Senior Manager, EU Partnerships & Fundraising

Location: Brussels
Position type: Fixed-Term Contract (23 months), Full-Time, Hybrid working (2–3 days in the office)

What the hiring manager says

This is a unique opportunity to become one of the founding members of Mobile for Development's (M4D) newly established Strategic Development team. You will help shape how we engage European institutions, build long-term donor relationships, and secure funding and strategic partnerships that enable digital innovation to improve lives at scale across low- and middle-income countries.

Working at the intersection of digital development, public policy and fundraising, you will play a central role in expanding and diversifying M4D's European funding base, strengthening our visibility with priority donors, and translating relationships into tangible funding outcomes.

About the Team

The Strategic Development team is a newly established fundraising and partnerships function within the M4D Foundation, created to increase and diversify funding, strengthen donor engagement, and build long-term strategic partnerships.

Working across markets and technical domains, the team collaborates closely with programme leads, technical experts and external partners to identify and secure funding opportunities, develop strategic donor relationships, and support organisational growth.

As one of the first members of the team, you will help shape how the function operates, establish effective ways of working, and contribute to building a high-performing fundraising and partnerships capability that supports M4D's long-term ambitions.

About the Role

The EU Partnerships & Fundraising Lead will drive M4D's European fundraising efforts, with a clear focus on developing and converting relationships with European institutions and other funding partners into significant financial support for the Foundation.

You will lead the development and implementation of a coordinated European donor engagement and fundraising strategy, prioritising institutions, funding mechanisms and partnerships that offer credible routes to funding. This includes the European Commission, relevant Directorates-General, European bilateral and multilateral donors, development finance institutions, foundations and other European funding stakeholders.

You will identify, qualify and pursue high-value funding opportunities, translating European policy and donor priorities into fundable propositions. Working closely with programme teams, you will shape competitive concepts and proposals across M4D's areas of expertise, including digital and technology development, AI, climate, humanitarian action, innovation, inclusion and sustainable development.

You will take ownership of developing and managing a strong European funding pipeline, coordinating donor engagement, proposal development and internal contributions to ensure opportunities progress effectively from initial identification through to funding decisions.

Strong programme management and cross-functional collaboration will be essential. You will work across teams to coordinate priorities, manage complex fundraising processes, and ensure timely, high-quality delivery of donor submissions.

As part of the wider fundraising and partnerships function, you will also lead or support strategic fundraising efforts across the Foundation, providing additional capacity for high-priority bids and helping build a sustainable and diversified funding base.

Expectations and Measures of Success

During the first 12 months, you will be expected to:

- Establish and implement a structured European donor engagement and fundraising strategy.
- Develop strong relationships with priority European funders and strategic partners with clear funding potential.
- Build and actively manage a qualified pipeline of high-value funding opportunities.
- Position M4D for relevant funding programmes and support the development and submission of competitive proposals.
- Establish effective internal coordination and pipeline management processes.

By the end of the 23-month period, you will be expected to have:

- Converted priority opportunities into secured funding for M4D.
- Established a strong and sustainable network of European donor relationships.
- Developed a credible forward pipeline of funding opportunities.
- Demonstrated measurable progress in diversifying M4D's funding base and strengthening its European positioning.

We recognise that institutional fundraising requires sustained relationship development and that major funding opportunities can take 18–24 months to mature and close. Performance will therefore be assessed against both the strength and progression of the funding pipeline and the funding secured over the two-year period.

This role is initially offered on a 23-month fixed-term basis, with the potential for extension or transition to a permanent position, subject to performance, organisational priorities and funding availability.

About You

You will thrive in this role if you combine a strong track record in institutional fundraising with the ability to build trusted relationships, navigate European funding environments and convert strategic opportunities into secured funding.

You will bring sound judgement in prioritising donors and opportunities, strong analytical and commercial awareness, and the ability to translate complex donor priorities into compelling funding propositions.

You will be an effective programme manager, able to coordinate multiple workstreams, manage competing priorities and collaborate across teams to deliver results. You will be comfortable working across different thematic areas and engaging with senior donor representatives, programme specialists and external partners.

A background in private sector development, digital development or technology for development would be a distinct advantage.

You will enjoy working in a fast-moving environment where relationship-building, strategic thinking, collaboration and execution are equally important.

Essential Experience & Skills

- Demonstrable track record of institutional fundraising, including identifying, developing and securing funding from European institutions, bilateral or multilateral donors, foundations or other relevant European funding organisations.
- Strong understanding of the European donor landscape and experience engaging with funding institutions, particularly the European Commission and other major European development funders.
- Proven ability to develop and manage donor relationships with a clear focus on securing funding and building long-term partnerships.
- Demonstrated success in building, managing and progressing a substantial funding pipeline, from opportunity identification and qualification through to proposal development and funding decisions.
- Strong programme and project management skills, including the ability to coordinate multiple stakeholders, manage deadlines and deliver high-quality outputs across teams.
- Excellent relationship-building, stakeholder management and influencing skills, including confidence engaging with senior donor representatives and decision-makers.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to develop compelling concept notes, donor proposals, briefings and other fundraising materials.
- Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret policy, donor and market intelligence and translate insights into actionable funding opportunities.
- Experience using CRM systems such as Salesforce, donor intelligence platforms, funding portals or equivalent tools to manage opportunities and relationships.
- Professional proficiency in English and French, including the ability to engage effectively with French-speaking donors and institutional stakeholders.

Desirable Experience & Skills

- Experience in digital development, ICT4D, digital inclusion, private sector development, climate-tech or innovation for development.
- Familiarity with EU grants, procurement processes, framework contracts, co-financing mechanisms and other relevant European funding instruments.
- Experience supporting complex, multi-partner funding opportunities, consortium development or joint proposals.
- Experience fundraising within or for international development organisations, foundations or other organisations operating across low- and middle-income countries.
- Professional proficiency in another European language, such as French, Spanish or German.

About Your Skills

The following skills will be particularly important for success in this role:

Fundraising & Business Development – identifying, developing and converting opportunities into secured funding and sustainable donor partnerships.
Stakeholder Management – building trusted, results-oriented relationships with European funders, strategic partners and internal teams.
Influence – positioning M4D effectively, shaping donor conversations and securing engagement from senior decision-makers.
Programme Management & Collaboration – coordinating complex fundraising processes, managing priorities and working effectively across programme and technical teams.
Communication – translating complex policy and funding landscapes into clear, compelling propositions and high-quality donor submissions.
Commercial Awareness – understanding donor priorities, funding mechanisms and partnership dynamics to identify opportunities for growth.
Analysis – interpreting policy, funding and market intelligence to inform strategic engagement and fundraising decisions.

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