Business Development and Partnerships Associate

About the role

ZSE Group is looking for a Business Development and Partnerships Associate in Abuja to support the identification and pursuit of business opportunities, grants, programme contracts and strategic partnerships across its brands. The role covers research of funding and partnership opportunities, proposal support, coordination of internal inputs, record keeping and assistance with relationships with funders, corporates, development organisations and ecosystem partners.

Key responsibilities

• Research and identify RFPs, EOIs, grants, tenders, fellowships and partnership opportunities, and review them against eligibility, strategic fit, requirements, potential value, capacity and deadlines.
• Maintain an opportunity tracker and share opportunities with the team lead or CEO.
• Research potential funders, corporates, development organisations, government agencies, DFIs, foundations and ecosystem partners.
• Support proposals, concept notes, expressions of interest, capability statements and partnership documents, and draft and edit their sections using approved templates.
• Coordinate inputs from internal teams (programmes, methodologies, workplans, budgets, M&E data) and keep proposal timelines on track.
• Review proposals against submission requirements and support submission through approved channels, tracking outcomes and lessons learned.
• Support outreach and relationship building, prepare meeting briefs and presentations, and record partner conversations and next steps in the CRM or tracking system.
• Support partnership proposals, MoUs and concept notes, and hand over successful opportunities to delivery teams with contracts, budgets and client information.
• Maintain a business development and bid library and keep the pipeline current, preparing weekly pipeline updates and contributing to monthly reports.
• Work with Programmes and Community, Client Engagement and Venture Building teams, monitor funding and sector trends, escalate risks and keep sensitive information confidential.

Required profile

• Strong communicator, organised, commercially aware, detail-oriented and able to work to deadlines.
• Relevant internship, NYSC, volunteer, freelance, academic or project experience is welcome.