Proposal and Business Development Officer (Entry Level at Data Lead Africa

Role Summary

• We are seeking a highly motivated Proposal and Business Development Officer to support the identification of funding opportunities and the development of high-quality, winning proposals. The successful candidate will contribute to technical proposal writing, budget development, opportunity tracking, client engagement, and proposal coordination.
• A key performance indicator (KPI) for this role is the successful development of competitive proposals that result in project awards and organizational growth.

Key Responsibilities

Proposal Development

• Lead the development of high-quality technical and financial proposals in response to Expressions of Interest (EOIs), Requests for Proposals (RFPs), Terms of Reference (ToRs), and grant opportunities.
• Review solicitation documents and develop compliant proposal responses.
• Draft technical approaches, methodologies, work plans, staffing plans, and organizational capability statements.
• Prepare proposal budgets, budget justifications, and budget narratives, ensuring alignment with project activities, donor requirements, and organizational capacity.
• Coordinate proposal submissions and ensure adherence to donor requirements and deadlines.

Business Development

• Identify and track funding opportunities from donors, NGOs, government agencies, and development partners.
• Maintain an updated pipeline of opportunities and submission deadlines.
• Support organizational positioning and partnership development efforts.
• Coordinate meetings, presentations, and interviews related to proposal opportunities.

Research and Technical Support

• Contribute to the design of research, monitoring and evaluation, and learning projects.
• Support the development of research methodologies and M&E frameworks in proposals.
• Facilitate training sessions and bootcamp modules related to research methodology and monitoring and evaluation when required.

Reporting and Coordination

• Maintain proposal development trackers and business development reports.
• Document lessons learned from proposal submissions and project wins.
• Provide regular updates to the Program Manager on opportunities, submissions, and outcomes.

Requirements

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Social Sciences, Statistics, Economics, Development Studies, Public Health, International Development, Business Administration, or a related field.
• NYSC Completion Certificate or Exemption Certificate.

Experience

• 1-3 years of relevant experience in proposal writing, business development, research, monitoring and evaluation, or related fields.
• Demonstrated experience contributing to or writing proposals that resulted in project awards is highly desirable.

Skills and Competencies

• Excellent proposal and report-writing skills.
• Strong understanding of research methodology and monitoring and evaluation concepts.
• Ability to develop technical proposals and project budgets.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple deadlines and work independently.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Added Advantage

•  Applicants who can provide evidence of successful proposal contributions will have an added advantage.  

• Familiarity with any of the following tools will be an advantage: STATA, NVivo, XLSForm.

Additional Requirement

• Applicants must be resident in Abuja and available to work onsite.