Business Development Specialist II at Catholic Relief Services March 2024, 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 Title: Business Development Specialist II Reports to: Country Manager
Department: 362. Country Programming Salary Grade: 10
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Job Summary
As Business Development (BD) Specialist II you will lead the resource mobilization strategy of the country program and support the business development life cycle including leading 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, 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.
In cooperation with the HoP, support the development and oversight of the CP Growth Working Group, including the regular updating of donor engagement strategies and resource mobilization action plans with sector leads.
In collaboration with the Partner Capacity Strengthening Advisor, develop partner capacity in business development, including the strategic positioning of local partners for prime roles.
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.
Required Languages – English; Kiswahili, an advantage.
Travel – Must be willing and able to travel up to 25 %.
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.
Qualifications
Basic Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in international development, international relations, or related field. Master’s degree preferred.
- Minimum five years of international development/business development experience, with at least three years experience in a developing country.
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.
- Comprehensive familiarity with a broad range of institutional donor technical and cost requirements.
- Experience with both USAID RFP and RFA funding mechanisms highly desirable as well as other donor institutions currently supporting Tanzania (FCDO, EU, NORAD, UN)
- 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 using MS Windows and MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information management systems.
Agency REDI Competencies (for All CRS Staff)
Agency competencies clarify expected behaviors and attitudes for all staff. When demonstrated, they create an engaging workplace, help staff achieve their best, and help CRS achieve agency goals. 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.
- Personal Accountability – Consistently takes responsibility for one’s own actions.
- Acts with Integrity – Consistently models values aligned with CRS Guiding Principles and mission. Is considered honest.
- Builds and Maintains Trust – Shows consistency between words and actions.
- Collaborates with Others – Works effectively in intercultural and diverse teams.
- Open to Learn – Seeks out experiences that may change perspective or provide an opportunity to learn new things.
Agency Leadership Competencies
- Lead Change – Continually looks for ways to improve the agency through a culture of agility, openness, and innovation.
- Develops and Recognizes Others – Builds the capacity of staff to reach their full potential and enhance team and agency performance.
- Strategic Mindset – Understands role in translating, communicating, and implementing agency strategy and team priorities.
Supervisory Responsibilities: none
Key Working Relationships
Internal Country Manager, Head of Programs, Sector Leads, Deputy Regional Director-Program Quality, Regional Business Development Manager
External Partners, Donors, Government Actors
- 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. CRS’ processes and policies reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.
Disclaimer: This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.
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 prioritizes candidates who are citizens/ permanent residents of the countries where we have CRS offices.
CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer