Business Development Manager EU

CONFIDENTIAL – INTERNAL VACANCY ONLY

Scope:  Europe

Hours:  Full time

Reports to:  Head of Business Development

Team:  Business Development

Location: Any Hivos office

Indicative grade: ZIM; 6, KEN: 13, TUN:12 CR: 7 NL: 11,12

About the role

The Business Development Manager plays a key role in advancing Hivos’ strategic funding and partnership ambitions under the Ten for Ten strategy. The role focuses on identifying, shaping, and securing institutional funding and strategic partnerships that enable Hivos to deliver complex, multi-country and multi-actor programs aligned with its mission to defend and expand civil and political rights.

Operating within a functional, globally dispersed business development model, the role combines market and contextual intelligence, relationship-building, and coordinated proposal development. It requires close collaboration with program, finance, and support functions to translate strategic priorities into high-quality, fundable opportunities that are operationally feasible, compliant, and aligned with Hivos’ values and power-shifting approach.

Depending on the specific focus of the position, the role emphasizes either deep regional and contextual knowledge or the orchestration of complex, cross-regional design processes. Across all variants, the position contributes to both short-term fundraising results and longer-term positioning of Hivos within priority donor, foundation, and partnership ecosystems.

The Business Development Manager (Europe Focus, EU Expertise) contributes to advancing Hivos’ funding and partnership ambitions under the Ten for Ten strategy, with a focus on Europe-focused programs, including EU, domestic, and other European funding and philanthropic ecosystems.

The role operates within Hivos’ functional, globally dispersed business development model and supports the development of complex, multi-country programs in Europe, aligned with Hivos’ mission and strategic priorities.

To coordinate business development processes for Europe-focused projects, including EU, domestic, and other relevant funding opportunities, leveraging strong expertise in EU mechanisms to build strategically aligned funding pipelines and partnerships.

Key responsibilities

• Monitor and assess European funding trends, policy priorities, and opportunities relevant to Hivos, including EU, domestic, and philanthropic funding streams.


• Coordinate funding engagement and proposal development for Europe-focused projects, including EU programs, European foundations, and other relevant donors active in Europe.


• Contribute contextual and strategic input to program design, consortium formation, and budgeting for Europe-focused funding opportunities.


• Coordinate inputs from program, finance, and compliance colleagues to ensure proposals are fundable, compliant, and strategically positioned, particularly within EU frameworks.


• Support relationship-building with EU institutions, European foundations, local authorities, and strategic partners relevant to Hivos’ work in Europe.


• Represent Hivos in Europe-focused funding, donor, and partnership spaces, including EU-related fora where relevant

Role-specific focus

This role requires strong expertise in EU funding architectures, compliance frameworks, and policy dynamics, combined with familiarity with European foundations, domestic funding mechanisms, and philanthropic actors. It calls for understanding of civic space, political, and regulatory contexts in priority European countries where Hivos wants to work, and the ability to translate these into competitive, and well-positioned funding propositions across diverse European funding streams.

Skills and competencies

• Knowledge of EU funding architectures, including foundations, domestic mechanisms, and philanthropic actors.


• Ability to coordinate complex proposal processes with multiple stakeholders.


• Strong written and verbal communication skills.


• Political and organizational sensitivity.


• Ability to work autonomously in a globally distributed team.


• Fluent in English. A second language is an asset.

Education and experience

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience.


• 3–7 years of relevant experience in business development, institutional fundraising, or program development.


• Experience engaging with institutional donors and/or foundations.

How to apply

Please submit a cover letter (maximum 1 page) and CV (maximum 2 pages) as soon as possible by clicking the ‘Apply here’ button. Applications are being received until February 3rd 2026 midnight UTC.