Vacancy title:
Grant and communication manager

[Type: FULL_TIME, Industry: Nonprofit, and NGO, Category: Management, Accounting & Finance, Advertising & Marketing, Communications & Writing, Social Services & Nonprofit, Advertising & Public Relations]

Jobs at:
Rungano-Ndota Initiative (RNI)

Deadline of this Job:
Monday, November 16 2026

Duty Station:
Ruhango District, Southern Province | Ruhango

Summary
Date Posted: Saturday, November 7 2026, Base Salary: Not Disclosed

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JOB DETAILS:

About Rungano-Ndota Initiative (RNI)

Ngira nkugire, Mfasha ngufashe

Rungano-Ndota Initiative (RNI) is a Rwandan youth organisation based in Ruhango District, Southern Province. We build communities of trust where young people aged 16–26 from the poorest households break out of poverty and become entrepreneurs and leaders. They are proof for the next generation, and for the world, that it can be done. Rungano-Ndota means “a dream generation”, and that is what our youth are becoming.

RNI was founded by nine young leaders from Ruhango District and officially began its work there in 2017. Led by young Rwandans who know poverty and hardship from their own lives, RNI is shaped by a simple idea: trust and belonging come first, then self-leadership, then capital. Youth join RNI from local government lists of the poorest households, on need alone, with no screening. They include young single mothers, youth returning from rehabilitation and youth with disabilities.

Each young person walks a two-year Core Program journey and then joins Inyenyeri, RNI's lifelong community of graduates who give back. The journey rests on four foundations: Personal Wellness, Leadership Development, Entrepreneurship Development and Ecosystem Connection.

In 10 years, 550 youth have walked this journey with RNI. RNI's data shows:

• 427 businesses created by our first 450 youth, with 143 full-time and 218 part-time jobs for others
• 82% of graduates are elected leaders in their communities, up from 9% before joining
• 0 further unplanned pregnancies among the 98 young single mothers in the program over the past five years
• 44 of 45 youth returning from rehabilitation have not gone back

In 2026, RNI walks alongside 300 youth in the Core Program and 250 Inyenyeri members.

Our principles

Trust · Patience · Youth in the driver's seat · Communal role modelling · Co-creation · Holistic & experiential learning

Join us. At RNI, you won't just fill a post. You'll walk alongside young people that others wrote off as they become the people their communities count on.

Position context

• Supervised by Executive Director
• Supervises Multimedia Officer and Community Engagement Officer
• The grant and communication Manager shall work under the supervision of the Executive Director

GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES FOR ALL RUNGANO-NDOTA PROGRAM STAFF

• Cultivate constructive engagement within the Rungano-Ndota (RNI) community, fostering positive relationships with youth participants.
• Contribute to the execution of Rungano Program Days, Alumni Forums, RNI Business Bootcamp, Business Idea Generation Day and virtual events in collaboration with Rwanda Youth Partnership, ensuring seamless coordination and facilitation.
• Actively engage in Monitoring and Evaluation processes, providing valuable insights and feedback to enhance program effectiveness.
• Participate in Staff Development Retreats, and be available for weekend or overnight commitments away from home during the Annual RNI&RYP Leadership Exchange, as required.
• Collaborate with colleagues, offering support through constructive feedback and mutual assistance in fulfilling individual responsibilities.

RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THIS PARTICULAR JOB

Donors engagement and grant management:

• Developing relationships and collaborating with key stakeholders.
• Identifying grant funding opportunities.
• Writing, submitting, and managing grant proposals.
• Furnishing prospective funders with supporting documents.
• Collaborating with Executive Director to send funders newsletters.
• Conduct pre-award due diligence assessments of current and potential partners and analyze organizational capacity to manage grant funding and project implementation.
• Draft grant agreements and MOUs and all grant agreement modifications in consultation with designated program, and finance leads.
• Work with Executive director to ensure all agreement templates and letters of commitment are current with respect to RNI and donor compliance requirements.
• Monitor compliance with donors’ requirements.
• Work with program staff to ensure grant payments are made in accordance with agreements and work plans.
• Help develop policies relating to grants management.
• Train RNI staff and partners regarding compliance as needed.
• Provide analysis of the status on current and closed grants, e.g. spending patterns, outstanding reports.

Communications Strategy and Public Engagement:

Strategy and planning

• Develop and update RNI’s communications strategy and an annual communications plan, linked to fundraising and partnership goals, and agree it with the Executive Director.
• Identify RNI’s key audiences (donors, government partners, Twese for Rungano, the public, youth and their communities) and set the key messages and channels for each.
• Plan communications around RNI’s calendar: Inkera y’Urungano, graduation, the Leadership Exchange, Rungano Youth Roundtables and RNI’s 10th anniversary in 2027.

Guiding the team

• Supervise the Multimedia Officer and the Community Engagement Officer, including setting their work plans and reviewing their performance.
• Set the monthly content plan and give direction and feedback to the Multimedia Officer, so that stories, photos and videos serve the strategy.
• Guide the Community Engagement Officer on messages and updates for Twese for Rungano members.

Brand, quality and ethics

• Make sure all RNI materials follow RNI’s brand guidelines and key messages, and approve major publications before release.
• Make sure informed consent is obtained before any youth’s story, name or photo is shared, and that youth are always shown with dignity, as leaders and entrepreneurs.
• Make sure results are reported accurately and consistently, using RNI’s own data.

Donors, partners and visibility

• Turn program results and youth stories into donor reports, newsletters, proposals and impact summaries, working with program staff.
• Find and pursue visibility opportunities for RNI and its leaders: media, conferences, awards, panels and partner platforms.
• Prepare the Executive Director and staff for public speaking, media interviews and presentations, with talking points and briefing notes.

Learning

• Set simple measures of communication success, such as audience growth, engagement, newsletter reach and donor response, review them regularly with the Multimedia Officer and adjust the strategy.

Other duties:

• Other duties as required
• Perform any other duties as assigned by the organization.

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIRED SKILLS

All Rungano-Ndota staff:

• Possess a reliable and clear teamwork communication style with colleagues, youth, and external partners.
• Demonstrate a strong understanding of the barriers faced by youth who are not in formal education and employment, combined with a genuine belief in their potential to succeed.
• Show the ability to build positive, trusting, and empowering relationships with vulnerable youth.
• Demonstrate high integrity and ethical behavior in all professional responsibilities.
• Be Rwandan by nationality with a strong understanding of the Rwandan social and community context.
• Be young themselves, because the work requires flexibility, travel, and working with youth.
• Have good working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint).
• Be fluent in spoken and written Kinyarwanda and English.

For this particular job, the candidate should possess:

Education and experience

• Degree in business administration,project management or equivalent.
• At least 2 years' experience in proposal, project, or programme development, or grants management in an local NGO
• Proven experience in successfully applying for institutional donor funding.
• Budgeting and accounting experience.

Skills

• Methodical and strategic thinking.
• Good communication skills.
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Strong writing skills.
• Possess strong interpersonal skills and be able to confidently provide communications related guidance to organizational executives and volunteers
• Possess outstanding project management skills and have the ability to work in a fast-paced team environment and manage multiple priorities,projects and deadlines

BENEFITS

• In compensation for service rendered, RUNGANO-NDOTA INITIATIVE will offer a monthly salary, health & maternity insurance and pension savings insurance.
• All staff benefit from different training organized by the project
• All staff also benefit from collaboration and coaching discussions with international colleagues whom we meet through our US-based partners

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: 24

Level of Education: bachelor degree

Job application procedure
Interested in applying for this job? Click here to submit your application now.

Interested candidates should submit the following documents:

• An updated Curriculum Vitae (CV).
• A cover letter explaining their interest in the position and any relevant professional, academic, or personal experiences that motivate their application.
• A one-page handwritten sketch responding to the scenario outlined below.

Application Deadline: November 16, 2026, at 5:00 PM.

Important: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited for an interview.

SCENARIO FOR THE ONE-PAGE HANDWRITTEN SKETCH

The sketch must be written entirely in the applicant's own handwriting. It should be scanned or photographed clearly and included with the application documents. Typed submissions or sketches not written in the applicant's own handwriting will not be considered.

Imagine you have been serving as Grants and Communication Manager for six months. RNI's largest donor, which provides the biggest share of funding for the Core Program, informs you that due to a change in its organisational strategy, its funding will decrease by 40% next year and cease completely within two years.

RNI wants to continue supporting the 300 young people enrolled in its Core Program. Meanwhile, a major funder announces a call for proposals for youth employment programmes in Rwanda. However, the funder requires independently verified results, whereas RNI's existing results are based on internally collected and self-reported data. Additionally, RNI has limited visibility among funders and decision-makers outside Ruhango.

The Executive Director asks you to prepare and present a strategic plan to the Board within one month.

In your one-page handwritten sketch, explain how you would respond to this situation. Address the following areas:

1. First Month and Board Presentation: What actions would you take during your first month, and what key issues and recommendations would you include in your presentation to the Board?
2. Funding Diversification: How would you build a more diversified funding base over the next two years? Identify the types of funders and alternative income sources you would target, the order in which you would approach them, and your reasons.
3. New Funding Opportunity and Evidence: Would you apply for the newly announced funding opportunity? Explain how you would honestly present RNI's existing self-reported results while developing stronger, independently verified evidence over time.
4. Communications and Visibility: How would you develop and implement a communications strategy to increase RNI's visibility among potential funders and decision-makers? What specific responsibilities and activities would you assign to the Multimedia Officer?
5. Current Donor Relationship: How would you maintain and protect RNI's relationship with its existing donor throughout the funding transition?

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