Senior Bid and Partnership Manager

Title:  Senior Bid and Partnerships manager

Reports to: VP for Global Partnerships

Location:  Brussels, Belgium

Salary:   €66,700 – €76,560 annum

Travel: 10%

About NEF

Since 1915, NEF has supported community-led economic and social development in Middle East, Africa, and Caucasus. As a non-profit international development organization, NEF draws on local teams, experience, and partnerships in these regions to create community-led solutions to reduce poverty, create economic opportunity, increase resilience, and empower conflict, climate- and crisis-affected people to improve their outlook and wellbeing.

A key feature of NEF’s work is developing resilient, locally led, and market-based solutions across the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) Nexus by leveraging private sector engagement, innovative finance, and transformative partnerships, ensuring a seamless transition from emergency relief to sustainable development and long-term peace, self-reliance, and prosperity. Through strategic partnerships and outcome-based programming, NEF is redefining how humanitarian and development actors collaborate with and invest in local economies for cost-effective and sustainable impact.  Our mission centers on inclusive economic development—a transformative approach that empowers marginalized groups and strengthens their resilience, both socially and economically. By promoting models that prioritize accessibility, sustainability, and community ownership, we help people not only survive but thrive.

NEF works through a network of country offices and with local partners, with current or recent operations in Armenia, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Mali, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan, South Sudan, and Syria. Our global headquarters are based in Syracuse, NY, London, UK, and Brussels, Belgium.

Summary of Role

The Bid and Partnerships Manager position combines strategic positioning, capture and bid coordination responsibilities to strengthen Near East Foundation’s funding base and proposal success rate. Based in Brussels and serving NEF’s three family of entities (Belgium, USA & UK), the role requires a bilingual professional (French and English) with proven experience in donor engagement, opportunity tracking, bid management, and multi-stakeholder partnership development. The candidate will coordinate donor intelligence efforts, build new funding relationships (including with EU/UK foundations, enterprises, and technical agencies), and coordinate high-quality proposal submissions. They will also enhance internal systems, build staff capacity in grant writing, and ensure compliance with donor requirements, ultimately driving the organisation’s positioning and growth across diverse sectors and contexts. The position will report to the VP Global Partnerships. They will work closely with NEF’s Global Partnerships team members, NEF’s Global Program team members including VP Programs and Chief Program Officer as well as NEF’s Country Directors.

Responsibilities

Proposal Development

• Provide strategic oversight of proposal development processes, ensuring consistency, efficiency, and high-quality standards; support the initiation, structuring, and coordination of priority proposals, including managing large and strategic bids from capture to submission.
• Take responsibility for the overall quality of submissions, including contributing to final narrative sign-off; conduct high-level editorial review to ensure clarity, persuasiveness, and consistency across narratives, logframes, budgets, and annexes.
• Ensure rigorous quality assurance by supporting compliance with donor requirements, strengthening strategic positioning and articulation of impact, ensuring coherence across technical, results, and financial components, and aligning submissions with organisational priorities and value-for-money principles.
• Provide guidance and constructive challenge to technical and program teams; coordinate internal review and validation processes to ensure high-quality, timely inputs from stakeholders.
• Contribute to the improvement of proposal tools, templates, and processes, embedding lessons learned and best practices, while supporting capacity strengthening through coaching, mentoring, and training.
• Participate in proposal review committees and support go/no-go decision-making; coordinate due diligence processes and provide guidance on donor requirements throughout the proposal lifecycle.

Positioning, Capture, and Pipeline Leadership

• Support oversight of the business development pipeline, contributing to the prioritisation of high-value opportunities aligned with organisational strategy; help maintain and refine pipeline management systems to support decision-making.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of positioning and capture strategies across priority donors, sectors, and geographies, including supporting go/no-go processes based on strategic fit and competitiveness.
• Facilitate cross-functional coordination across partnerships, programs, operations, and country teams to ensure early engagement and strong positioning; contribute to pre-positioning efforts with key donors and partners through engagement, concept development, and outreach.
• Coordinate the development of high-quality positioning materials (concept notes, pitch decks, capacity statements) and support program teams in producing technical briefs and thought leadership that highlight comparative advantages and impact.
• Contribute to stakeholder mapping and donor intelligence efforts; stay informed on donor priorities, funding trends, and policy developments, and share insights to inform strategy and program design.
• Support the identification and development of new funding partnerships across institutional, philanthropic, and non-traditional actors (including EU institutions, Member State agencies, GCC and East Asian donors), and contribute to engagement with private sector and technical partners for complex bids.
• Contribute to the development of unsolicited and targeted proposals aligned with organisational priorities and emerging donor interests; support improvements and innovation in business development practices to enhance efficiency and organisational learning.

Essential Qualifications

We encourage all individuals who believe they have the skills necessary to succeed within this position and thrive at NEF to apply for this role, even if you do not meet 100% of the qualifications.

Required qualifications

• A university degree in a relevant subject.
• Demonstrate an outstanding command of written and spoken French and English.
• 8-12 years of experience in the humanitarian/development sector, demonstrating a strong track record in positioning, capture, and bid management.
• A self-starter, who demonstrates excellent attention to detail, and ability to plan, communicate, and deliver effectively with diverse teams at pace. Ability to rapidly navigate different thematic and geographic contexts, including complex and high-pressure environments.
• Demonstrated ability to develop strong working relationships with diverse teams across multiple geographies.
• Demonstrated grasp of effective and values-based partnerships in the Humanitarian/Development sector.

Desirable competencies

• Demonstrated experience in NGO program implementation, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected contexts.
• Demonstrated interest and experience in innovative finance.
• Working knowledge of written and/or spoken Arabic.

Eligibility Criteria

• Must be legally authorized to work in Belgium without company sponsorship, now or in the future.

NEF will accept a rolling application until the position is filled. Review of application will begin on April 28th, 2026. Interested candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. 

To apply:

Please apply by submitting the following documents in the English language to the Near East Foundation’s careers page at https://neareast.bamboohr.com/careers/410 :

1. Cover letter outlining all relevant experience, how you meet the essential criteria.
2. Curriculum Vitae.
3. List of three references (including one from current, or most recent, employer). You will be given further notice prior to us contacting references.

Please note only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Near East Foundation by visiting the NEF website at www.neareast.org

The Near East Foundation promotes Equal Employment Opportunities for all applicants seeking employment and NEF employees.

Pre-employment Checks

Any Employment with the Near East Foundation will be subject to the following checks prior to start date:

• A satisfactory Restricted Party Screening.
• Receipt of satisfactory references.
• Workplace Verification Check.

Benefits

NEF in Belgium offers a comprehensive benefits package which includes: 25 Annual Leave Days, 11 Holidays; employer paid private medical, dental and, vision coverage for the employee; private pension with 8% employer contribution, and more!

NEF's strength is its people. Our team is our fuel to achieving the innovation, quality programming, community focus, mutual trust, sustainability, and learning needed to realize our mission. To help our team thrive, we support a working structure that prioritizes flexibility, personal commitments, and staff well-being while promoting a work culture of teamwork, collaboration, respect, integrity, and excellence.

As an international organization, we value a truly diverse workforce and prioritize a culture of inclusivity and belonging. We strive to create a high-achieving work environment informed by different cultures, perspectives, and experiences. With a commitment to diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion in all we do, our aim is to ensure that people feel heard, protected, and empowered to contribute to NEF's mission from day one.