Regional Portfolio Growth Manager (PGM) CESAF

Millar Cameron is working with Swisscontact to recruit a Regional Portfolio Growth Manager, (PGM) Central, Eastern and Southern Africa. Swisscontact is an international development organization committed to sustainable economic development through skills development, market systems strengthening, and private sector engagement. The organisation works across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, partnering with governments, donors, and the private sector to design and deliver inclusive and evidence driven programmes in areas such as agriculture and food systems, climate and circular economy, entrepreneurship, and financial inclusion. Find out more about Swisscontact}

This role will be based in Nairobi, Kenya.

Role Overview

The Regional Portfolio Growth Manager is a senior leadership position within the CESAF region of Swisscontact, responsible for leading the regional business portfolio development process. The role develops and executes action plans to deliver the business targets of Strategy 2028 for CESAF, working closely with the Regional Director and Country Directors. He/She supports Country Directors to develop new partnerships and win new business in their respective countries, while strengthening the end-to-end business development cycle, from early market intelligence through to project kick-off across CESAF.

The incumbent also leads business development for selected strategic opportunities as determined by the Regional Director and plays a key role in building internal capacity in business development and priority thematic areas, including private sector development and inclusive systems development. The role offers significant influence and ownership, leading regional fundraising and resource mobilisation, building strategic donor partnerships, and securing large-scale, multi-country programmes that strengthen Swisscontact’s long-term impact and sustainability. It is designed for an entrepreneurial leader who thrives in collaborative environments, operates confidently at scale, and builds the systems and capabilities that enable country teams to succeed in a complex, fast-evolving context.

Key Responsibilities

Business Development

(For all countries)
• Actively scan and monitor the donor (both public and private) landscape, donor strategies and development trends to identify the business development opportunities, gather early market intelligence to develop pipeline of projects, assess the competition and identify possible collaborators depending on the business opportunities,
• Actively develop and maintain relationships with other implementing agencies, consultants, donors, partners and other stakeholders for identifying relevant business opportunities and pursue the opportunities,
• Draft technical proposals for budgets up to 1-1.5million CHF/year and quality assurance of all bids/concept notes/project proposals,
• Support CDs to determine winning team profile and identify appropriate team members for winning tenders
• Work closely with the RD to develop annual strategy and action plan, regional business development strategy
• Lead in quarterly review of the progress towards annual business targets and strategy 2028 business targets and determine/revise action plans
• Influence Swisscontact’s business model, partnership and programme development to remain future fit

For select country(ies) or tender(s)
• Identify possible consortium partners, negotiate partnership deals (in consultation with RD and with approval from HO MD),
• Lead drafting and/ or quality assurance of technical proposal development,
• Manage performance and delivery of the consultants for bid development and country specific business development initiative

Process and Capacity Development
• Work with CDs to develop and implement a process for continuous scanning of business opportunities,
• Monitor the performance of the business scanning process at regular interval and revise as deemed necessary,
• Support CDs in establishing contacts with target donor agencies, foundations, other implementing organisations,
• Support Communication leads/CDs in developing country specific Swisscontact Corporate Presentation covering the working areas of Swisscontact and to update
• Periodically update the country specific Swisscontact Corporate Presentation in line with the latest results and corporate priorities

Influencing, and Knowledge Management
• Provide technical backstopping to selected projects and review and quality assure the inception phase deliverables of selected projects,
• Distil and develop knowledge products and learning documents and use the learning products to develop new project ideas
• Work with global P&S team to provide knowledge and insights from the region to the global knowledge products,
• Represent Swisscontact in various events and position Swisscontact as one of the leading implementers in the region,
• Supervise the Regional communication coordinator.

Qualifications & Experience
• 8+ years’ experience in international development or non-profit organisations, combining project delivery, portfolio management, and business development at regional or multi-country level.
• Proven track record in designing, implementing, and backstopping development programmes, including strong involvement in project inception and early implementation phases.
• Demonstrated experience in portfolio growth and fundraising, including shaping opportunities early, developing winning proposals, and contributing to projects of USD 1.5m+ per year.
• Strong understanding of Anglophone donor markets and donor funding mechanisms, with exposure to public donors and growing experience engaging international donors, corporates, and philanthropic foundations.
• Experience applying market-based, private-sector-engagement, and/or climate-smart approaches within development programmes (experience across at least two thematic areas preferred).
• Ability to operate effectively in regional, matrixed environments, influencing senior stakeholders and enabling country teams without direct line authority.
• Excellent written and verbal English communication skills; ability to develop high-quality project concepts and proposals. Working knowledge of French is an advantage.
• Willingness to be based in Nairobi, Kenya, with regular travel across Central, Eastern and Southern Africa.

To apply for this position please provide an up-to-date CV.

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of colour are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Millar Cameron, we are dedicated to supporting our clients in building and supporting diverse and inclusive workplace and culture, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.