Grants & Partnerships Lead

BURN is seeking a seasoned Grants & Partnerships Lead to own and drive the company's institutional funding function from end to end. This is a senior individual contributor role sitting at the intersection of strategy, storytelling, and stakeholder engagement — responsible for securing transformative grant funding that powers BURN's mission in clean cooking, energy access, and climate solutions across Africa.

You will work directly with the Director to build and execute a sophisticated grants pipeline spanning bilateral donors, multilateral development institutions, philanthropic foundations, and climate finance windows. BURN's funding portfolio is complex and high-value, covering GHG reduction, energy transition, gender, climate adaptation, and industrial development — with funders including GIZ, UNCDF, and the World Bank. This role demands both strategic acumen and exceptional writing craft.

• Own BURN's full grant pipeline across bilateral, multilateral, foundation, and climate finance windows — continuously identifying and qualifying new opportunities aligned to strategic priorities.
• Conduct systematic horizon-scanning to surface funding opportunities before windows open, positioning BURN ahead of the competition.
• Assess funder fit, eligibility, and strategic alignment to allocate proposal development resources effectively.
• Maintain a structured capture management process, tracking opportunities from identification through submission, negotiation, and award.
• Lead the writing, structuring, and quality assurance of all grant proposals, concept notes, and expressions of interest across programme areas.
• Translate BURN's technical operations, carbon data, and impact evidence into compelling, funder-appropriate narratives that win grants.
• Develop programme logframes, theories of change, results frameworks, and budgets in close collaboration with technical and finance teams.
• Manage proposal timelines and internal review processes through to CEO sign-off, ensuring deadlines are met without compromising quality.
• Build and maintain trusted relationships with programme officers and key contacts at priority funders and development institutions.
• Represent BURN at donor engagements, pre-proposal meetings, and sector convenings as appropriate.
• Identify warm introduction pathways through BURN's partner network to accelerate funder access.
• Proactively position BURN with funders ahead of open windows through targeted communications and strategic outreach.
• Contribute to building BURN's internal grants capability through documentation, templates, and institutional knowledge management.
• Coordinate across operations, impact, carbon, and programme teams to gather quality inputs efficiently for proposals.
• Help define and refine the grants team's processes, cadences, and tools as the function scales.

• Demonstrate a minimum of 7 years of institutional funding experience with a verifiable track record of securing grants of $5 million or more from bilateral, multilateral, or major foundation sources.
• Manage the full funding cycle independently — from opportunity identification and proposal development through award negotiation and contracting.
• Navigate the funder landscape relevant to energy access, clean cooking, climate finance, and/or industrial development across Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Write compelling, technically grounded proposals that translate complex programme logic into persuasive funder narratives without losing accuracy.
• Develop high-quality logframes, theories of change, results frameworks, and M&E indicators aligned to donor requirements.
• Build and sustain productive relationships with programme officers at institutions such as GIZ, UNCDF, World Bank, or equivalent bilateral/multilateral agencies.
• Coordinate multi-stakeholder input processes across technical, finance, and senior leadership teams under tight deadlines.
• Apply a strategic lens to pipeline prioritisation — knowing when to pursue, when to pass, and how to position for the long game.
• Demonstrate familiarity with climate finance mechanisms, carbon markets, or gender-responsive programming as a significant advantage.

BURN offers a competitive compensation package commensurate with the seniority of this role and the candidate's track record. The estimated monthly salary range for this position is KES 350,000 – 600,000, reflecting the high-value, specialised nature of institutional fundraising at this level. Additional benefits may include performance-linked incentives, health coverage, and professional development support. Specific package details will be discussed during the interview process.

Ideal candidate: You are a proven institutional fundraiser who has personally led the capture and writing of large, complex grants ($5M+) for development-focused organisations — ideally in energy, climate, or clean technology sectors. You thrive in a fast-moving, mission-driven environment, are comfortable working directly with senior leadership, and bring both the strategic vision to spot opportunities and the writing discipline to convert them into awards. Experience working across African markets and with major multilateral or bilateral donors is essential.

Do not apply if: You have primarily managed grants rather than written and won them, have no direct experience securing grants above $1M, or are looking for a heavily team-supported role. This position requires a self-starter who can own the function with minimal hand-holding.

• Prepare an updated CV highlighting specific grants won, funder names, and grant sizes you have personally secured.
• Write a brief cover letter (no more than one page) explaining your most significant grant win and your approach to funder positioning.
• Submit your application through BURN's official careers portal or the platform on which you found this listing.
• Shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an initial screening call followed by a writing assessment and panel interview.
• Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted. BURN is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion.