Project Development Officer

Location: Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Department: School of Professional and Continuing Education (SPCE)

Reports to: Director of SPCE

Deadline: 09 February 2025

UCA Background:

The University of Central Asia (UCA) was founded in 2000 as a private, not for profit, secular university through an International Treaty signed by the Presidents of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, and His Highness the Aga Khan; ratified by their respective parliaments, and registered with the United Nations. The Presidents are the Patrons of the University and His Highness is the Chancellor. UCA’s mission is to promote the social and economic development of Central Asia, particularly its mountain communities, by offering an internationally recognised standard of higher education, and enabling the peoples of the region to preserve their rich cultural heritage as assets for the future. UCA brings with it the broader commitment and partnership of the Aga Khan Development Network. For more information: www.ucentralasia.org

Summary of Position:

The Project Development Officer will support the School of Professional and Continuing Education (SPCE) by leading on the development of project ideas and drafting of technical proposals and concept notes for external and internal funding. The Officer will work in close collaboration with the SPCE team (Country Heads, Managers, Coordinators, Financial Analyst, as well as UCA Finance and other relevant departments) with minimum supervision and under strict deadlines. The ability to formulate ideas, write clearly, concisely and persuasively is a must for this position.

Under the supervision of the SPCE Director, the Officer will work also with UCA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) to elaborate and communicate SPCE’s external funding needs and growth plans to support the identification of funding opportunities. Once funding opportunities have been identified, the Officer will be responsible for leading the technical proposal development process within SPCE. This will include coordination among the SPCE team, across different SPCE country offices for multi-country projects, and working closely with project partners where relevant. S/he will be responsible for ensuring coherence between project documents, including log frames, project management plans, narrative proposals and budgets and for providing direct writing support during the proposal development process. This will ensure that high-quality technical drafts are provided to the ORD for further refinement and submission. The Officer will also provide capacity building support to other SPCE staff where required, specifically on proposal development.

Main Dutes and Responsibilities:

• Elaborate and communicate SPCE growth plans and external funding needs to support the identification of suitable external funding opportunities.
• Develop technical proposals and concept notes that meet UCA quality standards, with the aim of successfully securing external funding.
• Brainstorm new initiatives for funding in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Afghanistan and work with Country Heads to develop project ideas for proposals, in particular the multi-country proposals, and compile into one cohesive narrative.
• Work closely with ORD to identify potential funding streams for new projects and initiatives.
• Produce proposal development schedules and track timelines, ensuring and facilitating coordination amongst teams – ORD, SPCE (Country Heads, Managers, Coordinators, Financial Analyst).
• Work closely with SPCE Finance, UCA’s HR Operations as well as relevant technical staff to develop proposal budgets.
• Lead on ensuring internal sign off processes are undertaken in a timely manner.
• Represent SPCE in proposal development meetings and discussions.

Required Qualifications and Skills:

• Bachelor’s degree (master’s degree is an advantage) in Business Administration, Journalism, English, Technical Writing, or Professional Writing.

• Fluency in English, Russian, any national language of UCA countries would be an advantage (Kyrgyz, Kazakh, Tajik, Dari). a
• Excellent analytical, research and report writing skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience in proposal writing and knowledge of proposal best practices min 3 years.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office.

• Strong organizational, time management and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work independently and in a team environment.
• Proven ability to work under the pressure of long- and short-term deadlines.
• Ability to work in multicultural team and various departments.

How to Apply

Ready to join our team? We kindly invite you to submit your application for this position by clicking the Apply button on this page. To facilitate a smooth application process, please create an account on our website. Be assured that the account setup and application steps are straightforward.

Applications will be reviewed when received. Early applications are strongly encouraged.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.