Business Development & Partnerships Officer

Overview

As a Business Development and Partnerships Officer at AFH, you will support the organisation''s sustainability and growth by contributing to institutional fundraising efforts, strengthening strategic partnerships, and enhancing AFH''s capacity to secure and manage donor funding. The role involves aligning with global offices to foster relationships with donors, partners, and stakeholders in support of AFH''s global objectives and projects. You will assist in maintaining donor relations, expanding funding opportunities, and facilitating communication between key stakeholders, including internal departments and field staff, as well as supporting collaboration with country offices, implementing partners, and programme managers. This role supports AFH''s safeguarding, ethical fundraising, and data protection policies and is essential in advancing the organisation''s development and partnership efforts to deliver humanitarian impact.Key Responsibilities

Strategic Donor Engagement and Partnerships: Support the cultivation and stewardship of relationships with a variety of donors and stakeholders, including institutional donors, UN agencies, INGOs, trusts, foundations, and private sector partners.Conduct donor and partner mapping and identify potential funding opportunities from bilateral, multilateral, philanthropic, and corporate sources.Contribute to the development of customized donor engagement plans and pitch materials in collaboration with the Communications and Programmes teams.Assist in coordinating donor meetings, preparing briefing notes, and ensuring timely follow-up and relationship tracking.Proposal Development and Grant Acquisition: Collaborate with country offices and technical teams to support the design and development of high-quality concept notes, proposals, and supporting documentation in response to donor opportunities.Coordinate internal workflows and inputs for multi-stakeholder or multi-country proposals, ensuring alignment with donor guidelines and internal standards.Provide technical inputs on proposal narratives, logframes, and budgets in close collaboration with Programme and Finance teams.Ensure all business development activities are carried out in alignment with AFH''s safeguarding, ethical fundraising, and data protection policies.Grant Management and Compliance: Support the grant lifecycle, including tracking deadlines, maintaining donor files, and ensuring compliance with internal policies and donor regulations.Monitor donor reporting requirements and support timely, high-quality narrative and financial submissions.Maintain an up-to-date tracking system for proposals, active grants, and reporting schedules, ensuring relevant teams are regularly updated.Partnership Development and Due Diligence: Assist in identifying, assessing, and onboarding new implementing and funding partners through structured due diligence and screening processes.Maintain and improve AFH''s partner database, ensuring accuracy of documentation related to MoUs, assessments, and compliance checklists.Support the development of tools and guidelines to enhance partner engagement and capacity strengthening.Knowledge Management and Learning: Contribute to after-action reviews and ensure lessons learned from proposal development and donor feedback are documented and shared across teams.Coordinate with Programmes and MEAL teams to integrate evidence, learning, and innovation into proposal and programme design.Participate in team learning initiatives and support the refinement of BD tools, templates, and processes.Cross-Team Collaboration and Reporting: Work closely with Finance, Programmes, and MEAL teams to ensure coordinated inputs on donor budgets, compliance, and programmatic strategy.Contribute to departmental reports, including grant updates, performance summaries, and Board/trustee reports.Participate in internal planning meetings and support additional assignments as required by the Head of Business Development and Partnerships or Senior Management.Contribute to cross-organisational initiatives and undertake additional duties as required, particularly in support of AFH''s strategic direction, partnership development, and institutional fundraising goals.Qualifications and Experience

Bachelor’s or master’s degree in development studies, Business Administration, or related field. Desirable: Certification in proposal writing, project management (e.g., PMD Pro, PRINCE2), or institutional fundraising.Experience: 3 years in a charity or similar role; experience developing proposals for public and private donors (desirable); experience in partnerships management (desirable); experience in grant lifecycle management, including proposal writing, donor reporting, and compliance monitoring.Exposure to donors such as FCDO, ECHO, USAID, UN agencies, and major foundations; familiarity with project design methods and tools (including assessments, logical frameworks, and work planning); knowledge of effective budgetary control and grant management.Excellent verbal and written communication skills; ability to organise and present information clearly; strong coordination and interpersonal skills, especially in multicultural and remote teams; strong analytical skills and experience in writing quality proposals and reports; ability to translate technical content into persuasive donor language.Knowledge of donor compliance regulations, particularly on partnership management; ability to problem-solve independently, meet tight deadlines, and adapt to changing priorities; team player with a positive, can-do attitude; comfortable with variable hours and occasional travel; proactive, independent, and collaborative work style; strong IT skills including Excel and Outlook.Languages: Fluent in English (verbal and written); knowledge of Arabic, Urdu, or French desirable.Additional Information

Here at Action For Humanity (AFH), we are looking for a Business Development and Partnerships Officer to join us at our International Office in Manchester. This is a full-time role with a competitive annual salary of £26 - 29k. AFH is an INGO that provides aid and assistance to people affected by disasters. Our vision is a crises-resilient world; our mission is to mobilise and respond to emergencies and critical needs through humanitarian, development and peace-building action, helping affected communities survive, recover and build a better ..... full job details .....