The Smile Foundation
About Smile Foundation: Smile Foundation works for the welfare of underserved children and their families through intensive programmes focused on education, healthcare, skilling, women empowerment and Empowering Grassroots. Started in 2002 by a group of young corporate professionals, today Smile has evolved into a national level development organization impacting lives of over 1.5 million underserved children and their families with project presence in 27 states across India, 10 offices in strategic locations and over 650 employees, besides countless volunteers, well-wishers and supporters.
The organization also holds Special Consultative Status with United Nation's Economic & Social Council (ECOSOC), accredited with global organizations like GuideStar, United Way, CAF America, Give2Asia and many more. Furthermore, continuously for the past three years Smile has been a Great Place to Work © Certified organization and is considered 'Gold Standard' in identifying and recognizing Great Workplace Cultures.
Currently Smile Foundation has been implementing projects worth Rs. 80 Crore across India directly or with the help of grassroot organizations, primarily CSR funded projects of varied scale both in urban and rural areas including aspirational districts in thematic areas mentioned above. The wealth of knowledge emanated from the same is immense, however the same is grouped in systematic manner which can be used for pitching for large projects of long term in nature leading to data driven knowledge products which can be further used in creating large scale impact.
Position: Assistant Manager/Manager– Proposal Development
Functional Area: Research & Proposal Development
Location: Delhi
Experience: 5 – 8 years
No. of Position: 1
Summary of the Role:
The Assistant Manager/ Manager - Proposal Development will assist the organization's efforts in developing high-quality proposals to secure funding from diverse sources, including government agencies, foundations and corporates. The role requires strong skills in writing, research, strategic thinking, and relationship management. The successful candidate will collaborate with various program teams and Resource Mobilization team to ensure the alignment of proposals with the organization's mission and strategic goals.
Key Responsibilities:
- Develop high quality proposals and concept notes along with budget in accordance with donor requirements in alignment with Smile's thematic areas primarily in education and skilling.
- Write and edit concept notes, proposals, letters of inquiry, bids, and other donor communications focusing on clarity and accuracy, readability, and professional presentation - presenting them as donor ready to final reviewer.
- Coordinate with program teams to ensure that donor requirements are met, and the appropriate templates used when developing proposals.
- Works with teams to collaboratively manage complex donor proposal processes, including budgeting and tracking timelines, sourcing relevant information from team members for proposal development processes.
- Undertake regular secondary research in alignment with Smile's thematic areas and in the development sector globally and nationally.
- Assist in applying for National and International awards.
- Respond promptly for all queries of the program team and Resource Mobilization team.
- Participate in proposal reviews and recommend and execute changes as needed.
- Prepare regular reports for the senior management team on proposal conversions.
- Ensure adherence to established proposal and knowledge management templates and quality standards.
- Ensure that information related to donor proposals, contacts, and processes is well-documented and accessible to others within the organization.
- This role would need to identify and research new funding opportunities from government, foundation, corporate, and individual donors and apply them.
- Stay updated on trends in philanthropy, donor priorities, and changes in the funding landscape.
- To support in proposal writing for other verticals like Swabhiman (Women Empowerment), Health etc as assigned.
Qualification and Experience:
- Should have a master's in social work (MSW), Sociology, Development studies, Social Science or other related subjects.
- Candidates with 5-8 years of experience in research and proposal writing. With a minimum of 3 years of experience in a similar role in the development sector.
- Proven track record of securing significant funding from a variety of sources.
- Should have the ability to understand and communicate complex information, and to conceptualize and produce strong, clean and compelling written materials.
- Superior writing skills, proofreading and editing skills with an analytical mindset are also huge assets to anyone pursuing this field.
- Strong proficiency with MS Word, Excel and PPT, Google platform, Adobe, Dropbox and other online collaboration tools.
- Should be well versed with LFA, Theory of Change Tools which are used for proposal writing.
- Ability to work under pressure and manage competing priorities and deadlines.
Competencies:
- Communication
- Analytical Problem Solving
- Achieving results
- Aligning performance for success
- Focus Upon Quality
- Time Management
- Contributes to Team Performance
How to Apply:
Smile Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer
Please Note: Only shortlisted candidates would be contacted by the Human Resources Team
