Programme funding officer, Southern Africa

We are working with partners across Central and Southern Africa on programmes that are addressing a range of issues, from conflict and governance to food insecurity and HIV. You’ll lead the funding work for all of these sectors.

This will involve getting a real grassroots understanding of our work, identifying potential donors, preparing funding applications and managing a range of complex technical and financial reporting. You’ll spend time with programme teams across the region to develop your knowledge of priority areas, which will mean travelling regularly across the region for up to 30 days a year. It will then be down to you to translate that into successful proposals that improve the funding capacity of our NGO partners and country offices. We’ll expect you to identify funding opportunities for this region with institutional donors and governments and build the kind of positive relationships that will enable you to leverage those opportunities.

It’s essential that you are fluent in written and spoken English and have experience of preparing reports and proposals for donors such as the EC, ECHO, DFID and UN. We’ll expect you to demonstrate a proven success at securing funds as well as experience of narrative and financial reporting. Your background will have given you a real understanding of development issues and chances are you’ll also have a relevant degree and some field experience in high-risk, high-security contexts. On top of your excellent communication and presentation skills, you’ll be highly numerate and have a real analytical ability. You’ll be the kind of person who has the knowledge, qualities and skills to be a real influence on this area and someone who’s a great addition to any team.

More than half the world lives in poverty. We aim to put a stop to that. So we campaign against the inequalities that keep people poor and we work with local organisations to give people strength to find their own solutions to the problems they face, irrespective of their religion. If you’re as determined as we are to end poverty and injustice across the world, work with us to make change happen.

Please show your suitability for this post by addressing the criteria identified in the role profile. In particular please answer the following four competency-based questions. Using the guidance notes may help you formulate your answers. Concentrate on experiences that directly relate to you and please note that the result need not have been positive as we appreciate that our best intentions do not always result in positive results.

Writing skills

Please describe a time when you had to adapt your writing style to communicate ideas and ensure that information and messages were understood by a particular audience.

Initiative

Please describe a time when you had to deal with a situation or issue proactively and persistently, and how you dealt with that situation.

Decision making

Please describe the last time you had to make an important decision when delivering a project or assignment, and how you made that decision.

Planning and organizing

Describe a specific project or activity in which you had to identify tasks and set priorities for others. Tell us how you went about planning and organizing so that the group would reach the goal.

We value the contribution each person makes to the success of our organisation, so you can expect a range of rewards and benefits that will ensure you enjoy a good work/life balance.

This post will be based in Harare, Zimbabwe and is a national position without expatriate benefits. Also, kindly note that you might be required to obtain a work permit if you are not a Zimbabwean national.

Download the role profile (30 KB pdf)

To apply for this post, please download an application pack and email your completed International application form to: zimbabwerecruit@christian-aid.org quoting the reference number below.

Please note that CVs will not be accepted.

Job reference: ZIM/PFO–112/JO

Closing date: 4pm, Thursday 15 September 2011

Interview date: Week commencing 3 October 2011

Christian Aid values diversity and aspires to reflect this in our workforce. We welcome applications from people from all sections of the community, irrespective of race, colour, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief.