Business Development Specialist at Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is an international non-governmental organization supporting relief and development work in over 99 countries around the world. CRS programs assist persons on the basis of need, regardless of creed, ethnicity or nationality. CRS works through local church and non-church partners to implement its programs, therefore, strengthening and building the capacity of these partner organizations is fundamental to programs in every country in which CRS operates.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Business Development Specialist

Req Number: I3950
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Position Tupe: Full Time
Position Status: Regular

Primary Function

• The Business Development Specialist will support the agency's positioning for and pursuit of institutional donor resources, with an emphasis on competitive funding mechanisms.
• S/he will provide business development expertise and leadership to cross-discipline and cross-functional teams in the development of proposals to ensure the highest quality standards and competitiveness.
• S/he will contribute to and support internal learning processes that improve CRS' business development practice, enhance the agency's value propositions, and leverage innovative, evidence-based results into new revenue and programming.

Specific Responsibilities

• Research, track and analyze new business opportunities, competitive intelligence, and CRS' competitive positioning within the marketplace.
• Maintain accurate business pipeline and performance data through CRS' online system to inform executive and senior management decisions.
• Support senior management's cultivation and strengthening of institutional relationships with donors, partner organizations, and other collaborators in the international relief/development arena.
• Provide BD expertise in positioning, capture planning and proposal preparation for specific opportunities. As appropriate, serve as proposal coordinator or other lead role in proposal team, and participate in bid analysis and proposal review panels.
• Coordinate processes and mentor staff to ensure timely submission of high quality proposals that are responsive to donor requirements, applicable regulations, and CRS' technical and cost standards.
• Support and guide the 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.
• Work with senior managers and advisors to develop effective fundraising strategies involving donor research and intelligence, product development, marketing, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship.
• Work with appropriate staff to maintain data on past performance and corporate capacity, in order to provide timely information for proposal submissions worldwide.
• Contribute to, disseminate, and model the use of standardized business development processes and resources (training/capacity-building materials, guidelines, tools and templates, and online information).
• Lead and contribute to agency learning, through analysis of proposal successes and failures, analysis of CRS competitiveness and the funding environment, and active participation in CRS' global BD community of practice.
• Assist the Program Quality department with guidance on high-quality project start-up and close-out, including development of relevant GANTT charts and tracking of timelines.

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:
• Serves with Integrity
• Models Stewardship
• Cultivates Constructive Relationships
• Promotes Learning

Key Working Relationships:

• Internal: Country Program staff; regional office staff; relevant HQ departments, and global BD community.
• External: Business development officials of collaborating partner organizations; select donor representatives as appropriate.

Qualifications

• Bachelor or Master's Degree in International Development, International Relations, or relevant field preferred; equivalent experience acceptable.
• Minimum 5 years of international development experience, including at least 2 years in a developing country.
• Ideally at least 3 years in a developing country preferred, including leading teams (in field or headquarters).
• Demonstrated experience leading and producing competitive proposals in programming contexts similar to CRS required. Comprehensive familiarity with technical and cost application requirements of USAID RFAs required. Experience with USAID RFPs and with non-USAID and non-USG donors and funding mechanisms highly desirable.
• Familiarity with relevant federal regulations and with the agency-specific policies, procedures and priorities of USAID and the United Nations.
• Excellent interpersonal, oral and written communication and negotiation skills.
• Demonstrated experience managing people and processes, leading teams to produce deliverables under tight deadlines and at exceptional quality.
• Exceptional writing ability.
• Strong analytical skills.
• Knowledge of CRS programs, justice agenda and Catholic Social Teaching principles, a plus.
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office software (Word, Excel, Outlook, Internet) required, experience with Access or other data base programs is a plus.
• Ability and willingness to travel within the DRC as needed, up to 40% of job time.
• Fluency in English required.

Personal/Professional Skills:

• Experience and proven track record of successful proposal development with USG and other donor agencies
• Listening, mediation, and facilitation skills
• Sound judgment, assertiveness, and commitment to the Agency's mission
• Self-motivated, with the ability to motivate others and coordinate a large amount of activity
• Strong organizational and planning skills
• Knowledge of CRS program quality standards, partnership principles and Catholic Social Teaching principles is preferred.

Application Closing Date
29th December, 2017.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online