Job Description
Job Title: Director of Strategic Partnerships and New Business Development
Direct Reports to: Vice President & Chief Impact Officer (VP & CIO)
Dotted Lines: Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Job titles of persons supervised: Grants Manager, Smarter Good, and additional staff as assigned
Location: BOMA Nairobi Office with occasional (approximately 10-15%) travel for donors and partners meetings to counties (in Kenya) where BOMA implements its programs and other countries where BOMA’s donors and partners are based
1. ABOUT BOMA
BOMA is dedicated to lifting 3 million people out of extreme poverty by 2028. Our mission is to provide people and governments of African drylands with adapted economic inclusion programs that materially reduce extreme poverty rates and enhance their ability to withstand multiple crises.
Founded 15 years ago to eliminate extreme poverty among pastoralist women in Kenya, BOMA has since transformed the lives of more than 704,352 women, youth, and refugees in the drylands of Africa. We are distinguished by our focus on last-mile populations in Africa’s drylands—those most vulnerable to climate change and systemic shocks—along with our tech-savvy, data-driven approach, impressive graduation rate, and 99% locally based team.
Read more about BOMA here
2. JOB SUMMARY
The Director leads BOMA’s institutional fundraising and strategic partnerships, with responsibility for capture, new business development, donor stewardship, renewals, and relationship management across government donors, bilateral agencies (e.g., USG, FCDO, GIZ), multilateral institutions (e.g., UN agencies like FAO, WFP, and the World Bank), philanthropic foundations, and corporate/private sector partners. Based in Nairobi, the role reports to the VP & CIO (U.S.) with a dotted line to the CEO (Nairobi) for region based donor engagement, strategic visibility, and Board interface. As a key member of BOMA’s senior leadership team, the Director develops and executes strategies to grow institutional revenue year on year, proactively identifies and cultivates new mission aligned partners across these funder categories, and works closely with senior leadership and key functions / departments to shape competitive solutions, build winning proposals, and deliver an excellent donor experience aligned with BOMA’s strategy.
The ideal candidate should have a strong track record and demonstrated success raising funds from institutional funders and leading a well-organized grants management program. The Director should be a strong and compelling writer who possesses excellent organizational skills, with meticulous attention to detail and sophisticated project management skills, including follow-up and managing multiple priorities and meeting deadlines. The Director will lead the process of new prospects research and identification, development of proposals and progress reports, including preparation of budgets, maintaining regular updates with funders and program officers, keeping accurate records and timelines, and ensuring compliance on all grants.
The Director will manage a portfolio of institutional donors who are BOMA’s current partners as well as be responsible for identifying new prospects. The Director will be responsible for meeting annual revenue goals and mutually agreed performance metrics. The position is expected to grow BOMA’s institutional revenue and the base of donors/partners annually, and significantly over the next 3-5 years.
The Director will work closely with the VP & CIO and CEO to shape, guide and manage fundraising and new business development portfolio to support BOMA’s strategic Plan and carry out the following duties/responsibilities:
3. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
• In collaboration with the VP & CIO and CEO, set annual institutional revenue targets, priorities, and forecasts; own the institutional pipeline
• Oversee and lead the development of all funding proposals and reports – from concept note development to full applications ensuring compelling narratives and compliant budgets, letters of inquiry and project planning
• Develop templates for general operating support proposals, stewardship reports, and Case Statements, which serve as the basis for all grant proposals and communication materials including organizational capability statements, – history, program descriptions; annual goals, funding priorities and objectives
• Steward a portfolio of current institutional donors to drive renewals and growth: maintain regular touchpoints, learning agendas and site visits.
• Identify, cultivate and bring on board new mission aligned donors/partners to increase BOMA’s revenue and impact goals.
• Develop and implement an annual plan to focused on increasing the number proposal developments and submissions to new institutional donors.
• Support the EXCOM and the program teams on the management of strategic and high- value donor, partner relationships.
• Provide oversight of execution of grant awards and all grant deliverables
• Partner with Finance and Admin teams to architect cost-realistic budgets and ensure timely award set up, compliance and timely reporting
• Communicate all reporting requirements to appropriate staff and monitor progress to ensure goals are met prior to the submission of the final reports
• Oversee all grants management processes, including grant policies, systems, and documentation, incorporate best practices, and ensures excellent controls
• Serve as liaison to donors/partners, including answering inquiries and facilitating and managing donor site visits and related follow ups
• Chair a monthly Growth Council to align resourcing, go/no-go decisions and risk management
• Manage internal and vendor resources e.g., Smarter Good, with clear SLAs for proposal drafting and grants operations; coach and develop team members
4. EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent in marketing, social science, management, international development, or another relevant field. Master’s Degree preferred.
5. MINIMUM REQUIRED EXPERIENCE:
7-10 years of fundraising and new business development experience focused on institutional donor/partner identification, cultivation and stewardship, ideally with a nonprofit entity, is required. Experience with global development in a social impact, entrepreneurship related organization is a plus.
6. REQUIRED COMPETENCE
• Proven ability to generate or directly close revenue in the multi-million range; strong renewal and upsell track record.
• Proven record of managing and growing government, multilateral, foundation, and corporate donor programs, including building, and supporting teams dedicated to institutional, individual and corporate philanthropy, preferably in a nonprofit setting. Effective leader with proven record of coaching, mentoring, and building diverse, inclusive teams.
• Proven track record in donor relations, including knowledge of major donor requirements and compliance issues.
• Passion for BOMAs mission and servant leadership with high EQ.
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meeting deadlines, and working independently yet cooperatively with team members.
• Fluency in written and oral English is required.
How to apply
This is a full-time field-based position based in Nairobi with occasional travel.
Interested and suitable qualified candidates to submit their application, through BOMA’s recruitment portal on FlairHR using 120 Director of Strategic Partnerships and New Business Development – BOMA Career Portal
Applications must be received by 15th March 2026. Late applications will not be considered**.**
While we thank all applicants for expressing interest in the role, please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted