Bid Writer

The role

We are searching for an exceptional Bid Writer to play an integral role in supporting the delivery of Lightful’s institutional fundraising strategy - to support the resilience of an ever growing number of local NGOs/CSOs across the world. 

You will report to the Head of Partnerships and be a key part of Lightful’s strong and dynamic Partnerships team. You will also work closely with our Co-Founders and senior leaders across our Programme, Finance, Engineering and Design teams.

You will be working from home, but have the option of using our East London office when you want to as well. 

Every day will be different, but some of the things you’ll be involved in are:

• Proposal Development: Collaborate with internal teams, Co-Founders, and other stakeholders to gather relevant information for proposals. Develop persuasive and well-structured proposals that clearly articulate the project's objectives, activities, outcomes, and impact. Tailor proposals to different donor audiences while adhering to internal and/or external templates.

• Writing proposals (standard): Develop proposals and concept notes that are customised and tailored to the funders’ needs with limited supervision. Each document needs to effectively communicate Lightful’s mission, vision, and project goals whilst ensuring clarity, consistency, and adherence to formatting and style guidelines. You will use our suite of templates and our structured proposal development process to minimise the time between the request and submission.

• Writing Proposals (ad-hoc): Occasionally, non-standard proposal templates will be required and you will need to demonstrate creativity, flexibility, and adaptability in crafting a compelling and innovative proposals that align with the unique requirements of the situation. Naturally you will be supported by the Head of Partnerships and/or the Co-Founders. 

• Editing Proposals: Make appropriate changes to concept notes and proposals in relation to the feedback provided by the founders. Ensure that the updated version of the document is ready within the submission deadline communicated.

• Writing other external facing documents: Coordinate with other teams to develop and design other sales enablement documents such as case studies, capacity statements, and ad-hoc resources.

• Proposal Tracking and Reporting: Track and manage proposal submissions, deadlines and follow up in our CRM system (Salesforce).

• Research and Analysis: Conduct thorough research on funding opportunities, including philanthropists, trusts, foundations, corporate entities, and institutional donors. Stay updated on industry trends, funding priorities, and the specific requirements of potential donors. Analyse and synthesise complex information to develop targeted proposals.

• Continuous Improvement: Stay updated on best practices in proposal writing, fundraising, and philanthropy. Continuously refine and improve proposal templates, processes, and strategies. Learn from feedback and evaluation to enhance the quality and success rate of proposals.

• Impact reporting: Contribute to the development of organisational and cohorts’ impact reports.

Who we are

Lightful is a B-Corp and a technology company on a mission to help nonprofits and social enterprises become better storytellers, build trust and raise more money.

Lightful’s BRIDGE programme equips charities and civil society organisations with the digital tools and capabilities to become more resilient and deliver greater impact. It generates incredible results for participating organisations, helping them to build trust with their stakeholders by having a stronger digital presence. Lightful’s services represent practical steps towards the achievement of localisation.

Lightful’s work has been funded by trusts, foundations, philanthropists and institutional donors all over the world such as GIZ, UNICEF, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Comic Relief, Jessie Ball duPont Fund, Global Giving, UBS Optimus Foundation, and JP Morgan. Thanks to these collaborative partnerships we have been able to support over 2,000 organisations across global north and global south.

As we rapidly expand our reach and impact, this important new role will work with a strong pipeline of donor leads and contacts. 

You can read more about our products and services as well as our purpose, mission and values on our website and Linkedin page.

You should apply if you have most of the following:

• Significant experience in writing bids/proposals for philanthropists, trusts, foundations, corporate entities, and institutional donors
• Deep knowledge of the nonprofit sector and main challenges of local nonprofits (specific regional or country experience welcome)
• Track record of leading successful bid processes including writing and coordination of different stakeholders 
• Deep commitment to social and environmental change and the nonprofit sector 
• Knowledge of fundraising information sources and familiarity with research techniques for prospect research (Devex, Business forecast etc.)
• A flair with the written word. The ability to take dry jargon and long proposals and edit, refine and finesse them to be a pleasure to read
• Impeccable grammar, spelling and great attention to detail
• Ability to manage sales process via CRM system
• Experience working directly with the most senior levels of an organisation, and the ability to effectively strategise and engage various groups and constituents
• Ability to work independently, yet communicate and coordinate clearly and regularly with the wider team when proposal development requires
• Calm under pressure, and can manage competing priorities and deadlines
• Ability to thrive in a dynamic entrepreneurial environment

Benefits

We offer a comprehensive benefits package adapted for the world of remote working:

• Highly competitive salary 
• Stock options - every team member shares in the success of Lightful!
• 35 days of bookable annual leave (book a bank holiday off, or not)
• Your birthday off (paid) plus day off to move house (paid)
• Simply Health cash back plan
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Free, independent financial coaching from Octopus MoneyCoach
• Lightful Pension provided by Legal & General 
• Free access to Asana Rebel (yoga) and Headspace apps
• Perkbox with monthly Flexi Points (retails discounts and much more)
• Tax free contribution to additional home-working costs
• Cycle to work scheme
• Workplace Nursery (Salary sacrifice scheme providing NI/Tax savings on nursery fees)
• Charitable Payroll Giving (Tax efficient)   
• Personal development programme
• Thorough onboarding experience, supported by a buddy to support your integration to the team
• Default work from home, with optional access to our London office
• Varied and excellent opportunities for skills/career progression
• Be part of a business that has an impact all over the world!

Flexible Working

Through our 'Lightful Flex' initiative we embrace flexibility. So whether you want to work part-time, a compressed week/fortnight, or have flexible hours during the week, talk to us about your needs. We can’t always say yes, but we always try to find ways to make things work!

Equal opportunities 

A diverse range of opinions and perspectives is core to Lightful’s open culture and ongoing success. As an equal opportunity employer, all applicants will be considered for employment without attention to ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, family or parental status, national origin, veteran, neurodiversity status or disability status.

Additional Requirement

Whilst we are advertising this role as based in the UK, we are open to considering applications from individuals from outside the UK whose experience meets the requirements of the role. 

For UK based individuals, you must be eligible to work in the UK without the need of visa support/sponsorship.