Regional Business Development Specialist - East Africa Regional Division

Tags: South Sudan mental health English
  • Added Date: Tuesday, 03 February 2026
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Contract information

  • Place: Ethiopa/Uganda/Kenya,
  • Starting date: 1st April 2026;
  • Duration of contract: 24 months;
  • Closing date for applications: 24 February 2026.

    Humanity & Inclusion presentation

    Humanity & Inclusion is an independent and impartial aid organisation working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster. The organisation works alongside people with disabilities and vulnerable populations, taking action and bearing witness in order to respond to their essential needs, improve their living conditions and promote respect for their dignity and fundamental rights.

    Since its creation in 1982, HI has run development & humanitarian projects in more than 55 countries and responded to numerous emergencies. Today, we have a budget of approximately 200 million euros, with 4,000 employees worldwide

    At Handicap International-Humanity & Inclusion, we truly believe in the importance of inclusion and diversity within our organisation. This is why we are engaged to a disability policy to encourage the inclusion and integration of people with disabilities.

    Please indicate if you require any special accommodation, even at the first interview. For more information about the organisation.

    JOB CONTEXT:

    Regional context - East Africa (Ethiopia, Somalia/Somaliland, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan) and later in 2026 possible new countries.

    East Africa region faces multiple challenges: armed conflicts and insecurity, population displacement (refugees and internally displaced persons), epidemics and public health issues, food insecurity and famine, and various protection incidents. These factors exacerbate the vulnerabilities of people with disabilities and marginalized groups.

    East Africa is home to approximately 3.8 million refugees, representing 10% of the world's refugees but faces growing challenges in terms of resources and integration.

    Ongoing crises in Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia are exacerbating displacement.

    In this context, Humanity & Inclusion (HI) implements humanitarian and development actions aimed at improving access to essential services, strengthening community resilience, and promoting inclusion. HI's interventions focus on several areas: physical and functional rehabilitation, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), inclusive education (and EI in emergencies), protection, food security and humanitarian mine action (including clearance, victim assistance and risk education). HI's approach is based on community participation, promoting a \u201cdo no harm\u201d policy, and seeking to achieve a lasting impact that promotes human dignity and inclusion in humanitarian action.

    HI has around 350-400 employees in this region, with a budget of \u20ac20 million.

    As part of its commitment to continuous improvement, HI has embarked on a process of regionalization and decentralization of its operational governance, with the aim of bringing decision-making closer to local realities. This change is accompanied by greater pooling of resources, harmonization of practices, and increased efforts to ensure programmatic consistency across its various areas of intervention. By early 2026, the program teams will work closely and in an integrated manner within a strengthened regional space to maximize the impact, responsiveness, and relevance of actions carried out as close as possible to the populations concerned.

    The security situation in the region varies from country to country, with some areas affected by tensions or travel restrictions, particularly in Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan. Appropriate risk management mechanisms are in place to ensure the safety of teams.

    YOUR MISSION:

    Under the hierarchical supervision of the Technical Head of Program (THOP), and in close collaboration with the Regional Director, Country Managers, Country Directors, country-based business development officers, Operations Managers, shared service managers and other technical Unit members, the Business Development Specialist actively contributes to the development of the East Africa regional program by designing, implementing, and monitoring its fundraising strategy. The role includes identifying funding opportunities and leading the development of concept notes and project proposals through submission to donors, including public institutions, foundations and private sector partners

    Responsibility 1: Strategic positioning and planning

  • Participate in the development and monitoring of the operational strategy (StratOp), with particular focus on the fundraising action plan and internal project documents
Ensure follow up, implementation and monitoring of the fundraising strategyObserve donor strategies and priorities at country/regional level and monitor opportunities in order to anticipate calls for proposals and identify bidding opportunitiesInteract with identified donors to understand their perception of HI's current programming, and identify their areas of interest in order to target fundraising effortsDraw up a mapping of (regional) humanitarian and development actors (INGOs, UN agencies, government representations) to monitor trends and remain competitiveAnalyse fundraising trends and inform the program on transformation rate, project coverage, duration and amounts securedCoordinate fundraising efforts, especially networking, monitoring of donor opportunitiesLiaise and mobilise adequate team members to support fundraising efforts (technical specialist, program directors, country managers, etc).Organise regular meetings with country directors/country managers/operations managersCoordinate with other programs/countries to gather and promote best practices, facilitate dialogue with donors (for prospection / replication of activities)

Responsibility 2 : Relationship management

External

Work with the Country Directors, Country Managers & Technical Unit members to strengthen HI's attractiveness and influence, developing key relationships with relevant decision makers in, national and local organizations, donors and major international organizations;Develop active and quality working relationships with donors and strategic partners in the country identify potential consortium.Participate in various platforms and meetings on behalf of the Geographical Director, Country directors/country managers to increase HI's visibility and allow for information gathering on funding opportunitiesPromote HI's technical positioning, approaches, know-how and skills within the relevant networks with a view to developing consortium agreements with the support of the Technical Unit.Develop supporting documents, such as \"project sheets\" and/or \"donor sheets\"; and develop new tools such as capacity statement

 

Internal

Share funding opportunities with country teamsEnsure that CRM is updated, if needed send reminders to people in chargeAs long as necessary (depending on CRM use) maintain internal BD communication and sharing tools up to date (Teams channel, follow up table of ongoing opportunities\u2026) in order to allow country teams to have access to the latest, up to date documents

Responsibility 3 : Proposal development

Coordinate proposal development, distributing tasks among the key people involved in the writing of the project proposal for submission to the donor, in accordance with HI's proposal writing process and tools (PDM tool, PD-tool, CRM, etc.), including the development of: logical frameworks, MEAL plans, narrative descriptions planning, staffing and budgetingEnsure the position of primary writer for some complicated, multi country projects. Ensure coordination and triangulation framing with, IPSO, shared services, operational teams and (global) technical specialistsProactively coordinate the involvement and input of all relevant technical advisors (HQ and mission staff) for all proposal developmentIdentify, where appropriate, relevant/competitive arrangements (consortia, multi-country projects, etc.) and facilitate negotiations;For consortia: ensure coordination and communication, coordinate initial screening, (pre) teaming agreements and manage stakeholder input during project development;Review the project proposal/final concept note prior to submission for compliance with donor guidelines and expectations, consistency between the budget and the technical description, and overall quality;Proceed (if necessary) with the final submission of concept notes and project proposals to donors.Coordinate and collaborate with HI national associations (IPO/IPSO) for all relevant donor proposals

Responsibility 4 : Capacity building

Develop training modules on proposal writing and project cycle management for all programs' staff and local partners when relevantProvide training on donor rules, regulations and strategies for all programs' staff involved in the writing of proposalsProvide training on the use of CRM to new users, coaching as needed. Support the country teams in the use of new featuresEnsure proper transition between Business development and project implementation

Requirements

You have a minimum of 5 years of professional experience in development and/or humanitarian workYou have at least 3 years of business development experienceYou have a strong experience in proposal writing, financial planning and budget development (including co-funding principals)You are able to develop SMART indicatorsYou have experience in Donor Contract Analysis and negotiation capacitiesYou have excellent written and verbal communication skills, suitable for high-level external representation and proposal developmentYou are autonomous, flexible, and can prioritise English and French mandatory

Benefits

At HI, the conditions offered are up to your commitment and adapted to the context of your mission: Join the team

24 months International contract starting from 1st, April 2026;

The international contract provides social cover adapted to your situation:

Unemployment insurance benefits for EU nationals;Pension scheme;Medical coverage with 50% of employee contribution;Repatriation insurance paid by HI;

Salary from 2757\u20ac gross/month upon experience;

Perdiem: Ethiopia : 489\u20ac net/month/Uganda 645\u20ac net/month /Kenya 606\u20ac net/month - paid in the field

Hardship: Ethiopia 250\u20ac net/month paid with your salary;

Paid leaves: 25 days per year;

R&R: according to the level of the mission Ethiopia : 5 days every 3 months/Uganda and Kenya: 1 day per month

Position:

Unaccompanied: Payment for travel costs (air ticket & visa) and transport of your personal effects; Mission of more than 12 months: a child allowance of 100\u20ac per month, per child (from the second child) paid in the field; open to couples: Support travel costs (air ticket & visa) for accompanying dependent and health/ repatriation insurance if the dependent has no income;Payment of one yearly additional return flight;  open to families: Family package: a child allowance of 100\u20ac per month, per child (from the second child) paid in the field;Contribution to school registration fees for children over 3 years; Family-wide health coverage;Payment for travel costs (air ticket & visa) and transport of your personal effects;

Housing:

Individual taken in charge by HI;

If you are resident in the country: local package.

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