Business Development Specialist II - East Africa (Global Telecommuting)

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Job description

About CRS

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. CRS works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS' relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding.

Job Summary:

As Business Development (BD) Specialist II you will lead the production of high quality applications for funding in support of CRS' engagement with institutional donors and initiatives involved in international development to serve the poor and vulnerable. Your knowledge and skills will allow you to contribute to improving aspects of the BD cycle for the East Africa Regional Office (EARO), with initial focus on the Sudan country program. The balance of your time will support BD efforts in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda, as assigned.

Roles and Key Responsibilities

• Provide BD expertise in positioning, capture planning and proposal preparation for specific opportunities with institutional donors (government and inter-governmental award issuing organizations, as well as foundations, corporations and other awarding non-governmental organizations).
• Coordinate proposal development processes to ensure timely submission of high-quality proposals that are responsive to donor requirements, applicable regulations, and CRS' technical and cost standards. Lead and support proposal budget processes and propose recommendations to develop a competitive proposal.
• As appropriate, serve as proposal coordinator or other lead role in proposal team, and participate in bid analysis and proposal review panels. Serve as a lead or support writer on proposals, contributing both technical and non-technical content and integrating inputs from staff and partners into a responsive, coherent proposal with a compelling vision and clear win themes.
• Support proposal budget processes, working with technical staff, management and partner staff to integrate inputs into a responsive, cost competitive proposal budget and narrative.
• Train and mentor staff, as needed, to improve their skills in proposal development, representation to donor and partner organizations, intelligence-gathering, and marketing within their country program or portfolio.
• Support and guide identification of partners and negotiation of CRS' role on proposal consortia, ensuring a competitive position for CRS that adheres to the agency's partnership principles and strategic directions. Research, track and analyze new opportunities and CRS' competitive position within the marketplace.
• Support senior management to cultivate and strengthen institutional relationships with institutional donors, partner organizations and other stakeholders.
• Work with appropriate staff to maintain data on past performance and corporate capacity, in order to provide timely information for proposal submissions.
• Support timely and accurate information management related to funding opportunities.
• Support cross-regional and global BD cycle initiatives as a member of the agency's worldwide Business Development Community.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Strong strategic, analytical, systems thinking, and problem-solving skills, with capacity to see the big picture.
• Strong relations management abilities. Ability to relate to people at all levels internally and externally. Strategic in how you approach each relationship.
• Excellent negotiation skills.
• Strong communications and presentation skills.
• Proactive, resourceful, solutions-oriented and results-oriented.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience utilizing diverse, proactive strategies to competitively position his/her organization for new funding and productive institutional relationships.
• Familiarity with a broad range of technical sectors and institutional donor requirements, with a strong preference for those of key US government donor agencies (USAID, CDC, Department of State, Department of Agriculture). Exceptional writer with expert command of English grammar and AP style.
• Experience with both USAID RFP and RFA funding mechanisms highly desirable.
• Demonstrated experience leading and producing competitive proposals in programming contexts similar to CRS.
• Familiarity with relevant institutional donor regulations, policies, procedures and priorities.
• Demonstrated experience managing teams and processes, leading teams to produce deliverables under tight deadlines and at exceptional quality.
• Knowledge of CRS programs, justice agenda and Catholic Social Teaching principles a plus.
• Experience using MS Windows and MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information management systems.

Required Languages - Fluency in English required; additional language skills relevant to the region a plus.

Travel - Must be willing and able to travel up to 50%.

Key Working Relationships:

Internal: The EARO Regional Technical Advisor, Business Development; Country Programs senior management team; EARO Program Quality team members; the Business Development Community; EARO country program staff; management quality and finance staff

External: Staff of collaborating partner organizations

Qualifications:

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in international development, international relations, or related field. Master's degree preferred.
• Minimum five years of international development experience, with at least three years experience in a developing country.

Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff)

These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.

• Integrity

• Continuous Improvement & Innovation

• Builds Relationships

• Develops Talent

• Strategic Mindset

• Accountability & Stewardship

***Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. We welcome as a part of our staff people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need.

Disclaimer: This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.

Note: All positions requiring residence or frequent travel outside their home country must undergo and clear a pre-employment medical examination.

CRS' talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to safeguarding the rights and dignity of all people - especially children and vulnerable adults - to live free from abuse and harm.

CRS welcomes candidates from the countries and regions in which we work. In the event the successful candidate is an expatriate or global telecommuter, the anticipated duration of the assignment is informed by a term limit, based on the type and level of the job and the needs of the agency.

CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer

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