Job details

West Africa and Sahel BD and Partnership Director

Heifer International is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender identify, sexual orientation, age, status as a protected veteran, among other things, or status as a qualified individual with disability.

The Organization

Since 1944, Heifer International has supported more than 46 million Smallholder Farmer (SHF) families globally in lifting themselves out of hunger and poverty while caring for the earth, in partnership with the communities we serve, including youth and women. Heifer International is now accelerating its strategic approaches to closing the Sustainable Living Income (SLI) gap for 10 million additional SHF households globally by 2030.

Function

The West Africa and Sahel Business Development & Partnership Director is responsible for developing and driving the business development strategy for Heifer in West Africa and the Sahel, with the aim of growing funding and partnerships across the sub-regions. The role holder is tasked with developing sub-regional collaborations, engagements, linkages, relationships, and partnerships with institutional funders, governments, and critical private sector strategic partners to support the effective and efficient delivery of signature programming and contribute to Heifer’s overall vision in Africa, which is to end poverty and hunger while caring for the earth.

The role holder must have extensive knowledge and practical experience working in a highly competitive donor environment. The role holder should also have strong technical knowledge of the signature programming framework (data analysis, market systems analysis, access to finance, value chain analysis, and co-designing/co-creation), as well as other agricultural development and financing of value chain interventions that will improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.

This role will be based in either Nigeria or Senegal.

Responsibilities & Deliverables

A. Donor and Partnership Development (25%)

Cultivate, build, and develop donor relationships driving business development (BD) and partnerships in the sub-regions to promote strategic partnership, relationship, coordination, and collaboration with institutional donors, foundations, corporations, philanthropies, strategic partners, governments, the private sector, public sector, etc., to increase funds for Heifer in the sub-regions in Africa, in alignment with the 2030 targets and in support of signature programming and Heifer’s global and Africa strategic framework and objectives.
Develop and manage relationships with key Tier 1 foundations and institutional funders in the sub-regions, as well as government and private sector strategic partners in the agricultural sector.
Identify and close on strategic funding opportunities that will help fund Heifer's signature programs (SPs) in the sub-regions.

B. Strategic Planning and Execution (10%)

Work and coordinate with the Senior BD and Partnership Director to develop the sub-regions’ strategic priorities, work plans, and budgets, and submit them for review and consideration by the Senior BD and Partnership Director for final approval by the Senior Vice President (SVP) – Africa Programs.
Plan with the Senior BD and Partnership Director, BD team members including the BD Operations Manager, Senior Livestock Development Expert, Policy and Partnerships Leads, and the respective Country Directors (CDs) in the sub-regions for annual revenue generation/resources mobilization for the given fiscal year and beyond.
Develop/update Heifer's sub-regional business development and fundraising strategy in coordination with the Senior BD and P Director, and CDs, and in collaboration with global BD and Partnership leaders.
Lead the execution and delivery of Heifer Africa’s BD and fundraising strategy in the sub-regions with the respective country leadership and teams, in collaboration with and under the direction of the Senior BD & P Director for Africa.

C. Coordination and Collaboration (15%)

Coordinate and collaborate with the Senior BD & P Director and CDs in the sub-regions on opportunities identification, intelligence, and information for better capture strategies, to assist in quality pre-positioning, positioning, and pursuit efforts on strategic opportunities to present competitive, compelling, responsive, and winning proposals and concept note submissions.
Participate in various coordination and collaboration sessions with Heifer Africa Communications, Knowledge Management, MELs, etc., to enhance support and contribute to developing pitching materials, briefing materials, country briefs, lessons learned, etc., for BD in the sub-regions.
Contribute to the organization of and/or participate in regular pipeline meetings, conferences, workshops, and field visits as needed; contribute to building collaborations and partnerships.
Proactively engage and take part in Heifer Africa’s regional weekly BD meetings and regularly update/engage with the Senior BD&P Director.

D. Capacity Building and Process Improvement (15%)

Coordinate and collaborate on strategic capacity building plans and opportunities with the Senior BD & P and BD Operations Manager for online, offline, and virtual training towards the capacity building of CDs and their teams in BD and partnerships.
Work with the Senior BD&P Director, Senior Livestock Development Expert, and country leadership/teams for co-designs/co-creation opportunities with IFAD/World Bank/AfDB – governments, SIDA, NOARD, BMGF, Mastercard Foundation, etc., which offer co-design opportunities for quality planning and execution of co-design processes.
Work with the Senior BD & P Director, the BD Operations Manager, and country leadership teams in the sub-regions to annually update the Heifer BD processes in coordination with the HQ Proposal Design Hub team.

E. Risk Management and Reporting (5%)

Review the Heifer Africa risk exposure of the BD department and the mitigation actions in collaboration and coordination with the Africa BD&P Senior Director, together with and in consultation with CDs in the sub-regions; prepare the sub-regional BD risk register and risk mitigation strategies.
Provide regular updates to the Senior BD & P Director on the sub-region’s BD and partnership function.
In coordination with the Senior BD & P Director, update the Heifer Africa Pipeline for the sub-region regularly and align it with the version maintained by the Africa BD pipeline and HQ BD and Partnership team.

F. Proposal Design and Submission (15%)

Coordinate and work with the opportunities design team members as a team member in the assignment of the design team’s roles and responsibilities during design kick-off meetings: Strategic Proposal Lead, Proposal Coordinator, Cost Proposal Lead, Cost Quality Assurance Lead, Proposal Quality Lead, Opportunity Response Lead, Staffing Requirement Lead, MEL Lead, Analytics Lead, Program representation inputs, etc., for the proper design of proposals and concept note submissions to donors.

G. Government and Private Sector Engagement (10%)

Coordinate and collaborate with the sub-regional Policy and Partnership Leads to build strategic relationships, collaboration, and partnerships with government agencies, civil society, private sector actors, bilateral and multilateral organizations to catalyze change and programs that contribute to Heifer’s strategic and operational decision-making.

H. Other Duties (5%)

Perform any other related duties as assigned by the Senior Business Development and Partnership Director – Africa Programs.

Minimum Requirements

Bachelor’s degree plus at least fifteen (15) years of job-related experience.
At least 5 years of experience in a management position supporting Business Development and Partnerships in West Africa and the Sahel.
Relevant experience in value chain development, agribusiness, business, agricultural economics, agribusiness financing, economics, food systems, and/or digital technologies for value chain development.
Experience in data analysis, market systems analysis, access to finance, value chain analysis, and co-designing.
Relevant experience in grant/proposal development, fundraising, and business development.
Public-private partnership experience and experience working on project partnerships with governments at a senior level of engagement.

Preferred Requirements

A relevant postgraduate degree (an MBA is desirable).
Experience working in multiple countries in West Africa and the Sahel.
Experience in a donor-funded international development environment with compliance requirements of the U.S. government and institutional funders for international development, such as USAID, EC, IFAD, World Bank, AfDB, FCDO, and mega-foundations such as the Mastercard Foundation, BMGF, and others.
Demonstrated experience in winning large-scale project proposals and practical co-design experience in the sub-region.

Most Critical Proficiencies

Effective communicator and influencer with the ability to clearly convey complex financial issues in a clear format for non-finance professionals, motivating continuous and collaborative improvement.
Ability to bring together diverse stakeholders to complete deals that are advantageous to smallholder farmers and the businesses supporting them.
Experience with investment analysis and appraisal of agribusiness financing opportunities.
Perceptive acuity in reading and interpreting the changing funding and financing landscape of agribusiness in West Africa and the Sahel.
Strong knowledge and experience working in the agribusiness space and strong expertise in agribusiness value chain development.
Familiarity with and experience in responding to requests for applications/proposals (RFA/RFP), calls for proposals, co-designs and co-creations exposure, indefinite quantity contracts, and task orders.
Existing relationships with potential partners in agribusiness in the sub-regions: West Africa and the Sahel.
Strong negotiation skills.
Strong marketing and selling skills.
Excellent analytical and writing skills.

Essential Job Functions and Physical Demands

Ability to work under pressure, perform multiple tasks, and manage consistently competing priorities, and be comfortable in a rapidly changing environment.
Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to work cooperatively, tactfully, strategically, and diplomatically with a culturally diverse group of people.
Ability to work in a highly matrixed environment and deliver through others.
Ability to maintain close relationships and work with team members from a distance with limited opportunities for personal interaction.
Constant face-to-face, electronic, and telephone communication with colleagues and the general public.
Willingness and ability to work with a flexible schedule and outside of normal business hours.
Ability and willingness to travel extensively, both domestically and internationally.
Ability to work with sensitive information and maintain confidentiality.

Key Behavioral Competencies