Business Development Manager

THE ORGANISATION
Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We believe in the power and potential of every child but know this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it is girls who are most affected.

Working together with children, young people, supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges girls and vulnerable children face. We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood and we enable children to prepare for and respond to crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.

For over 85 years, we have rallied other determined optimists to transform the lives of all children in more than 80 countries.

With approximately 38 years of experience in implementing its programme, Plan International Kenya (PIK) mainly operates in the following geographical areas; Nairobi, Machakos, Kajiado, Kwale, Kilifi, Turkana, Isiolo, Marsabit, Homa Bay, Kisumu and Tana River.

We won’t stop until we are all equal.

Plan International Kenya’s strategic goal is to end teenage pregnancies and eliminate all forms of sexual and gender-based violence against adolescent girls and young women. We aim to create an enabling environment where girls and young women are safe, valued, equally cared for, and have equal opportunities.

THE OPPORTUNITY

You will lead resource mobilization, grant acquisition, and funding partnerships to deliver our country strategy and sustainable impact. This is particularly an exciting time to join the team, as we are embarking on the development of our next five-year country strategy, which will be designed alongside Kenyan youth to meet the aspirations, priorities, and needs of children and youth across the country. Within the BDM role, you will be expected to secure and grow diversified, high-quality funding and impactful partnerships. This will be achieved by leading opportunity identification; donor and partner engagement and consortium building; program design and proposal development; strengthening country-wide business development capability and processes; and collaborating effectively with the wider Plan International membership to deliver on our global mandate. You must also be able to meet the current fundraising realities: more selective and competitive funding opportunities; deepened demand for new partnerships, value-for-money and sustainability strategies; and expanded opportunities in market-driven development, commercial contracting, blended finance and impact investment, and local fundraising.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide strategic direction for PIK in the evolving funding landscape, lead the 2027–2032 Resource Mobilization Strategy, build values-based partnerships, represent in coordination forums, contribute to country leadership, and ensure accountability through Plan International Kenya (PIK) Board reporting and Youth Advisory Panel engagement.
• Lead donor and partner cultivation, build a diversified funding pipeline, and guide evidence-based “go/no-go” decisions. The role drives responsible private sector engagement, pursues innovative finance (blended, climate, outcomes-based), strengthens humanitarian mechanisms, builds competitive consortia with diverse actors, and expands local fundraising through Kenyan corporates, foundations, and high-net-worth individuals.
• Drive PIK’s funding and partnership agenda by cultivating diverse donor relationships, building a balanced pipeline across grants, contracts, humanitarian and local sources, and guiding evidence-based investment decisions. Lead responsible private sector engagement, pursue innovative finance (blended, climate, outcomes-based), strengthen humanitarian programming, build competitive consortia with civil society and private actors, and expand local fundraising through Kenyan corporates, foundations, and high-net-worth individuals.
• Secure and shape PIK’s funding portfolio by leading capture planning, overseeing high-quality proposal development, and ensure strong theories of change with integrated gender, inclusion, safeguarding, MEL, and risk management. Facilitate co-creation with donors and partners, prepare compelling value-for-money narratives and budgets, and implement rigorous quality assurance across bids, budgets, and compliance to maximize competitiveness and sustainability.
• Build and sustain a high-performing business development function: lead and mentor the BD team, strengthen systems and tools, and expand country-wide capability in future-facing funding modalities. Drive continuous learning from bids to improve competitiveness, ensure smooth transitions from pre-award to post-award, and embed strong processes for pipeline tracking, partner frameworks, and compliance to maximize funding success and organizational resilience.
• Accountable for fundraising targets, transparent reporting, donor engagement, timely compliant proposals, after-action reviews, and performance of the BD team.
• Plan International has a robust global policy for Safeguarding and PII policy for Preventing Sexual Harassment Exploitation and Abuse; and Gender Equality and Inclusion principles and Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to your area of responsibility. You will therefore have a responsibility to adhere and enforce adherence of staff and associates within your sphere of responsibility.
• You will be trusted to take on additional assignments within the scope of work as assigned by your supervisor on need basis.

What we are looking for:

• Someone with Master’s degree in international development, business, economics, public policy, or related field (or equivalent professional experience).
• You should possess 10+ years’ of experience in business development / resource mobilization including successful leadership of complex bids and partnership negotiations for development and humanitarian opportunities.
• You should demonstrate success in securing funding from multiple and diverse funding sources such as grants, private sector, commercial contracts, impact investment, innovative finance, and local fundraising.
• Someone with digital fluency with BD systems (pipeline), advanced Excel (including development and review of complex, cost-competitive budgets), collaboration platforms, responsible use of approved AI tools, and PowerPoint and other visual tools to develop compelling donor-facing materials.
• Someone with proven experience building and leading high-performing teams, setting clear objectives, coaching and developing talent, and creating accountability to deliver results in fast-paced environments.
• You should have experience working in Kenya and/or similar contexts; knowledge of key donor landscapes and compliance expectations.
• Someone with excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Please respond to the requirements of this role in your cover letter.
Only applications in English language will be accepted.

Location: On site working and the role is based at Nairobi, Kenya

Reports to: Country Director

Contract Period: 2 years

Job Grade: Hay Level 16

Vacancy advert closing Date: 22nd June 2026

Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the very heart of everything that Plan International stands for.

We want Plan International to reflect the diversity of the communities we work with, offering equal opportunities to everyone regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

Plan International is based on a culture of inclusivity and we strive to create a workplace environment that ensures every team, in every office, in every country, is rich in diverse people, thoughts, and ideas.

We foster an organisational culture that embraces our commitment to racial justice, gender equality, girls’ rights and inclusion.

Plan International believes that in a world where children face so many threats of harm, it is our duty to ensure that we, as an organisation, do everything we can to keep children safe. This means that we have particular responsibilities to children that we come into contact with and we must not contribute in any way to harming or placing children at risk.

A range of pre-employment checks will be undertaken in conformity with Plan International's Safeguarding Children and Young People policy. Plan International also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this scheme we will request information from applicants previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.