Director II, New Business Partnerships

Vacancy Name
Director II, New Business Partnerships

Employment Type
Full Time (Fixed Term)

Childfund Work Location
Remote

Childfund Division
Global Impact

ChildFund Department
Business Development

Job Details

Position title: Director II, New Business Partnerships (US Government)Location: Washington, DC, USAChildFund office: International OfficeManager/Supervisor title: Deputy Chief Impact and Innovation OfficerPosition type: Full-time fixed termWork environment: RemoteAbout ChildFund
ChildFund is a dynamic child-focused organization expanding its work with and for children in communities all over the world. Join us as we embark on a new growth strategy and build new capabilities and partnerships to scale our impact for children so they can grow up healthy, educated, skilled and safe, no matter where they are.

ChildFund's Values
We aspire for every person in our organization-program participants, supporters, staff, and volunteers alike-to feel free, safe, and confident to be themselves. In our culture of connection, you will have ample opportunity to grow, learn, and lead while contributing your talents and innovations to our inspiring mission.

ChildFund's Commitment
ChildFund International has a zero-tolerance policy regarding sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH) and all other forms of harm by its staff, partners, and other representatives in the delivery of its mission and services for children. ChildFund is committed to creating a safe environment in the workplace as well as in the communities where it delivers programs and services. ChildFund expects every staff member, partner, and representative to adhere to this commitment and to ensure all organizational policies and standards are followed. This position is subject to a range of vetting checks, including a criminal records check and/or disclosure to ensure program participants are safeguarded.

About This Role
ChildFund International has an ambitious goal to double its grant revenue over the next 5 years. The Director of New Business Partnerships will play a key role in enabling ChildFund to grow revenue by building partnerships with the US government and other key donors. This role blends external relationship building with internal collaborative leadership: building and executing a robust business development strategy, expanding donor engagement, and strengthening internal systems and capacity. The Director will leverage our strengths in locally-led development, global presence, and 85+ years of delivering impactful work for children to grow grant revenue for ChildFund.

This is a full-time, fixed-term position through June 30, 2027, open to candidates with work authorization in the United States and current residence in the Washington, D.C., metro area. Candidates from other locations will not be considered.

Required Experience and Education

• Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree in international development, business, international relations, or a related field strongly preferred.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in international development or a related field, with at least 5 years in a leadership role overseeing institutional business development strategies and teams.
• Proven track record securing significant institutional funding from U.S. government donors (e.g., USAID, DOS, USDA) and familiarity with other key institutional donors (e.g., UN agencies, foundations, or multilaterals).
• Demonstrated experience building or strengthening business development functions, systems, and proposal processes within an INGO or similar organization.
• Experience working effectively with cross-cultural, multi-disciplinary teams across countries or regions.
• U.S. work authorization and current residence in the Washington, D.C. metro area required.

Primary Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership and Donor Engagement

• Lead the development and implementation of ChildFund's institutional fundraising strategy, with a focus on U.S. government agencies, multilaterals, and other priority institutional donors.
• Cultivate and manage strong relationships with institutional donors and partners, positioning ChildFund as a trusted and capable implementing agency.
• Represent ChildFund externally at donor meetings, industry events, and strategic forums to raise visibility and build long-term partnerships.
• Collaborate with senior leaders and technical experts in the Global Impact Division to refine ChildFund's value proposition and align offerings with donor trends and funding priorities.
• Work as part of a matrixed new business development team, to strategically cultivate and manage ChildFund's grant donor relationships around the world.

Pipeline Development and Opportunity Management

• Build and manage a dynamic, forward-looking pipeline of institutional funding opportunities aligned with ChildFund's strategic priorities and capacities.
• Coordinate closely on technical approaches, programmatic vision, and ensuring high-quality program design inputs for each opportunity.
• Guide the formation of competitive partnerships and consortia and manage partner negotiations during opportunity development.
• Ensure that proposals reflect ChildFund's comparative advantage, core models, and donor requirements.

Matrix team and Capacity Strengthening

• Work in a matrix team alongside other donor leads such as the Foundations and Corporate Director, and with a global team of business development experts, and technical specialists
• Provide strategic oversight of the business development function, including pursuit management, resource allocation, and internal BD systems.
• Ensure that proposal design and technical inputs are aligned with donor expectations and bid strategies.
• Drive cross-organizational learning and capacity building by developing tools, templates, and guidance to improve readiness for complex bids.
• Champion internal change efforts to strengthen ChildFund's business development culture, systems, and organizational effectiveness.

Collaboration and Internal Alignment

• Work closely with colleagues across the Global Impact Division, Finance, HR, and Communications to ensure ChildFund is positioned to pursue and win priority funding opportunities.
• Facilitate collaboration between global, regional, and country-level teams to improve competitiveness, efficiency, and coherence in proposal development.
• Ensure business development efforts are aligned with ChildFund's technical strengths, sponsorship model, and localization commitments.

Others

• Remain alert and responsive to any child safeguarding risks, acquire relevant knowledge and skills that will enable you to promote strong safeguarding practices, understand the child safeguarding policy and procedures, and conduct yourself in a manner consistent with the Child Safeguarding Policy.
• Travel domestically and internationally up to 25%

Required Competencies
ChildFund's Core Competencies

• Results orientation: gets things done; takes proactive steps to achieve organizational goals and quality standards.
• Teamwork: the ability to work effectively and collaborate with others; values and respects individual differences.
• Communication: demonstrates empathy and tact when communicating with others and uses a storytelling approach when appropriate.
• Decision making: uses good judgement, critical thinking, and non-traditional ways to evaluate problems and opportunities; reflects and innovates to improve decisions and outcomes.
• Resilience: thrives and grows in rapidly changing, demanding, and complex environments.
• Digital literacy: adopts and champions new technology to relevant contexts, stays aware of technological trends and embraces technological solutions to business challenges.

Other Required Competencies

• The ability to read, speak, and write fluently in English; fluency in additional languages is a plus.
• Well-versed in US government funding agencies, other bi-lateral and multi-lateral funding mechanisms, and institutional funding procedures,
• Expertise in program design, logical frameworks (logframes), and technical proposal development, with the ability to contribute to the development of high-quality, competitive bids.
• Entrepreneurial mindset and extrinsic motivation; enjoys challenge and pursuing new opportunities.
• Outstanding relationship-building and networking skills within the sector. Able to "land the meeting" and hold the attention of donors.
• Strong influencing, persuasion, and "sales" ability.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively articulate the business case for risk-taking in alignment with organizational strategy.
• Strong organization and strategic planning skills, with the ability to work effectively in a global, technology-enabled environment and oversee a complex portfolio of projects.
• Oriented to innovation and change with the willingness to role model behaviors that facilitate change adoption.
• Good inclusive leadership skills with a focus on coaching and developing others.

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