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About Blood:Water

Despite decades of effort and trillions of dollars spent, health disparities in East and Southern Africa persist due to complex, intersecting challenges largely driven by HIV/AIDS and WASH. The path to lasting change lies with these very communities, whose knowledge, resilience, and innovation are key to long-lasting transformation. However, only 14% of funding from international donors goes to local organizations in Africa, so an astounding 86% of funding never gets into the hands of those closest to the issues being addressed. Many local leaders and community-based organizations are implementing solutions that drive lasting change, but remain under-resourced and under-funded. The Blood:Water model is uniquely suited to solve the problem.

Blood:Water functions as both a strengthening partner and an intermediary in the realm of global health in Africa. Initially founded with a grassroots approach, it has evolved over 20 years into a robust organization that bridges the gap between donors in wealthier countries and local organizations in Africa. Instead of a deficit-based model, Bloodwater emphasizes capability and respect in its partnerships, focusing on sustainable impact and empowering local communities with the resources and agency to advance local solutions that end health disparities.

As a strengthening partner, Blood:Water supports grassroots organizations with organizational strengthening investments, including funds for operational improvements, peer and ecosystem networking opportunities, access to technical resources and individualized leadership development. This approach ensures that these organizations not only receive programmatic funding but also adequately resource their organization’s holistically to become self-sustaining entities. Blood: Water’s track record includes successfully graduating programs from its grant cycles, demonstrating a long-term commitment to monitoring and evaluating outcomes for sustainable impact.

Blood:Water acts as a crucial intermediary for donors seeking impactful partnerships in Africa, facilitating effective collaboration and sustainable development through its proven model of organizational support and long-term funding.

About the Role

The Director of Development (DOD) leads Blood:Water’s collaborative funding strategy, ensuring annual budget targets are met and building a strong pipeline for long-term financial sustainability. A key priority is growing multi-year unrestricted institutional funding—from 15% to 50%—while maintaining strong individual giving streams (Annual Giving and Major Gifts). The ideal candidate brings deep experience in the philanthropic sector and understands the evolving collaborative funding landscape.

Partnering with the Executive Director, staff, and board, the DOD crafts sustainable development strategies that align with Blood:Water’s mission and position the organization for transformational funding opportunities. This includes setting revenue targets, cultivating funder relationships, and tracking performance metrics.

They directly manage a portfolio of institutional funders and major donors, while providing strategic oversight of donor engagement led by the Annual Giving Specialist. They will evaluate the timing and justification to re-staff oversight to the major donor portfolio as a potentially growing revenue stream within Blood:Water’s faith-based networks. The role works cross-departmentally—especially with the Africa Partnerships and Communications teams—to ensure alignment between programs and funder impact goals.

As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, the DOD shapes overall strategy with a focus on scaling impact through strategic partnerships. They also lead the board’s Development Committee and oversee the recruitment, development, and management of the Development team to implement Blood:Water’s comprehensive funding strategy.

Duties and Responsibilities

Key Results, Essential Functions and Responsibilities

Key Result #1 – Fundraising & Strategic Partnerships (50%)

• Develop and implement a sustainable institutional funding strategy to increase unrestricted funding from 15% to 50%.
• Build and manage a high-value portfolio of institutional funders, major donors, and foundations through strategic engagement and stewardship.
• Led the development of compelling proposals and funding pitches, leveraging Blood:Water’s expertise in trust-based, collaborative philanthropy.
• Oversee compliance reporting, ensuring funders receive high-quality, impact-focused updates.
• Represent Blood:Water at key sector events, conferences, and donor meetings to expand funding opportunities.

Key Result #2 – Leadership & Team Development (35%)

• Supervise and support the Annual Giving Manager and broader Development team to drive donor engagement and retention.
• Align individual giving campaigns with institutional funding priorities to ensure consistent messaging and strategic focus.
• Develop and maintain systems for donor tracking, pipeline management, and fundraising performance metrics.
• Oversee the creation of fundraising materials and development collateral to support donor engagement.
• Lead talent recruitment, training, and professional development for Development staff.

Result #3 -Organizational Strategy & Board Engagement (15%)

• Serve on the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), contributing to organizational strategy, budgeting, and impact measurement.
• Work closely with the Board Development Committee, providing updates and leveraging board networks for fundraising efforts.
• Ensure strategic alignment between funding strategies and programmatic impact, working closely with Africa Partnerships, Communications, and Impact & Learning teams.
• Guide the integration of institutional funding trends into Blood:Water’s overall strategy.

Qualifications & Experience

• 10+ years in nonprofit fundraising, including 3+ years in senior leadership roles.
• Expertise in trust-based philanthropy, collaborative funding models, and institutional fundraising.
• Experience in international development, global health, or systems change sectors, particularly in Africa.
• Proven success in securing multi-year, high-value grants from foundations and institutional funders.
• Strong leadership, relationship management, and strategic planning abilities.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with experience in public speaking and publishing preferred.

Ideal Candidate Traits

• Passionate about African-led, community-driven development and equity in philanthropy.
• Strong relationship-builder who prioritizes trust, empathy, and collaboration in donor engagement.
• Christian faith-driven, aligning with Blood:Water’s values.
• Highly adaptable, proactive, and detail-oriented, thriving in a fast-paced environment.
• Skilled in data-driven decision-making, donor analytics, and impact measurement.