Donor Communications Manager (Proposals)

Position Overview

The Manager, Donor Communications is a senior proposal writer and project lead responsible for developing high-quality proposals and reports for institutional, corporate, foundation, government, and high-net-worth donors.

Responsibilities

• Lead the writing and project management of complex, high-value proposals and donor reports for institutional, corporate, foundation, government, and high-net-worth individual donors.
• Manage proposal development processes from kickoff through submission, including timelines, workflows, responsibilities, and review cycles.
• Develop compelling donor narratives, including program approaches, theories of change, implementation plans, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) components.
• Cook up proposal development across Programs, Finance, Research/MEL, Operations, and Development teams to ensure cohesive, donor-ready submissions.
• Facilitate review processes with senior leadership, technical experts, and country teams; incorporate feedback into final deliverables.
• Ensure all submissions comply with donor requirements, formatting guidelines, and internal quality standards.
• Manage external grant writers, editors, and consultants as needed to support proposal and report deliverables.

Content & Process Improvement

• Build and maintain proposal templates, boilerplate language, technical content libraries, and donor-facing resources.
• Develop and improve systems, tools, and workflows that streamline proposal and reporting processes across global teams.
• Contribute to internal guidance materials, trainings, and documentation related to proposal development.
• Provide coaching, mentorship, and quality assurance support to colleagues contributing to donor communications.

Strategic Proposal Leadership

• Review funding opportunities (RFPs) to assess strategic fit, eligibility, competitiveness, and compliance requirements.
• Provide recommendations and go/no-go input to leadership on major funding opportunities.
• Advise relationship managers and internal teams on proposal strategy, positioning, and win themes for major bids.
• Support development of competitive funding strategies for complex donor opportunities.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Stakeholder Management

• Partner closely with relationship managers, technical teams, finance staff, and leadership throughout the proposal development process.
• Collaborate effectively with geographically dispersed teams across multiple regions and time zones.
• Maintain strong communication and coordination with internal and external stakeholders to support successful submissions.

Qualifications

• Minimum 7 years of experience in grant writing, donor communications, or proposal development within an NGO, INGO, or international development organization.
• Demonstrated success leading and securing complex 6- and 7-figure grants from institutional, bilateral, multilateral, corporate, and foundation donors, with preferred experience developing proposals for institutions such as U.S. Government, FCDO, GAC, World Bank, or similar.
• Prominent experience managing complex proposal development processes involving cross-functional global teams, multiple stakeholders, and competing deadlines.
• Strong writing skills, with the ability to translate complex education and development concepts into compelling narratives for a wide range of donors.
• Strong understanding of donor compliance requirements for major grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements.
• Experience mentoring, coaching, or managing the work of colleagues, consultants, or external writers.
• Strong project management, organizational, and stakeholder management skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, Salesforce or similar CRM systems, digital workflow tools, and AI-assisted writing tools used to improve productivity and quality.
• Strong communication and intercultural collaboration skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in international development, communications, journalism, public policy, or a related field.
• Familiarity with education, literacy, and/or gender equality programming.
• Experience working with teams and programs across Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and/or the Middle East.

We Offer

• The salary range for this role is $86,000 to $97,000. Compensation may vary depending on several factors including, but not limited to, experience, skill set, and relevant education or certifications.
• Benefits include: 100% employer-paid premiums for your medical, dental, and vision coverage, 50% medical and 100% dental and vision premium coverage for eligible dependents, 22 days of PTO (+1 additional day accrued each year up to 27 days), 12.5 paid holidays, immediate enrollment in a 401(k) plan with up to a 6% match, $600/yr allowance for home office, Certified Great Place to Work.