Reports to: Senior Associate, Partnerships (line manager)

Schedule: Full time, Mon-Thurs. (REMOTE)

Travel: Occasional travel within the region, and internationally

Job Level: 2

About the Open Mapping Hub – West & Northern Africa (WNAH)

The WNAH is one of four regional open mapping hubs opened in March 2022, powered by the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team. The purpose of the WNAH is to serve the OpenStreetMap movement in the West and Northern Africa region, providing decentralized support and services to the OpenStreetMap movement; powering the evolution and growth of OpenStreetMap data and community ecosystems in the region and maximizing the impact of both for improved humanitarian and social impact.

About the Role

The Fundraising Assistant provides support to the Partnership lead in HOT-WNAH relationship building approaches and efforts to successfully secure funding from donors such as governments, multilateral institutions (World Bank, UN agencies), government agencies (USAID, GAC, SIDA), multi-donor/pooled funds, as well as foundations, partners and individuals donors. In a prospective approach, she or he will also seize the opportunities that arise to raise funds in order to advance the regional work of HOT to contribute to global goals and those of our impact areas.

The incumbent will contribute to develop and execute the fundraising strategy and operational plan of the Regional Hub. S/he will support the Partnership, Senior Associate in successfully competing for funding opportunities, responding to those opportunities with a quality process & product, and building and maintaining an effective business development system of tools, processes, and capacities across the hub. This position is focused in the WNA Hub with a role to cover the 24 countries of the Hub. It will also support the fundraise team work.

Responsibilities

• Support identification, positioning, and capture strategies for funding opportunities:
  • Contribute to build and develop a fundraising strategy with clear implementation plan for WNAH to reach fundraising objectives;
  • Identify, research, and track institutional, foundations, governmental among others funding opportunities that are a match with HOT’s global goals, impact areas and regional mission – particularly timely and relevant request for proposals (RFPs) and calls for proposals;
  • Map and identify funding opportunities from foundations, institutions, partners, individuals, etc. with interest in the region in collaboration with the fundraising team;
  • Vet and filter funding opportunities based on value and relevance in terms of alignment with HOT organizational program work and capacity to expedite the project;
  • Remain up-to-date and informed on the latest trends and opportunities in the institutional donor community, the foundations, partners and individuals, staying abreast of institutions standards, (and other key institutional donor) regulatory environments and priorities within the region;
  • Support building and strengthening relationships with and knowledge of partner organizations and represent HOT-WNAH effectively in teaming and negotiations as well as relevant networks when it is necessary;
  • Proactively contribute on discussions with partner organizations on consortium participation;
  • Participate in meetings and strategic discussions with fundraising team to improve and optimize the effectiveness of relations development with donors and communities;
  • Support the cultivation and development of a WNA Partnerships strategy. Support the validation of the financial reports for fundraising and financial reconciliation;
• Support the Coordination process for proposal development/grant writing, submission and follow up:
  • Draft/ support the drafting, review, edit and coordination in writing the final version of proposals, in collaboration with fundraising team and WNAH , Partnership, Programs and Finance team to ensure alignment with internal procedures;
  • Support the management and the development of complex proposals involving many partners and coordinate contributions from all partners including guiding areas of collaboration and budget discussions. This role works in close collaboration with the Partnership Team to identify partners that could be a fit for collective grant applications;
  • Support on drafting Letters of Support in consortia, and responding to needs and requests from lead organizations on proposal support documentation;
  • Liaise and coordinate with people and teams globally and cross-hub to request and manage key contributions to FR proposals;
  • Follow up on applications submitted and responses received, including requesting feedback from donors on the result of the application and sharing learning from this feedback for future opportunities.
• Manage relationships with donors:
  • Work closely with the WNAH team to develop fundraising strategies and tactics, based on projects developed, partner relationships, communication tools and impacts achieved;
  • Coordinate current reporting requirements, working closely with project managers to ensure reports due are timely and high-quality delivered;
  • Serve as the regional Fundraising point of contact for main current and potential donors to better understand their strategic priorities, identify potential alignments with HOT-WNAH and advance open mapping agenda;
  • Work with the HOT-WNAH team to cultivate relationships with the focal points at the local/regional/project level.
• People management:
  • Supporting the Senior Partnership Associate, and implementing day-to-day tasks as assigned;
  • Supporting the cultivation and development of a WNA Partnerships strategy in collaboration with the Senior Partnerships Associate;
  • Assisting the Senior Partnerships Associate in the overall planning, construction, management and maintenance of the HOT/WNAH supporter database system; in collaboration with the Communications and Tech & Data departments;
  • Assisting the Snr. Partnerships Associate in supporting database integration systems and external systems, including e-marketing, petition websites, CTI systems, etc;
  • Supporting the Senior Partnerships Associate to exploit the data analysis and operational reporting.
• Other responsibilities and duties as required.

Essential

• Care deeply about the mission: passionate about humanitarian & development work demonstrated through prior professional experiences,
• A minimum of 3 (ideally 5+) years working directly with institutional and individual donors in the West & Northern Africa region, and with a strong personal network relating to the position,
• Experience in fundraising for NGOs,
• Good knowledge of open data ecosystem
• Experience in fundraising for disaster response, or relief projects which relied on donors to be successful,
• Experience in searching for grant opportunities, developing, submitting and following up on successful proposals,
• University or college degree in international development, International relations, sociology, data science, GIS, law or equivalent length work experience in related fields,
• Good interpersonal skills, and ability to develop effective relationships online and in person,
• Independent, self-driven, and organized,
• Attention to detail, analytical, and problem-solving skills,
• Excellent written and verbal communication,
• Fluent in written and spoken English,
• A good knowledge of French would be a considerable asset.

Desirable

• 1-2 years community or professional experience in OpenStreetMap
• Fluency in another language from the West & Northern Africa Region (French, Hausa, Yoruba, Arabic, Portuguese, etc)

Compensation and Benefits

HOT also offers:

• Fully remote & flexible work arrangements
• Flexible public holidays
• Paid time off
• Home Office Allowance
• Healthy Staff allowance or group plan
• Learning & Development Opportunities
• Book Stipend
• Collaborating with a fast-growing, dedicated team who values humanitarianism, free, open-source, and accessible data

Equal Opportunity

We seek to recruit persons that reflect the diversity of the communities we work with and further, to support their retention and advancement within the organization. HOT does not discriminate on the basis of ability, age, gender identity and expression, national origin, race and ethnicity, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation. Our staff includes people who are parents and nonparents, the self-taught and university educated, and from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds, lived experiences, and perspectives on the world. HOT is an equal opportunity employer. We seek to live our values and promote inclusivity in all locations. All of our staff work collectively and individually to promote a constructive and sensitive approach to others from a variety of backgrounds, where the work of all is valued and respected.

HOT is committed to diversity within our team, and recognizes our role in closing the digital divide, including identifying obstacles that certain groups face in developing skills needed for roles in the humanitarian & technology sectors. Women, nationals of developing countries, and members of other underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply.

To Apply

Please complete the application before the deadline. Your CV/resume should not exceed 2 pages.