Role mission
The Grants, Partnerships & Impact Manager will identify, develop, secure, and manage strategic funding and partnership opportunities that support Comcof Group's growth across coffee sourcing, farmer development, quality improvement, sustainability, climate resilience, traceability, digitalisation, market access, processing, and value addition. The role will ensure that grant-funded initiatives are commercially relevant, professionally implemented, compliant with donor requirements, and aligned with Comcof's long-term strategy.
About the role
Coffee and agriculture attract significant interest from development agencies, foundations, financial institutions, governments, NGOs, research organisations, sustainability programmes, and international partners.
Comcof Group is seeking a commercially aware and highly capable Grants, Partnerships & Impact Manager to identify suitable opportunities, build strong institutional relationships, prepare competitive proposals, coordinate funded programmes, and ensure that every project produces measurable and sustainable value.
This is not a purely administrative grant-writing role. The successful candidate must be able to understand Comcof's commercial strategy, translate business and sector needs into credible project concepts, coordinate multiple stakeholders, manage implementation, maintain strong records, and deliver high-quality reporting.
Comcof is a commercial coffee company, not an NGO. Grants and partnerships are tools for building strategic capabilities and measurable impact: stronger value chains, productivity, quality, income resilience, market access, institutional capacity, climate resilience, finance, technology, and inclusion. Funded activities carry the same financial controls, accountability, and execution standards as commercial transactions.
About Comcof Group
Comcof Group is a coffee company focused on building long-term capabilities across sourcing, trade, market access, finance coordination, quality, processing, and value addition. We are early-stage by design and disciplined by conviction: we believe respected coffee companies are built through reliable systems, consistent quality, and professional execution. Learn more about the company.
Strategic scope
The role may support programmes relating to the areas below. This describes the kinds of programmes the role may pursue; it does not describe programmes Comcof currently holds.
- Farmer organisation and supplier development.
- Coffee productivity and quality improvement.
- Climate-smart agriculture, sustainability, and responsible sourcing.
- Traceability and digital systems.
- Women and youth participation, and inclusion.
- Access to finance, market access, and export development.
- Coffee processing and value addition.
- Cooperative and aggregator capacity-building.
- Post-harvest handling and certification readiness.
- Research, innovation, and technology adoption.
- Food security and livelihood improvement.
- Regional and international partnerships.
- Infrastructure and equipment support.
- Environmental and social programmes.
Key responsibilities
Opportunity identification
- Continuously research and identify suitable grant, partnership, challenge-fund, technical-assistance, concessional-finance, and development-programme opportunities.
- Maintain an organised pipeline of current and upcoming opportunities.
- Monitor opportunities from foundations, development agencies, financial institutions, embassies, NGOs, governments, research bodies, climate funds, trade programmes, and agricultural organisations.
- Assess opportunities according to eligibility, strategic fit, funding size, implementation requirements, risk, and potential long-term value.
- Provide management with clear recommendations on which opportunities Comcof should pursue.
Proposal development
- Lead the preparation of grant applications, expressions of interest, concept notes, proposals, budgets, logical frameworks, workplans, and supporting documentation.
- Translate Comcof's commercial and operational priorities into credible, fundable programme concepts.
- Coordinate technical, financial, operational, quality, and management input into proposals.
- Ensure submissions are accurate, persuasive, compliant, complete, and delivered before deadlines.
- Develop reusable proposal materials, institutional profiles, project descriptions, evidence libraries, and application templates.
- Maintain accurate records of all submissions and outcomes.
Partnership development
- Build and maintain professional relationships with development partners, NGOs, government institutions, research organisations, foundations, financial institutions, sustainability programmes, and private-sector partners.
- Represent Comcof professionally in meetings, workshops, consortium discussions, and programme-development engagements.
- Identify suitable consortium and implementation partners.
- Support the preparation and review of partnership agreements, memoranda of understanding, scopes of work, and collaboration frameworks.
- Coordinate partner due diligence and background information where required.
Programme design
- Design practical projects that respond to real commercial, farmer, market, quality, sustainability, and operational needs.
- Develop programme theories of change, results frameworks, implementation plans, budgets, risk registers, and performance indicators.
- Ensure that proposed projects have clear beneficiaries, realistic outcomes, measurable indicators, and sustainable post-funding plans.
- Avoid creating programmes that are disconnected from Comcof's long-term commercial strategy.
- Ensure projects strengthen lasting systems and capabilities rather than temporary activity.
Programme implementation
- Coordinate the implementation of approved grant-funded and partnership programmes.
- Prepare detailed workplans, implementation schedules, budgets, procurement plans, and stakeholder-engagement plans.
- Coordinate internal teams, consultants, suppliers, field teams, farmers, partners, and service providers.
- Monitor activities, deadlines, deliverables, expenditure, outputs, and risks.
- Escalate delays, compliance risks, budget concerns, and implementation challenges early.
- Ensure project activities are delivered according to approved agreements and professional standards.
Monitoring, evaluation, and learning
- Develop and maintain monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning systems.
- Track programme outputs, outcomes, indicators, beneficiary data, milestones, and lessons.
- Coordinate baseline assessments, surveys, field monitoring, evaluations, and impact documentation.
- Produce clear evidence of programme performance, capture lessons, and recommend improvements.
- Help Comcof communicate credible impact without exaggeration or misleading claims.
Financial and compliance coordination
- Work closely with finance and operations to prepare budgets, expenditure forecasts, financial reports, and supporting documentation.
- Ensure spending and procurement follow funding agreements and internal controls.
- Maintain complete and audit-ready programme records.
- Monitor reporting deadlines, contractual obligations, deliverables, and compliance requirements.
- Coordinate donor reviews, audits, verification exercises, and programme assessments.
- Ensure that no expenditure, commitment, or public claim is made outside approved programme requirements.
Reporting and communication
- Prepare high-quality narrative reports, progress reports, financial-reporting inputs, presentations, case studies, and management updates.
- Maintain a central repository of proposals, agreements, correspondence, reports, budgets, evidence, and partner records.
- Coordinate approved programme communications with Comcof's communications function.
- Ensure public communication respects donor requirements, beneficiary dignity, commercial confidentiality, and factual accuracy.
- Prepare regular pipeline and programme-performance reports for leadership.
Minimum qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Development Studies, Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness, Economics, International Development, Project Management, Business Administration, Public Policy, Social Sciences, Finance, Agriculture, Environmental Studies, or a related field.
- At least 3 years of relevant professional experience in grant acquisition, proposal development, programme management, partnerships, development finance, agriculture, sustainability, or donor-funded projects.
- Demonstrated experience preparing successful or highly competitive funding proposals.
- Strong understanding of project design, budgeting, implementation, reporting, monitoring, and compliance.
- Excellent written and spoken English.
- Strong analytical, research, presentation, and stakeholder-management skills.
- High attention to detail and ability to manage multiple deadlines.
- Strong integrity, professionalism, and confidentiality.
- Ability to work independently while coordinating multiple internal and external contributors.
- Strong competence in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, online research, and digital collaboration tools.
Preferred qualifications and experience
- Master's degree or relevant professional certification.
- Experience in coffee, agriculture, commodities, farmer organisations, sustainability, climate, trade, rural development, market systems, or value-chain programmes.
- Experience working with international development agencies, NGOs, foundations, governments, financial institutions, research organisations, or private-sector development programmes.
- Experience developing logical frameworks, theories of change, results frameworks, risk registers, monitoring plans, and detailed budgets.
- Experience managing grants from application through implementation and close-out.
- Familiarity with donor compliance, procurement procedures, safeguarding, gender and inclusion requirements, environmental and social standards, and audit preparation.
- Experience developing consortium proposals or multi-partner programmes.
- A strong professional network within agriculture, coffee, development, finance, sustainability, or trade is advantageous.
- Knowledge of Uganda's coffee and agricultural sectors is highly desirable.
- A postgraduate qualification or established network is not mandatory where a candidate otherwise demonstrates strong capability.
Skills and attributes
- Exceptional proposal-writing ability, with persuasive but accurate writing.
- Strong commercial awareness and strategic thinking.
- Research discipline, and the ability to understand technical information.
- Financial and budgeting confidence.
- Excellent stakeholder management, presentation, and negotiation skills.
- Strong project-management ability, attention to detail, and follow-through.
- Professional confidence, integrity, and discretion.
- Ability to work under deadline pressure and to coordinate specialists.
- Ability to turn ideas into structured programmes.
- Respect for farmers, partners, beneficiaries, and communities.
What success looks like
- Comcof maintains a strong and organised pipeline of relevant funding and partnership opportunities.
- High-quality applications are submitted on time, and Comcof pursues opportunities that fit its strategy rather than applying indiscriminately.
- Partner relationships are professionally managed.
- Approved programmes are implemented according to scope, budget, deadlines, and agreements.
- Reporting is accurate, clear, and timely, and programme files remain complete and audit-ready.
- Management has visibility into opportunities, obligations, risks, and performance.
- Grant-funded programmes strengthen Comcof's long-term commercial and operational capabilities.
- Programme results are measurable, credible, and sustainable.
- The company avoids compliance failures, unsupported claims, and poorly aligned projects.
How performance will be assessed
Performance will be assessed on quality and strategic alignment, never on volume of submissions alone. Indicators include:
- Number and quality of strategically relevant opportunities identified.
- Quality and timeliness of funding submissions, and proposal success rate.
- Total funding or partnership value secured.
- Quality of institutional relationships developed.
- Compliance with reporting and implementation deadlines.
- Programme delivery against approved workplans and budgets.
- Accuracy and completeness of programme records, and audit and compliance performance.
- Achievement of programme indicators.
- Sustainability and commercial relevance of funded initiatives.
- Quality of leadership reporting.
- Percentage of opportunities rejected early due to poor strategic fit.
What you will gain
You will build Comcof's grants, partnerships, and impact function from the ground up, with direct engagement with leadership, exposure to coffee, agriculture, international development, sustainability, finance, and trade, and responsibility for significant strategic programmes in a high-learning environment.
Career path
Grants, Partnerships & Impact Manager, growing into Head of Partnerships, Sustainability & Impact, growing into Director of Strategic Partnerships & Development. This is a potential progression as the function grows, not a guaranteed promotion.
What to include with your application
- Your CV and a cover letter.
- Your LinkedIn profile, where available.
- A brief summary of grants, proposals, partnerships, or programmes you have worked on, your specific role in each, funding amounts or programme scale where disclosure is permitted, and the outcomes achieved.
- One relevant writing sample, concept note, proposal extract, programme report, or equivalent document, with confidential information removed.
Please do not submit confidential documents belonging to previous employers or clients.
Practical assessment
Shortlisted candidates may be asked to complete a time-limited practical assessment involving opportunity evaluation, concept development, proposal writing, budgeting, partnership strategy, or programme planning. The assessment will not involve preparing a complete live funding application for Comcof without compensation.
How to apply
Complete the form below. When you submit, your email application opens with your answers already prepared and addressed to us; attach your CV (PDF preferred) and any supporting documents to that email before sending. We review every application and respond to shortlisted candidates.
Comcof Group is committed to fair, merit-based recruitment. Qualified applicants are assessed according to the requirements of the role, demonstrated competence, professional conduct, experience, integrity, and potential.