Fundraising Officer – Proposal Writer

📍 Location: Pune, Maharashtra

🏢 Organization: Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR)

👤 Reporting to: Executive Director

About WOTR

The Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) is a nationally and internationally recognized organization working at the intersection of landscape and ecosystem restoration, water resource management, climate-resilient agriculture, sustainable livelihoods, climate resilience, health, sanitation, nutrition, and institutional development.

WOTR combines on-ground implementation, transdisciplinary research, capacity building, and policy engagement to create sustainable and scalable impact. We collaborate with communities, governments, corporates, foundations, and philanthropic institutions to design and implement transformative development programs.

🌐 Learn more about our work: www.wotr.org

Role Overview

We are looking for a creative and impact-driven Fundraising Officer – Proposal Writer who can translate WOTR’s field experience, research insights, and innovative development approaches into compelling proposals and donor communications.

The role requires strong storytelling ability, research skills, and collaboration with multidisciplinary teams to develop high-quality funding proposals and support WOTR’s resource mobilization efforts.

Key Responsibilities

1. Proposal Development

• Coordinate and collaborate with regional field teams, researchers, and program leads to gather project insights and data.
• Develop well-researched, visually engaging, and articulate proposal documents for donors and funding agencies.
• Clearly communicate problem statements, need assessments, theory of change, project design, and expected impact.
• Translate complex development concepts into clear, compelling, and donor-friendly narratives.
• Support the leadership team in preparing pitch decks, concept notes, donor presentations, and proposal documents.

2. Identifying Grant Opportunities

• Monitor donor portals, foundations, CSR platforms, and development sector networks to identify relevant grant calls and RFPs.
• Maintain and regularly update a database of funding opportunities aligned with WOTR’s thematic areas.
• Track deadlines and coordinate with internal teams to ensure timely submission of proposals.

3. Research & Knowledge Building

• Conduct secondary research on donor priorities, thematic frameworks, and development trends.
• Stay updated on emerging approaches, policies, and innovations in the development sector.
• Support proposal development with relevant data, evidence, and sector insights.

4. Donor Engagement & Due Diligence

• Manage inbound proposal requests and donor inquiries related to WOTR’s programs.
• Facilitate due diligence processes, including documentation, institutional information, and responses to donor queries.
• Support relationship management with prospective donors through communication and follow-ups.

Required Qualifications & Experience

🎓 Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Development Studies, Social Sciences, Management, Communications, or related fields.

💼 Experience:

• Minimum 1 year of experience in the development sector, preferably in fundraising, business development, strategic partnerships, or CSR engagement.

🛠 Skills & Competencies

• Strong proposal writing, storytelling, and content development skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication
• Ability to synthesize complex information into clear narratives
• Strong presentation and marketing abilities
• Experience with Canva, PowerPoint presentations, Notebook LLM, and AI-based tools
• Ability to work collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams

📩 Send your application to careers@wotr.org.in with the subject line "Jr. Fundraising Officer-Proposal Writer, Pune" and fill the Form: https://forms.gle/b7FKkBsqMUMHREzU8