Grants & Fundraising Specialist

Fresh Life is an award-winning social venture based in Nairobi, Kenya. We undertake two exciting lines of work:

• We provide safe, sustainable sanitation services to residents living in urban informal settlements of Nairobi, Kisumu and Eldoret using end-to-end non-sewered sanitation solutions. Watch here!

• We partner with cities to develop and deliver safe sanitation and waste management for urban residents. Using a systematic methodology, we match cities’ sanitation and waste management needs with technology and service delivery models, and then offer clear guidance on the steps that governments, funders, service providers and technology developers can take to develop and implement integrated service delivery systems. 

Operational since 2011, Fresh Life serves nearly 200,000 urban residents with safe sanitation services every day and safely removes 20,000T of sanitation waste per year. We have built a team of over 400 employees from diverse backgrounds who all embody the drive, creativity, teamwork, and passion that make us achieve our goals. For our work, we have been recognized by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals accelerator and by Fast Company as one of the 10 most innovative companies in the world doing social good and one of the 10 best companies in Africa. Fresh Life is a founding member of The Sanergy Collaborative.

Fresh Life is looking for an exceptional individual to join our Business Development team. The Grants Specialist For New Cities will be responsible for driving the fundraising strategy to secure and manage significant income from a diverse range of funders to support Fresh Life’s expansion into new cities in Kenya and across Africa. They will lead collaborative research, engagement strategy and proposal development for funders to increase the scale and impact of the organization. A confident networker, they will represent the organization at meetings, forums and events in order to initiate and strengthen strategic relationships. They will support the organization in the research and development of strategies for Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with government entities. They will contribute to the organizational business development knowledge with best practices, procedures, and tools for the diversification of financing structures. 

• Achieve Fresh Life’s ambitious fundraising targets for new cities through building and maintaining partnerships with key external stakeholders, including philanthropic and institutional funders.

• Collaborate closely with the fundraising teams of public utilities to achieve joint fundraising and visibility goals.

• Lead all aspects of donor relationships, including conducting prospect research, preparing proposals, managing internal execution of grants, and reporting, working closely with the Operational and Finance teams.  

• Craft strong, tailored messages that resonate with existing and new partners and funders. 

• Build and manage strong, trust-based relationships with key stakeholders at multilaterals, governments, and in the WASH industry.

• Represent Fresh Life externally with funders, government, and other key stakeholders. 

• Improve efficiency and effectiveness of business development processes, including proposal development, partnership management, financial reporting, etc.

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business related field of study

• 5+ years of work experience in fundraising or business development in a global development context.

• Confident external communication and excellent writing skills.

• Highly organized team player, with proactive and flexible work style. 

• Demonstrated understanding of and experience in international development or the social sector more broadly. Knowledge of the sanitation sector is a plus.

• Strong existing funder networks preferred. Ideal candidate would be able to leverage past relationships to develop a strong pipeline of new partnerships.

• Impeccable integrity and ethics.