Business Development Director, Bilateral Donors – Africa

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION:

KickStart International (KickStart) is an innovative, 501c3 non-profit, social enterprise with a mission to help millions of people in Africa escape poverty by promoting sustainable employment creation and economic growth. KickStart works by designing very low micro-irrigation pumps, and mass marketing them to very poor, but entrepreneurial African men and women, who buy them and use them to establish profitable small-scale family businesses.

To date, over 125,000 families in Africa have created profitable farming businesses, lifting more than 625,000 people out of poverty, and generating more than $105 Million in new profits and wages each year.

KickStart has been recognized and has won many international prizes/accolades. Some of these include:

• Awarded the 1^st ever U.S. State Department’s Secretary’s Innovation Award for the Empowerment of Women & Girls, 2012
• Ranked #64 by the Global Journal “Top 100 Best NGOs in the World”, 2012
• Named one of Forbes 2011 “30 Top Social Entrepreneurs”
• The Lemelson-MIT Prize for Sustainability, 2008
• The Peter F. Drucker Award for NonProfit Innovation, 2008
• Fast Company Magazine’s ‘Social Capitalist’ Award 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

ABOUT THE POSITION:

KickStart is seeking an experienced business development/fundraising professional to expand and manage its donor development & fundraising activities across Africa. The Business Development Director, Africa will be responsible for generating new revenue from government and multilateral funding agencies and private contractors/implementation companies initially. Over time, it would include new revenue from foundations and individuals based in Africa. This person will manage the development team in Africa. This position will work in close cooperation with the fundraising team based in the US and will report to KickStart’s Chief Development & Partnership Officer.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Organizational Development and Strategic Planning

• Generate and execute KickStart’s government fundraising strategy and objectives, designing a detailed fundraising plan and ensuring key performance indicators are met
• Manage, mentor, and increase the capacity of the fundraising team in Africa
• Develop, implement and refine key fundraising process and procedures unique to the fundraising environment in Africa

Development Leadership

• Work closely with KickStart’s development, management and program teams in the US and Africa to lead and manage government funding concepts/proposals from start to finish, including conceptualizing programs, developing budgets, writing proposals and reports, managing implementation and reporting on results
• Research and apply for new funding opportunities from government related funders, US government agencies (e.g., USAID missions), bilateral donors (e.g., local embassy missions), and multilateral agencies (e.g., World Bank/International Finance Corporation, African Development Bank)
• Identify and secure opportunities for KickStart to provide its services (e.g., MoneyMaker irrigation pumps, supply chain development, training, etc.) to projects worldwide, as lead and/or subcontractor
• Act as the key point of contact for major grants and manage government-related donor reporting requirements.

External Relations

• Represent KickStart at Africa based meetings and public forums related to its mission and programs (e.g., development aid, job creation, technology, agriculture, food security)
• Initiate and maintain strong, ongoing partnerships with relevant community, including governmental consultants, other non-governmental and non-profit organizations , and for-profit corporations to collaborate on government funding proposals
• Build strong public-private partnerships and actively cultivate and manage relationships with program staff at bilateral, USAID and multilateral funding agencies

CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS:

Candidates should possess the following:

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree preferred
• Knowledge of international development and/or international agriculture and rural development
• 10+ years of experience and proven success in seeking funding from institutional funders, bilateral donors, US government and multilateral funding agencies
• Experience living and working in Sub-Saharan Africa or in a developing country in another part of the world

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Exceptional communication skills, both written and verbal (e.g.: public speaking, presentations, correspondence, proposals and reports), including compelling, clear, succinct and jargon-free writing abilities
• Strategic thinker. Able to create vision and strategic plans for fundraising in Africa.
• Hands-on. Detailed oriented to implement plans and achieve results
• Self-motivated. Must be able to work effectively in a start-up environment.
• Entrepreneurial. Must be able to create systems and processes from scratch.
• Team oriented and able to work effectively with cross-functional teams
• Sophistication and poise, with the intellectual depth and maturity to work with executives, staff, government officials and other leaders
• Charisma, able to articulate KickStart’s mission and programs to inspire across multiple formats (e.g., in-person meetings, phone and video conference)
• Flexibility and creativity, exhibiting determination while maintaining respect for others’ concerns
• Emotional maturity and a good sense of humor
• Strong computer skills – Microsoft Office, Internet, ERP systems. Plus demonstrated competency working with and developing budgets using Excel
• Commitment to KickStart’s mission, purpose and values, and to its methodology, history, culture, programs and constituencies
• Foreign language skills (French, Portuguese, and/or Swahili) a plus
• Willingness to travel (estimated at 25%), including internationally

Position requires travel and working on weekends, early in the morning or late in the evening as necessary for donor events and meetings and/or to collaborate with colleagues in Africa and the United States.

Please e-mail your application to info@kickstart.org by August 15, 2012. Please type "Business Development Director-Afirca" in the subject line of your e-mail application.