Established in April 2021, the Grant Operations & Analytics Team (GOAT) brought together grants, business development, finance, and analytics functions and staff from each Technical Excellence Unit to one centralized team to increase efficiency, effectiveness and quality control across Technical Excellence grants, contracts and business operations. The primary purpose of this team is to harmonize capacity and capabilities and drive efficiencies by establishing consistent, high-quality standards and best practices to the service of improved budgeting, grants & contracts management, business development, and data collection and analytics. The Grant Operations & Analytics Team strives to build a diverse and inclusive team at all levels who as individuals, and as a group, create a working environment characterized by critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity for us to achieve our aspirations as a team and deliver the best possible service to our clients.
The Role:
The Senior Advisor for Business Development will coordinate Business Development opportunities for Technical Excellence. Reporting to the Senior Director, Grant Operations and Analytics Team (GOAT), this position will work closely with both Technical Excellence grants, contracts, data, and finance staff and with the proposal development arm of the Awards Management Unit and the International Philanthropy and Partnerships (IPP) department to ensure timely and accurate leadership of the proposal development process for numerous high-value funding opportunities across Technical Excellence.
Key areas of accountability:
Bid Assignment, Advisement & Process Improvement (60%)
• Coordinate and monitor the development of the Business Development strategy (both private and public donors), alongside Senior Directors for Technical Excellence and TU Business Development Leads, taking into consideration programmatic priorities, donor landscape, and proposal mechanisms in order to employ the strengths of the Units
• Support and promote donor relations; participate in calls with select donors, represent Unit at donor meetings as needed; and communicate relevant priorities to donors and internal business development and foundation relations units.
• Serve as the liaison to AMU’s Proposal Development team for potential institutional funding opportunities and solicitations
• Work with Senior Awards staff to assign staff to specific proposals for development as needed and appropriate. Track the process from assignment (concept note, EOI, proposal development) to submission.
• Continue to build and refine business development processes alongside AMU and IPP. Develop and maintain standard operating procedures across Technical Excellence, in line with processes of other key partners across the organization
• Work closely with the Senior Partnership Adviser to ensure effective partnership practices are imbedded into business development processes in line with IRC’s Strategic 100 partnership commitments to ask ‘Why not partner’ and to partner as equals.
• Develop and disseminate guidance for standard budget allocations in proposals and maintain a repository of policies and procedures.
• Accountable for proper OTIS management through proposal submission.
Leadership (25%)
• Represent TechEx in senior internal and external meetings
• Act as a contributing member of the GOAT Management Team, championing cross-unit service and collaboration
• Serve as a resource for Business Development across Technical Excellence
• Lead communication and organizational change, employing an inclusive and transparent approach
• Ensure a consistently high level of team performance; lead, mentor, and empower staff, inspiring and modeling healthy, collaborative intra and inter-departmental working relationships.
• Create and foster cross-functional partnerships throughout GOAT
• Identify and implement accountability mechanisms for managerial excellence
• Work to ensure that the Business Development team reflects the diversity of the places we operate and the people we serve, nurture employee engagement, inclusion, localization, and gender equality in all facets of work
• Support staff in adopting a culture of learning and development while centering GOAT team values
Proposal Development (15%)
• Lead on donor-specific program scoping in advance of anticipated calls, including pre-development of concept notes and donor feedback solicitations for specific programmatic elements/ideas
• Coordinate the process for the development of proposals for new opportunities, including reviewing and contributing to concept notes, proposals and creating budgets ensuring consistency, accuracy and donor and IRC compliance
• Support quality assurance reviews for all opportunities, working closely with the BD Coordinator
Key Working Relationships:
Position Reports to: Senior Director, Grant Operations and Analytics Team
Position directly supervises: Business Development Coordinators & Officers
Other Internal and/or external contacts:
Internal: Regular contact with Technical Unit teams, IPP and the Awards Management Unit
External: Interact with current and potential donors
Job Requirements:
Education:
• Bachelor’s degree in relevant field is required.
Work Experience:
• 7+ years of experience managing government and/or private grants with demonstrated experience developing proposals and winning bids for public and private donors
Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:
• Dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion and a strong passion for our mission
• Excellent coordination skills including managing several priorities and timelines
• Understanding and practical experience of project management principles throughout the bid development process
• Strong attention to detail to ensure own work, and work of others is of a consistent high quality in a fast-paced, demanding environment
• Experience in building and maintaining relationships with senior staff across different teams and functions, including those based in other countries.
• Demonstrable solid experience in key institutional funding, regulations, and procedures
• Excellent organizational skills: the ability to multi-task, learn quickly, and work independently and productively in a fast-paced and exact environment
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills: the ability to effectively collaborate and motivate a variety of people in a multi-cultural environment
• Excellent digital literacy: MS Word, Excel, and Desktop Publishing. Proficiency in Excel preferred.
Language Skills:
• Fluent in English; Spanish, French or Arabic language a plus
Working Environment:
• Standard office work environment / Remote
• Travel less than 20%
Compensation:
Posted pay ranges apply to US and UK-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirements.
US Benefits:
The IRC offers a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. All US employees are eligible for sick time, a 403b retirement savings plans: up to 4.5% immediately vested matching contribution, plus an 3-7% additional IRC contribution, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support in times of crisis and mental health struggles.
In addition, full-time employees are eligible for 10 US paid holidays, 20-25 paid time off days, disability & life insurance, medical, dental, and vision insurance (employee contribution starting at $135, $7, and $5 per month respectively) and FSA for healthcare, childcare, and commuter costs. Part-time employees are eligible for a proportionate amount of paid time off. These additional benefits apply to employees who work at least 6 months within a 12 month time period.
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