Regional Business Development Specialist II, CARO at Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

Job Summary: 

The Regional Business Development Specialist (BDS), in conjunction with regional and country program leadership will provide leadership for resource mobilization efforts to meet long-term goals and annual growth targets. S/he will also support the diversification of revenue from institutional donors and non-traditional funding sources to achieve CRS’ strategic objectives.  He/she will operate as a member of CRS’ Central Africa Regional Office (CARO) team providing direct support to strategic growth opportunities as well as helping to strengthen BD-related systems, processes, relationships and staff capacities. 

As 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 provide specialized assistance in all dimensions of the BD cycle to cross-disciplines and cross-functional teams. 

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. 
• Train and mentor staff and local partners, 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.
• Coordinate with CP leadership the strategic direction, business development strategy and efforts to meet annual growth targets, and support the diversification of revenue from institutional donors and non-traditional funding sources to achieve CRS’ strategic objectives.
• In collaboration with the BD Manager, foster a culture of BD within the country program by contributing to the development and dissemination of standardized BD materials (learning resources, guidelines, tools and templates, and online information).
• Contribute to a culture of continuous learning and improvement by actively participating in CARO and agency communities of practice, leading and utilizing after action reviews, pursuing debriefs from donors on funding decisions, supporting the development and maintenance of marketing materials and learning briefs, and working closely with Communications, MEAL and technical staff. 

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.

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.
• Exceptional writer with expert command of English grammar and AP style. 
• Demonstrated experience leading and producing competitive proposals in programming contexts similar to CRS, including in protracted and acute emergency settings. 
• Comprehensive familiarity with a broad range of institutional donor technical and cost requirements.  
• Experience with both USAID RFP and RFA funding mechanisms highly desirable.
• 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. 
• Experience in staff development and local partner capacity strengthening preferred, including experience in leading trainings, coaching, and mentoring staff.
• 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.