Specialist Sr., Grants Writer and Business Development
Childfund Work Location Jakarta, Indonesia
Childfund Division Global Impact
ChildFund Department Country Management
Job Details
Sr. Regional Specialist for Resilience, Climate & Sustainability
Level: Equivalent to Manager II, Level 8
Reports to: Senior Manager, Resource Mobilization
Contract: Full-time, fixed term 1 year with possibility of extension
Travel: Up to 20% domestically and internationally
Location: Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India
Position Summary
This role plays a central role in advancing ChildFund Asia’s resource mobilization efforts by leading the development of high-quality, donor-ready proposals and technical documents.
This role is the core writing and technical translation function within the team, responsible for turning country-level programme ideas and technical inputs into compelling, fundable opportunities aligned with donor priorities. This includes shaping programme logic, strengthening technical framing, and ensuring strong alignment with donor requirements across climate, resilience, and sustainability programming.
In addition, the role supports the development and advancement of flagship regional programmes and solutions in resilience, climate, and sustainability. This includes shaping programme concepts, strengthening technical positioning, and translating regional priorities into fundable opportunities. The role works with COs and technical teams to ensure these flagship initiatives are coherent, evidence-based, and aligned with donor expectations.
A critical dimension of the role is engagement with the climate finance ecosystem. The position requires an existing understanding of—and ideally established connections within—major climate finance mechanisms such as the Green Climate Fund, Global Environment Facility, and Global Green Growth Institute. The role supports the identification of funding opportunities, positioning of ChildFund within relevant partnerships, and contribution to concept development aligned with these mechanisms.
The role also supports cross-country learning and capacity strengthening by working with country office teams to improve proposal quality, share best practices, and build a more consistent and competitive approach to business development across the region.
Primary Responsibilities
Required Experience & Education
Childfund Division Global Impact
ChildFund Department Country Management
Job Details
Sr. Regional Specialist for Resilience, Climate & Sustainability
Level: Equivalent to Manager II, Level 8
Reports to: Senior Manager, Resource Mobilization
Contract: Full-time, fixed term 1 year with possibility of extension
Travel: Up to 20% domestically and internationally
Location: Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India
Position Summary
This role plays a central role in advancing ChildFund Asia’s resource mobilization efforts by leading the development of high-quality, donor-ready proposals and technical documents.
This role is the core writing and technical translation function within the team, responsible for turning country-level programme ideas and technical inputs into compelling, fundable opportunities aligned with donor priorities. This includes shaping programme logic, strengthening technical framing, and ensuring strong alignment with donor requirements across climate, resilience, and sustainability programming.
In addition, the role supports the development and advancement of flagship regional programmes and solutions in resilience, climate, and sustainability. This includes shaping programme concepts, strengthening technical positioning, and translating regional priorities into fundable opportunities. The role works with COs and technical teams to ensure these flagship initiatives are coherent, evidence-based, and aligned with donor expectations.
A critical dimension of the role is engagement with the climate finance ecosystem. The position requires an existing understanding of—and ideally established connections within—major climate finance mechanisms such as the Green Climate Fund, Global Environment Facility, and Global Green Growth Institute. The role supports the identification of funding opportunities, positioning of ChildFund within relevant partnerships, and contribution to concept development aligned with these mechanisms.
The role also supports cross-country learning and capacity strengthening by working with country office teams to improve proposal quality, share best practices, and build a more consistent and competitive approach to business development across the region.
Primary Responsibilities
- Proposal Development & Technical Writing (45% of time)
- Lead the writing of large, multi-country proposals (≥$500K) from first draft through final submission, serving as lead technical writer and/or proposal manager as assigned.
- Write and produce high-quality concept notes (solicited and unsolicited) for priority donors, translating programme ideas into fundable narratives that speak the donor’s language.
- Develop and maintain a library of reusable proposal components: capability statements, past performance references, technical approach narratives, logical frameworks, results frameworks, and budget justifications for resilience and sustainability programming.
- Produce solution briefs (2-page documents) on ChildFund’s three thematic for proactive donor engagement — these are conversation starters, not proposals.
- Draft programme briefs, innovation write-ups, evidence summaries, and case studies that showcase ChildFund’s climate and sustainability work for external audiences (donors, partners, conferences, publications).
- Conduct competitive analysis for each major pursuit: who else is bidding, what are their strengths, how does ChildFund differentiate? Develop win themes and technical approaches accordingly.
- Ensure all proposals align with ChildFund’s Results Framework, global technical standards, and donor-specific requirements.
- Facilitate quarterly cross-CO learning sessions on climate and sustainability programming and coach CO BD leads on writing winnable proposal on this sector
- Technical leadership and Knowledge Management (30% of time)
- Support the development and refinement of regional flagship programmes and solutions and lead positioning these flagship initiatives for regional and multi-country funding opportunities
- Develop and regularly update CO capability statements for each of ChildFund’s 4 Asian countries, highlighting climate, resilience, and sustainability programme evidence.
- Write technical thought pieces, blog posts, and conference presentations that position ChildFund as a credible voice in the climate-child nexus space. Collaborate with the Global Sustainability Senior Technical Advisor on global publications.
- Develop a ‘Climate Finance Navigator’ — an internal reference document tracking major climate finance institutions, their funding windows, eligibility criteria, and how ChildFund can access each (directly or through intermediaries like GGGI, ADB, UNDP).
- Document lessons learned and best practices from successful and unsuccessful proposals. Maintain a win/loss analysis database to continuously improve proposal quality.
- Support COs in producing donor-ready programme reports, mid-term evaluations, and impact assessments that can be reused in future proposals.
- Climate Finance Partnerships & Network Building (25% of time)
- Maintain and grow an active network with climate finance institutions: Green Climate Fund (GCF), Global Environment Facility (GEF), Adaptation Fund, Green Growth Institute (GGGI), bilateral climate funds (Germany’s IKI, UK’s ICF, Korea’s GTC). Know their funding cycles, priority themes, and how NGOs access their resources.
- Identify and cultivate technical partnerships with research institutions, universities, technical start-ups, and specialised NGOs in the climate-resilience space. Target partners that strengthen ChildFund’s proposals: academic credibility (TISS, NUS, AIT), technical innovation (clean energy, early warning systems), and policy influence (IIED, WRI, IISD).
- Represent and/or support participation of ChildFund in climate and sustainability conferences, donor forums, and technical working groups. Key events: COP, Asia-Pacific Climate Week, AVPN Conference, PAA Summit.
- Support the EU indirect management strategy by mapping GIZ, AFD/Expertise France, and UNDP climate programmes in ChildFund’s 4 countries and identifying sub-implementation opportunities for ChildFund.
Required Experience & Education
- 6–8 years of experience in leading and winning competitive proposals, bid writing, and/or business development in the international development or humanitarian sector. Proven track record of securing multi-million-dollar ($1M+) funding is highly desirable.
- Strong proposal writing skills, with the ability to develop clear, compelling, and well-positioned submissions (concept notes and full proposals).
- Solid understanding of climate, resilience, and sustainability programming in Asia (e.g. climate adaptation, DRR, green livelihoods, circular economy, nature-based solutions).
- Working knowledge of climate finance mechanisms and how NGOs access funding (directly and through intermediaries).
- Experience managing multi-country, multi-stakeholder proposal processes and consortium development.
- Experience working across South and/or Southeast Asia, with strong contextual understanding.
- Familiarity with innovative financing mechanisms is strongly preferred.
- Established network in the climate finance and sustainability space in Asia is highly desirable.
- Familiarity with SharePoint and knowledge management systems (e.g. KML) is highly desirable.
- Bachelor’s degree in environmental science, climate studies, sustainability, international development, public policy, or related discipline. Master’s degree preferred
- Equivalent combination of education and demonstrated experience with a proven track record of successful proposal development will be considered.
- Exceptional writing and editing skills in English. Ability to translate complex technical content into clear, compelling, donor-ready narratives. This is the #1 competency for this role.
- Technical credibility in resilience and sustainability. Can engage with climate scientists, environmental economists, and policy experts as a peer, not just as a proposal writer.
- Knowledge of ESG frameworks, carbon markets, sustainable investment trends, and emerging climate finance mechanisms relevant to Asia.
- Strong project management skills: ability to manage multiple proposal processes simultaneously under tight deadlines while maintaining quality.
- Collaborative and service-oriented: works effectively in a matrix environment with CO teams, regional staff, and global technical advisors. Sees COs as clients to be served, not managed.
- Analytical and strategic: can assess competitive landscapes, identify win themes, and position ChildFund against larger competitors by finding niche advantages.
- Self-directed and organised: manages own workload, meets deadlines without supervision, and proactively identifies opportunities before being asked.
- Comfort with ambiguity: can work on emerging thematic areas where ChildFund’s positioning is still being developed, contributing to the strategy rather than waiting for it to be defined.