BACKGROUND:

CARE seeks a world of hope, inclusion, and social justice, where poverty has been overcome and all people live in dignity and security. CARE places a particular emphasis on women and girls and their dignity, empowering them to lead their communities out of poverty. In 2020, CARE worked in 104 countries, reaching 90 million people through more than 1,300 programs with an annual budget of $650 million. Every single one of those 90 million people has a story of resilience, community, strength, and hope—all things that bind us together, across every corner of the globe.

In Sierra Leone and Liberia, CARE staff and partners work tirelessly to save lives and address the root causes of poverty and social injustice through advocacy, partnerships, system strengthening, and programming in impact areas of Gender Equality and Women’s Economic Justice; Health; Humanitarian Assistance; Right to Food, Nutrition, and Water; and Climate Justice.

CARE’s Sierra Leone & Liberia Country Office is seeking an experienced and dynamic Program Development Advisor to lead funding cultivation efforts in both Liberia and Sierra Leone. Reporting to the Assistant Country Director of Program Quality and collaborating closely with the Country Director and Senior Management Team, the Program Development Advisor will coordinate relationships across internal CARE funding offices and teams, gather funding information, build in-country donor and stakeholder relationships, track and update resource mobilization plans and strategies, design and write proposals, and lead after-action reviews for proposal processes. The ideal candidate will not only possess relevant experience but will also be highly motivated, capable of rapid learning, and able to demonstrate tangible results.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Coordinate relationships across internal CARE funding offices and teams to identify opportunities for funding and partnerships, both within CARE and through external relationships held by CARE’s offices.
• Gather funding intel from various sources to inform resource development.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with donors and stakeholders in Sierra Leone and Liberia.
• Represent CARE in meetings, presentations, and informal settings with donors, government, partners, and other key stakeholders.
• Track, update, and execute resource mobilization plans and strategies; manage pipeline tracker.
• Design and write compelling concept notes, proposals, and donor cultivation materials in English.
• Collaborate across departments (program technical leads, MEAL, finance, HR, etc.) when developing concept notes and proposals, including technical approaches, budgets, and results frameworks.
• Lead after-action reviews for proposal processes to identify lessons learned and areas for improvement.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree required, Master’s degree preferred.
• Exceptional English writing, speaking, and presentation skills.
• Proven ability to influence stakeholders and negotiate win-win outcomes.
• Fast learner with the ability to understand new information rapidly via written sources and oral conversations
• Strong interpersonal skills; able to connect easily with people from diverse backgrounds, cultures, experiences.
• Team player with a humble attitude; able to get strong results but give credit to your team.
• Keen logic and common sense; can review a document to spot logic problems and correct them.
• Self-motivated and thrives in a fast-paced, high-performance environment.
• Invites feedback and coaching to continuously improve. Knows how to share feedback with others in ways that motivate them to also improve performance.
• Experience designing and writing successful funding proposals to diverse donors.
• Programming experience in one or more development sectors (e.g. health, nutrition, food security, agriculture, education, protection, etc.)

Women candidates strongly encouraged to apply.

We will be reviewing resumes for these roles on a continuous basis until the position is filled. If you are selected as a candidate, a member of our team will reach out to you to start the recruitment process. Thank you for your interest in CARE Sierra Leone.