best practices database: develop and document “best practices” that ensure WaterAid consistently employs a collaborative program design and proposal development process for all restricted income opportunities.
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Skills and experience

Essential skills and qualifications

• Undergraduate degree and minimum of +5 years’ relevant experience, such as project or program management in an international development context
• Deep knowledge of grant processes and practices and demonstrated track record of successfully leading and facilitating proposal development processes.
• Project management skills: able to prioritize, manage numerous project deliverables simultaneously and ensure commitments and deadlines are met, and demonstrated experience using project management tools such as logical/results frameworks and theories of change.
• Resourceful and intellectually curious, able to synthesize complex information from a variety of sources and languages into concise, compelling prose.
• Superb attention to detail, strong analytical skills, and high degree of proficiency in MS Office (especially Excel).
• Creative approach to problem-solving and
• Demonstrated relationship-building skills and a positive, flexible approach to collaborating across teams and functions to achieve shared goals.
• Commitment to learning, an appetite to learn new tools, and a commitment to professional grow
• Prior experience in an international, cross-cultural work environment is essential with willingness to work flexible hours on an as-needed basis to serve the needs of a global organization. 
• Demonstrated ability to exercise discretion, sound judgement and maintain confidentiality; ensure the safeguarding of organizational assets.
• Commitment to WaterAid’s values of Respect, Accountability, Courage, Collaboration, Integrity, and Innovation.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally, flexibility to work across time zones (with varied work hours) and maturity to achieve and maintain work/ life balance.

Desired skills and qualifications

• Proficiency in French and/or Spanish.
• Project management and/or proposal management certification (e.g. APMP)
• Knowledge of issues relating to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)
• Experience with leading or influencing change management; proactively identifying gaps to continually improve internal processes, procedures, systems and approaches.
• Experience facilitating start-up workshops and/or training and supporting others to learn and adopt new systems and practices.
• Familiarity with the formats, requirements, and submission processes of one or more of WaterAid’s key donors including trusts and foundations.