Specialist II, Education and Proposal Management

About the role

ChildFund is hiring a Specialist II, Education and Proposal Management for its Africa Region, based at the Nairobi office. The role leads and supports the development of high-quality, donor-ready proposals and technical documents for education programming across Africa, combining proposal management and coordination skills with technical expertise in education. It contributes to identifying funding opportunities, developing competitive proposals, strengthening the education approach across country offices and building strategic partnerships in the education sector.

Key responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate proposal development for education funding opportunities, acting as proposal lead and coordinator and managing inputs from program, education, finance, grants, compliance and country office teams
• Develop proposal workplans, calendars, review timelines and submission checklists, and maintain proposal templates, reusable content, capability statements and past performance references
• Document lessons learned from submissions and apply feedback to improve future proposals
• Coordinate concept notes, expressions of interest and full proposals for education opportunities across Africa
• Provide technical leadership on proposals, ensuring evidence-based, contextually relevant submissions aligned with regional education priorities, and guide education specialists and country teams on outcomes, indicators, activities and learning questions
• Analyze donor trends and priorities, and support strategic relationships with donors, partners and education stakeholders
• Support country offices in donor engagement planning, opportunity positioning, partnership development and business development capacity strengthening
• Collaborate with country offices to strengthen education programme design and proposal quality, share knowledge and practice, and mentor country office staff

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in Education, International Development, Social Sciences or a related field; Master's degree preferred
• At least 5-7 years of progressively responsible experience in education programming, education technical advisory or related roles in international development
• Demonstrated experience coordinating education proposals, concept notes, technical narratives and donor-facing materials
• Proven experience in donor engagement, fundraising, business development or partnership development within the education sector
• Experience supporting education initiatives across multiple African countries and working with country offices and external partners
• Current residence and work authorization in one of the eligible countries (Ethiopia, Guinea, Gambia, Kenya, Mozambique, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zambia)

Required skills

• Strong understanding of education programming in Africa, including quality improvement, teaching and learning practices, equitable opportunities and learning outcomes
• Knowledge of major education donors and funding mechanisms in Africa (bilateral, multilateral, foundation and corporate)
• Proposal management, coordination of cross-functional teams and meeting tight deadlines