Job Description
Water Mission is a Christian engineering nonprofit that builds safe water solutions for people in developing countries, refugee camps, and disaster areas. Since 2001, Water Mission has served more than 8 million people in 60 countries, sharing safe water and the message of God’s love. Working at Water Mission is as much a calling as it is a career, and we are searching for people with the courage, passion, and drive to help us change the world. Read more about our Statement of Faith and Our Christian Mission.
What is the Opportunity?
The Partnerships Specialist is a temporary, part-time position for a five-month period, working 20–30 hours per week. The specialist will serve in a flexible role on the Global Partnerships (GP) team, providing additional capacity to help Water Mission achieve its annual goals. This position is designed to support evolving team priorities and fill critical capacity gaps during extended leave periods of key Global Partnerships staff members. Approximately 80% of the Specialist's time will be dedicated to partner engagement and grant management activities. The remaining 20% will focus on general administrative support, including scheduling meetings, developing agendas and presentations, taking meeting notes, and coordinating team logistics. The ideal candidate will quickly integrate into the team, effectively manage ongoing partner activities and projects, and help ensure Water Mission fulfills its commitments across a diverse partnership portfolio. The GP team includes Global Partnerships, Grants, and Special Initiatives staff, develops and manages strategic relationships with Water Mission's corporate, foundation, institutional, government, United Nations, and NGO partners. The ideal candidate will collaborate effectively across departments, adapt to varying work styles, complete both routine and ad hoc assignments with accuracy and timeliness, and proactively identify opportunities to improve coordination and efficiency. The Partnerships Specialist reports to the Senior Director of Global Partnerships and can be based in the United States, preferably on the East Coast.
A successful Partnerships Specialist will:
General Responsibilities
• Maintain a strong Christian witness and model servant leadership to colleagues, partners, the communities we serve, and the public.
• Participate in prayer before and after team meetings.
• Lead and participate in biblically based staff devotions.
• Maintain a working knowledge of Water Mission's organizational objectives, program strategies, projects, and activities, while staying informed of relevant local, regional, national, and global developments.
• Effectively communicate the global water crisis and Water Mission's mission, vision, values, and solutions to a variety of audiences.
Partner Engagement and Grant Support (80%)
Partner Engagement
• Support the Senior Director of Global Partnerships, Partnerships Directors, and Grants Director in advancing corporate, institutional, NGO, foundation, and disaster response partnerships.
• Complete project-based assignments and strategic initiatives as directed by GP leadership.
• Serve as a liaison between the Disaster Response and Global Partnerships teams to ensure alignment on funding priorities and partnership opportunities.
• Draft, edit, and refine presentations, briefing materials, reports, proposals, and other partner-facing documents.
• Contribute to grant proposals by developing narrative content and supporting budget preparation and review.
• Coordinate internal communication, timelines, and deliverables across departments to support successful partner engagement.
• Schedule partner meetings, draft correspondence, and conduct background research to prepare for partner discussions.
Grant Management (Disaster Response Focus)
• Manage grant timelines, deliverables, and reporting requirements for disaster response awards to ensure timely execution and compliance.
• Coordinate grant management activities across Programs, Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL), country teams, Grants, and Global Partnerships.
• Collaborate with disaster response teams and program managers to compile narrative and financial reporting inputs and ensure timely submission of donor reports.
• Schedule and coordinate internal grant management meetings and external donor update calls.
• Support internal review and approval processes for grants, donations, memoranda of understanding (MOUs), and other partnership agreements.
Department Administration (20%)
• Schedule internal meetings and prepare agendas, pre-work, and supporting materials in collaboration with department leadership.
• Coordinate recurring weekly, monthly, quarterly, semiannual, and annual team meetings.
• Record and distribute meeting notes, track action items, and provide follow-up reminders as needed.
• Provide administrative support for events, travel coordination, and other departmental activities.
• Perform other duties as assigned to support the Global Partnerships team.
What is Required?
• Personal and growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
• Alignment with Water Mission's Statement of Faith and core values of Love, Excellence, and Integrity.
• Bachelor's degree required.
• At least five years of relevant professional experience in international development, nonprofit partnerships, grants management, humanitarian assistance, or a related field.
• Experience developing and managing partnerships with corporate, foundation, institutional, government, or NGO donors.
• Experience supporting grant proposal development, grant management, donor reporting, and budget tracking.
• Strong project management and organizational skills, with the ability to coordinate multiple priorities, deadlines, and stakeholders simultaneously.
• Ability to quickly learn new systems, work independently, and contribute effectively with minimal supervision in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience drafting and editing proposals, reports, presentations, and professional correspondence.
• Demonstrated ability to build collaborative relationships across departments and with external partners.
• Ability to work effectively across a complex organization and engage professionally with diverse partner organizations.
• Strong attention to detail, sound judgment, and a commitment to producing high-quality work.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams.
• Legal authorization to work in the United States without employer sponsorship.
• Home internet bandwidth is strong enough to support video conferencing and other job-related responsibilities.
• The ability to operate a computer and remain in a stationary position for the majority of the workday.
• Commitment to Water Mission's mission of ending the global water crisis through safe and sustainable water, sanitation, and hygiene solutions.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally up to 10%, as needed.
• Ability to maintain a flexible work schedule, including occasional evenings or weekends during active disaster response operations or other time-sensitive initiatives.
