New Business and Proposal Development Specialist Consultant - Aden

We are working towards three breakthroughs in how the world treats children by 2030:

• No child dies from preventable causes before their 5th birthday 
• All children learn from a quality basic education and that,
• Violence against children is no longer tolerated 

We know that great people make a great organization, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children.  We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive workplace where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued. 

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

Save the Children International seeks to always be a child-safe organization by fulfilling its obligations to the community and through programme implementation carried out by the organization for safeguarding children and improve their living standards of the child.

Country office: Yemen

Reporting to: Resource Mobilization & Business Development Lead/Director

Location: TBC (remote work flexibility)

Duration: 6-7 months (extendable based on funding and performance)

Child Safeguarding

This role is classified as Child Safeguarding Level 3. Although the consultant will primarily work remotely or from the Aden office, the position will involve at least indirect contact with children and/or young people through program-related activities, data collection, communications, interviews, and advisory support. The consultant may also be responsible for tasks that influence or support child safeguarding processes, including reviewing safeguarding measures, contributing to risk assessments, or supporting vetting procedures for personnel involved in child‑related programming. As such, the consultant is expected to fully adhere to Save the Children's Child Safeguarding Policy and uphold the highest standards of child protection throughout the duration of their engagement.

Save the Children has worked in Yemen for over 60 years, reaching millions of children and families since its inception, including more than 11.7 million people since the conflict began in 2015. Using a rights-based, child-focused approach, the organisation delivers comprehensive support across child protection, education, health and nutrition, food security and livelihoods (FSL), and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). Its community-centred model priorities local leadership, inclusive participation, and meaningful engagement with children, adolescents, and their families, while promoting sustainability through locally driven solutions designed to create long-term impact.

The organisation maintains a strong operational presence in Internationally Recognized Government (IRG)-controlled areas such as Aden, Lahj, and Taiz, where humanitarian needs remain high alongside emerging development opportunities. A critical component of maintaining and expanding this programming is robust resource mobilization and new business development. Timely identification of funding opportunities, strategic donor engagement, and the development of high-quality proposals are essential to sustaining current programmes and scaling impactful initiatives across critical sectors.

To provide dedicated specialist support to the Country Office's Resource Mobilization and New Business Development functions, focusing on funding information management, liaison with all parts of the Save the Children Alliance, donor engagement, in-country partnership development, and the development of high-quality concept notes and proposals.

The New Business and Proposal Development Specialist will act as a focal person for new business and proposal development processes, supporting the delivery of resource mobilization functions with emphasis on donor relationship management, scoping and identification of new funding opportunities, and development and submission of concept notes and proposals. This assignment is intended to strengthen the Country Office's proposal development capacity and support pursuit of strategic funding opportunities aligned with Yemen programming priorities.

Responsibility 1: Identification, Planning and Donor Engagement (Approx. 25%)

• Work collaboratively with Country Office management, programme teams, and regional stakeholders on the identification of new funding opportunities
• Act as a focal person for in-country donors, scoping partnerships and funding opportunities; contribute to developing in-country donor relation management plans
• Assess and analyse solicitations, outline solicitations, and facilitate the decision-making process (Go-no-Go) in collaboration with relevant stakeholders
• Prepare management for donor meetings with the necessary required information and documents, including strategic briefings, context developments, and talking points on new opportunities
• Attend in-country relevant external meetings, building networks with partners and identifying opportunities for strategic partnerships
• Conduct donor mappings, capturing insights on donor thematic and geographic priorities, volumes of funding, and potential opportunities

Responsibility 2: Proposal Development and Writing (Approx. 50%)

• Act as a focal person and co-lead in proposal development processes, ensuring the use and monitoring of a proposal development plan with defined timelines and tools
• Serve as co-lead writer in the proposal writing process, in accordance with donor and Save the Children standard procedures and requirements
• Form the Proposal Development Team and conduct technical design consultations, kicking off the proposal development process with a plan, timeline, tools, and required documents
• Develop technical narratives by collecting and integrating contributions from technical sections, organization specialists, partners and stakeholders
• Act as an editor, proof-reader and perform a lead role in the consolidation of all technical and managerial inputs, plans, annexures etc. required for the proposal
• Ensure the development of high-quality concept notes and proposals through facilitation of collaboration and sign-off from the design team, Country Office leadership, and other relevant stakeholders
• Ensure that technical documents and materials are in alignment with donor requirements and procedures and are in line with the cost proposal
• Participate in technical reviews and revise narrative sections according to the plan and based on feedback during review meetings
• Contribute to ensuring cross-cutting issues are addressed and thematic areas are integrated according to Save the Children's quality standards

Responsibility 3: Coordination and Communication (Approx. 15%)

• Lead in problem-solving of issues during the proposal development process, bringing all parties together and finding constructive solutions to complex time-sensitive issues
• Assist in maintaining internal tracking of progress, deliverables, and timeline; maintain regular communications with relevant people/departments
• Provide regular updates to senior management on proposal development progress, risks, and opportunities
• Ensure timely partnership scoping in collaboration with design and partnership teams; support the active participation of CSOs in design development

Responsibility 4: Knowledge Management and System Strengthening (Approx. 10%)

• Contribute to continuous improvement of the new business and proposal development cycle and process, including developing and updating relevant SOPs/RACIs
• Document and share lessons learned from each proposal development process with concerned functions
• Support fundraising capacity building efforts for staff and partner CSOs
• Actively update the fundraising and opportunity tracker and monitor proposals through Save the Children's Award Management System (AMS)
• Support standardized upkeep of the country office's proposal content library and related documentation

Key deliverables will include, but not be limited to:

• High-quality concept notes and proposals submitted on time, in compliance with donor requirements
• Updated fundraising and opportunity tracker with prioritized opportunities
• Donor engagement briefs and meeting notes, as relevant
• Donor mapping analysis and partnership scoping documents
• Updated proposal content library and related documentation
• Lessons learned documentation and capacity strengthening briefings/trainings
• Periodic summary updates to the Programme, Quality and Impact Director on progress, risks, and opportunities

Level of Effort: Full-time or part-time (to be confirmed based on Country Office needs; likely 4 working days per week)

Duration: 6-7 months with a possibility to renew

Duty Station: TBC; remote engagement potentially acceptable

Travel: Some travel within Yemen may be required for donor engagement and partnership meetings; the ability to work in a challenging and sometimes insecure environment is essential.

Reports to: Resource Mobilization & Business Development Lead/Director

Key Internal Interfaces: Programme teams across all sectors (child protection, education, health & nutrition, WASH, livelihoods), Finance, Awards, Operations, Communications, Partnership, and Advocacy teams; Member Offices; SCI Programme Funding team

Essential Qualifications and Experience:

• Minimum three years of experience in proposal development with excellent writing/editing capabilities and strong analytical/critical thinking skills, ideally in child protection, education, food security, health & nutrition or related thematic sectors
• Bachelor's degree or higher qualification in social studies, communications, international development, or other relevant fields
• Demonstrated experience in coordinating development of large-scale or strategic proposals, including proposals for US and UK government programming, SIDA, ECHO, GFFO, BMZ, UN agencies or 8similar major institutional donors
• Detail-oriented with excellent multi-tasking abilities, strong coordination and interpersonal skills with ability to communicate and negotiate clearly and effectively at all levels
• Excellent representation, presentation and communication skills with ability to present complex information in a succinct and compelling manner
• Ability to work well under pressure with multiple deadlines; capacity to handle and use constructive feedback to make needed changes to proposals and strategies
• Able to work well both within a team and independently in a challenging and fast-moving multicultural environment
• Capacity and willingness to be flexible and accommodating in difficult and sometimes insecure working circumstances
• Politically and culturally sensitive with qualities of patience, tact and diplomacy
• Native Arabic speaker or equivalent; fluent English language skills
• Commitment to the aims and principles of Save the Children; full adherence to child safeguarding policies and principles

Desirable Qualifications and Experience:

• Experience or understanding of the Yemen context and operating environment
• Previous experience with project management and project cycle management, including project design, implementation and evaluation
• Prior experience working for Save the Children or across organizational structures in complex settings
• Experience in donor mapping, funding trend analysis, and strategic resource mobilization planning

The consultant will be engaged on a fixed-term consultancy basis for a period of 6-7 months (extendable based on funding and performance). The engagement will include:

• Competitive daily rate commensurate with experience and qualifications (to be determined based on consultant profile)
• Coverage of work-related travel expenses in line with Save the Children policies
• Professional liability and duty of care support as per Save the Children's consultancy agreements.

(Embed counter-fraud and ethical controls in all operational processes, ensuring compliance with donor and legal requirements, while collaborating with Finance and Counter-Fraud teams to mitigate risks and conduct assessments for high-value programs)

Application Information:

Please attach a copy of your CV and cover letter with your application and include details of your current remuneration and salary expectations.  A copy of the full role profile can be found at www.savethechildren.net/careers/apply

“Save the Children is an equal opportunity employer. Women are strongly encouraged to apply”