Specialist Sr., Grants Writer

Childfund Work Location
Nairobi, Kenya

Childfund Division
Global Impact

ChildFund Department
Country Management

Job Details
Position title: Sr. Specialist, Grants Writer
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
ChildFund office: Nairobi, Kenya
Manager/Supervisor title:
Sr. Manager, Regional Business Development

Position type:
Full-time fixed term

Work environment:
On-site

About ChildFund
ChildFund is a child-focused international development organization that works in 23 countries to connect children with the people, resources and institutions they need to grow up healthy, educated, skilled and safe, no matter where they are.

ChildFund's Values
We aspire for every person in our organization—program participants, supporters, staff, and volunteers alike—to feel free, safe, and confident to be themselves. In our culture of connection, you will have ample opportunity to grow, learn, and lead while contributing your talents and innovations to our inspiring mission.

ChildFund's Commitment
ChildFund International has a zero-tolerance policy regarding sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH) and all other forms of harm by its staff, partners, and other representatives in the delivery of its mission and services for children. ChildFund is committed to creating a safe environment in the workplace as well as in the communities where it delivers programs and services. ChildFund expects every staff member, partner, and representative to adhere to this commitment and to ensure all organizational policies and standards are followed. This position is subject to a range of vetting checks, including a criminal records check and/or disclosure to ensure program participants are safeguarded.

About This Role
The Senior Specialist, Grants Writer plays a critical role in securing strategic funding in the Livelihoods sector across the Africa Region, contributing to portfolio growth, reaching more children, and expanding our impact. The Grants Writer will be responsible for developing high-quality, competitive proposals aligned with donor priorities and contextual intelligence to advance ChildFund's strategic goals in livelihoods and economic resilience. The specific responsibilities include preparation of technical narratives and corresponding annexes, providing technical support on proposals and concept note development, capacity strengthening on proposal preparation, and supporting the Country Offices (COs) and regional team in intelligence gathering and donor engagement.

Primary Responsibilities
Proposal and concept note development

• Lead the drafting of high-quality proposals and concept notes, ensuring alignment with donor strategies and regional/country priorities.
• Translate donor instructions into competitive proposal narratives.
• Collaborate with technical advisors, program and grant teams across COs, the International Office and the Region to gather inputs and shape proposals effectively.

Technical review and quality assurance

• Review drafts of proposals and concept notes for coherence, clarity, and alignment with intelligence gathered and donor expectations.
• Coordinate with the appropriate donor contact persons to submit preliminary drafts for early feedback and alignment.
• Ensure consistency of tone, branding, and technical accuracy across all livelihoods-related grant submissions.

Donor engagement and intelligence gathering

• Support the regional team in proactively reaching out and establishing contact with key bilateral and multilateral donor institutions relevant to Africa, including but not limited to: EU, African Development Bank (AfDB), African Union (AU), Africa CDC, FCDO, Global Affairs Canada (GAC), and others.
• Monitor and analyze donor trends, priorities, funding pipelines, and strategic shifts in the livelihoods sector across Africa.
• Maintain and regularly update a repository of donor intelligence relevant to livelihoods programming in Africa.

Capacity strengthening and sharing knowledge

• Build the capacity of regional and CO staff (especially technical specialists and program teams) in high-quality proposal and concept note writing.
• Design and deliver trainings, coaching sessions, and resources to strengthen institutional knowledge and practices in business development.
• Foster a learning culture around donor engagement and proposal development, promoting best practices across the region.

Safeguarding

• Remain alert and responsive to any safeguarding risks; acquire relevant knowledge and skills to enable you to understand the safeguarding policy and procedures; promote strong safeguarding practices; perform your duty and responsibility to safeguard, report violations, and promote appropriate behavior; and conduct yourself in a manner consistent with the organization's policies and procedures.

Other

• Travel internationally on a regular basis, as required by program and organizational needs.

Required Experience and Education

• At least 6 years of progressive experience in grant writing, donor engagement, or program development, preferably in the livelihoods or economic development sectors.
• Significant experience with proposal writing; full-time proposal writing experience preferred.
• Proven experience developing successful proposals for major donors, especially EU, FCDO, AfDB, GAC, etc.
• Demonstrated experience in gathering and analyzing donor intelligence to inform programming strategies.
• Demonstrated experience working in a range of different contexts in Africa.

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Development Studies, International Relations, Economics, Agriculture, or related field, or equivalent experience. Master's degree preferred.

Required Competencies
ChildFund's Core Competencies

• Teamwork: the ability to work effectively and collaborate with others; values and respects individual differences.
• Communication: demonstrates empathy and tact when communicating with others and uses a storytelling approach when appropriate.
• Results orientation: gets things done; takes proactive steps to achieve organizational goals and quality standards.
• Decision making: uses good judgement, critical thinking, and non-traditional ways to evaluate problems and opportunities; reflects and innovates to improve decisions and outcomes.
• Resilience: thrives and grows in rapidly changing, demanding, and complex environments.
• Digital literacy: adopts and champions new technology to relevant contexts, stays aware of technological trends and embraces technological solutions to business challenges.

Other Required Competencies

• The ability to read, speak, and write fluently in English. Fluency in French or a local African language is a plus.
• Excellent technical writing and editing skills, with the ability to synthesize complex information into compelling narratives.
• Strong organizational and coordination skills, with attention to detail and the ability to meet tight deadlines.
• Capacity-building and facilitation skills to support non-writers in contributing to high-quality proposals.
• The ability to work effectively in a multi-national, matrixed environment and in a hybrid environment.
• Willingness to innovate and iterate in support of ChildFund's growth goals.