Institutional Partnerships Manager

Institutional Partnerships Manager

Location: Hybrid role based in East Africa; must be in Nairobi, Kenya; Kampala, Uganda; Kigali, Rwanda; or Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Reports to: Senior Director of Institutional Partnerships

Direct Reports: none

About Village Enterprise

Village Enterprise’s mission is to end extreme poverty in rural Africa through entrepreneurship, innovation, and collective action. With a bold vision of lifting 20 million people out of extreme poverty by 2030, we are scaling our impact not only through direct implementation but increasingly through partnerships with governments, multilaterals, and NGOs.

Our FY25–27 strategy positions Village Enterprise as a leader in embedding graduation programs into national systems, driving climate resilience and gender equity, and pioneering innovative financing like results-based funding. To succeed, we need transformational partnerships and a strong institutional funding base.

Position Summary

The Institutional Partnerships Manager will manage and grow a portfolio of institutional funders—foundations, corporations, bilaterals, and multilaterals—supporting Village Enterprise’s expansion across East Africa. 

Reporting to the Senior Director of Institutional Partnerships, this role is responsible for moving qualified opportunities through the pipeline: shaping concepts, leading proposal development, coordinating with country and technical teams, and ensuring high-quality submissions and strong donor relationships. The role will also support senior leadership by translating program strategy into compelling donor value propositions and helping orchestrate effective senior-level donor engagement.

This is a hands-on role for a strong writer, relationship manager, and project manager who can turn promising ideas into funded programs.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of institutional donors across foundations, bilaterals, and multilaterals, with a strong focus on East Africa–based programs in graduation, climate resilience, gender, and systems change—serving as day-to-day relationship manager from early engagement through award.
• Support donor cultivation and opportunity development by proactively engaging with senior leadership— preparing leaders for funder interactions, developing high-quality briefing materials, tracking follow-ups and commitments, and driving clear next steps to shape fundable program concepts. 
• Prepare core fundraising materials such as pitch decks, donor briefs, and concept notes to support proactive outreach and partnership development.
• Lead proposal development—from early-stage narrative framing (EOIs, concept notes, and donor briefs) through full proposal writing, budgeting, and submission—ensuring clear roles, strong internal alignment, and high-quality, competitive proposals.
• Translate technical and financial inputs into compelling, funder-ready narratives, working closely with Programs, MEL, and Finance to integrate evidence, learning, and implementation reality into every submission.
• Track opportunities, contacts, and proposal stages in Salesforce, ensuring data quality and supporting accurate pipeline reporting and forecasting.
• Work closely with the Senior Grants Coordinator to ensure smooth handoff from proposal to award and through reporting, maintaining continuity, compliance, and strong donor experience across the full grant lifecycle.
• Contribute to team planning and learning by flagging pipeline risks, donor feedback, and emerging funding opportunities to the Senior Director.

Qualifications

• 5-7 years of experience in institutional fundraising, partnerships, or business development in international development, humanitarian, or social impact sectors.
• Demonstrated experience drafting and leading proposals (concept notes, EOIs, and full proposals), not just coordinating inputs from others.
• Proven ability to work effectively with senior leaders — managing up, anticipating needs, and supporting relationship-driven fundraising in complex environments.
• Exceptional writing and editing skills, with the ability to turn complex technical content into clear, compelling donor language.
• Strong analytical and CRM skills (Salesforce or equivalent).
• Comfort operating in ambiguity, across time zones, and with multiple senior stakeholders.
• Bachelor’s degree required.