There are some people who believe that anybody can take on the role of a grants fundraiser and will employ someone who has come from an unrelated position in the commercial sector with no experience in this field at all. However, writing compelling applications for funding, especially from large strategic funders such as USAID requires skill and experience, especially with international projects.
Therefore, it depends on the job level you are recruiting for and usually employing somebody without relevant skills and experience would be an entry-level position. If you are seeking to employ somebody to write strong, compelling propositions, from a range of different funders, it would be beneficial to have a minimum of 3-5 years’ direct experience in fundraising, programme development and international development.
Also, as part of the recruitment process, it is always useful to ask the candidate to undertake a test of some kind such as providing them with a scenario or background to a grant opportunity and asking them to write a first stage proposal or at least write down the framework of what would be included in such a proposal.
