Head of New Business Development -SCI Malawi-Zimbabwe Cluster

he Opportunity

Save the Children is inviting applications from suitably qualified personnel to fill the position of Head of New Business Development (NBD) Manager – Malawi-Zimbabwe Cluster. The position will provide strategic leadership in driving and coordinating the growth and diversification of funding across Malawi and Zimbabwe, in alignment with the Cluster's strategic priorities. The Head of NBD will lead the development and implementation of a Cluster-wide Funding Strategy that supports the achievement of the Country Strategic Plans and ensures the mobilisation of resources for quality, high-impact programming for children across both countries. The position reports directly to the PDQ Director.

The post holder will work closely with the PDQ Director, Cluster NBD Coordinator, Zimbabwe NBD Manager, Senior Programmes and Partnerships Lead, Technical Experts, Cluster Country Director and Senior Leadership Team (SLT) to identify and pursue strategic funding opportunities, strengthen donor relationships and ensure effective coordination of new business development activities across the Cluster. The role will foster strong relationships with Save the Children Members, institutional donors, partners, corporate organisations, foundations and other key stakeholders, while also supporting local and national partners to strengthen their own resource mobilisation capacity in line with Save the Children's localisation agenda.

The Head of NBD will lead the Cluster's annual funding strategy development and establish effective systems and processes for pipeline, opportunity and proposal management across Malawi and Zimbabwe. The position holder will provide strategic oversight of donor engagement, portfolio planning, opportunity scoping, capture planning and proposal development, ensuring that funding opportunities are aligned with the Cluster's strategic priorities, Country Strategic Plans, Save the Children's Theory of Change and emerging donor priorities.

The job holder will play a key role in maintaining a real-time understanding of the Cluster's funding pipeline, identifying thematic and operational funding gaps and facilitating scenario-based portfolio analysis to inform growth, risk and sustainability discussions. The role will lead cross-country and cross-functional opportunity scoping and capture planning, build donor and competitor intelligence, facilitate Go/No-Go decision-making and ensure that appropriate resources are mobilised to pursue strategic funding opportunities.

The Head of NBD will coordinate and oversee high-quality proposal development and submission processes for both country offices, ensuring timely submission, compliance and strategic alignment. The role holder will serve as lead writer or quality assurer for strategic, complex and high-value proposals, including humanitarian funding requests, and will ensure meaningful participation of local and national partners throughout the proposal development process. The position will also ensure that proposals incorporate localisation objectives, equitable partner roles and budgets, appropriate learning and MEAL frameworks, and strong technical and programme approaches.

The position holder will support the PDQ Director and Cluster Country Director in maintaining high-level strategic donor relationships across Malawi and Zimbabwe and will represent the Cluster in donor forums, working groups and high-level meetings. The Head of NBD will also act as the primary liaison with the Save the Children Regional Office and Members on new business development matters, ensuring collaboration, consistency, learning and the adoption of best practice across the Cluster.

The job holder will provide strategic leadership for humanitarian resource mobilisation, working closely with the Humanitarian and Anticipatory Action Manager, regional teams and Members to ensure readiness for rapid mobilisation of emergency resources. The role will also support pre-positioning through early warning analysis, pipeline mapping, donor engagement and participation in relevant coordination mechanisms. In addition, the position holder will explore opportunities for private funding, climate finance and innovative finance mechanisms in collaboration with relevant Save the Children teams.

The Head of NBD will provide line management, coaching and mentoring support to NBD staff within the Cluster and foster a strong culture of performance, learning, collaboration and innovation. The position will build effective working relationships across Programme, Technical, Operations, Finance, Awards, Partnerships and Communications teams to ensure