About Near East Foundation
Since 1915, Near East Foundation (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. Our programs span three focal areas: Inclusive Economic Development, Climate Resilient Development, and Peace and Stability.
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 Business Development Manager position combines strategic positioning, capture and bid coordination responsibilities to strengthen Near East Foundation's funding base and proposal success rate. Based in London 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 NEF UK Executive Director, with functional reporting to the NEF Belgium Executive Director.
Responsibilities
Proposal development:
Review and strengthen the organisation's proposal tools and processes, incorporating recommendations and findings from past bids and projects.
Lead the initiation of new proposal development processes, ensuring coordinated and timely submissions.
Act as proposal manager for large and/or strategic proposals; serve as proposal writer for strategic submissions. Ensure rigorous quality control across all proposal submissions by verifying donor compliance and alignment, strengthening narrative clarity and coherence, aligning design with strategic priorities and value for money, and coordinating thorough internal reviews to deliver competitive, high-standard proposals.
Build the internal capacities of teams involved in proposal writing.
Serve as a member of proposal review teams.
Support due diligence processes by coordinating and compiling required compliance and supporting documentation.
Guide teams on donor-specific requirements, expectations, and compliance standards throughout the proposal lifecycle.
Positioning, capture, and pipeline coordination:
Monitor, track, and facilitate coordination for strategic business development engagement across funders, geographies, and thematic areas by managing a dynamic pipeline of opportunities, tracking relationship status, and sequencing actions based on engagement tiers and institutional priorities.
Facilitate cross-functional business development coordination to support prepositioning and donor partnership development, including organizing stakeholder meetings, sharing concept notes, developing pitch decks and capacity statements, coordinating partner and funder scoping, tailoring program and county profiles, and identifying systems upgrades to meet funding requirements.
Conduct stakeholder mapping and develop donor intelligence through internal and external insights to maintain an up-to-date database and pipeline of funding opportunities.
Identify and engage new funding partners to diversify and expand the donor base, including:
EU and UK foundations and grant-making organisations
EU Member State technical agencies
GCC and East Asian institutional funders
Enterprises engaged through CSR and ESG commitments
Deepen organizational understanding of institutional donor strategies, priorities, and future directions through internal and external insights; share insights internally to inform strategic positioning.
Identify and propose high-impact and non-traditional technical partnerships for multi-stakeholder and multi-country bids.
Support the program team to develop short technical briefs, position papers and pitches that effectively articulate the organisation's innovations, comparative advantages, thought leadership, and track record of impact to donors and partners.
Lead on the preparation and submission of unsolicited competitive proposals aligned with the organisation's strategic priorities, integrating innovative approaches and demonstrating measurable results.
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.
A university degree in a relevant subject.
Demonstrate an outstanding command of written and spoken French and English.
5-10 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.
Desired 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 UK without employer sponsorship, now or in the future.
NEF UK will accept a rolling application until the position is filled. Review of application will begin on March 1, 2026. Interested candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.
To apply:
Please apply by submitting the following documents to the Near East Foundation's careers page at
Cover letter outlining all relevant experience, how you meet the essential criteria.
Curriculum Vitae.
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
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 UK offers a comprehensive benefits package which includes: 25 Annual Leave Days, 10 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. 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.