Business Development Officer at International Rescue Committee

Job Description

• Over the past 80 years, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has developed unparalleled expertise in responding to emergencies and helping uprooted communities to rebuild. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC’s mission is to help people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. 

Technical Excellence and Grant Operations & Analytics Team:

• At the IRC, we define and measure our success as positive changes in people’s lives in relation to five outcome areas: health, education, economic well-being, safety and power, while helping to narrow the gender gap. To achieve these outcomes – to drive our impact – our programs must be based on the best available evidence and aligned with our theories of change; adapted to context; responsive to client needs and preferences; and continuously improved by generating evidence, measuring what we do, and acting on what we learn. The Technical Excellence team supports the delivery of this. 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 and business operations. The primary purpose of this new 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.

Job Overview:

• This Business Development Officer, filling a critical gap in Technical Excellence, will sit within the Grant Operations & Analytics Team (GOAT) and will be responsible for leading effective business development processes for highly complex global funding opportunities. The position collaborates closely with Technical Excellence program and grants teams, Country Program teams and IRC support departments like Finance and the Awards Management Unit to ensure that all proposals are developed and submitted in accordance with IRC and Donor policies.

Key Responsibilities:
Business Development (90%)

• Bid Coordination: Serve as the bid lead for Technical Excellence opportunities and coordinate with the Awards Management Unit (AMU) on opportunities with an AMU assigned bid lead 
•  Support the technical team in donor-specific program scoping in advance of anticipated calls, including pre-development of concept notes and donor feedback solicitations for specific programmatic elements/ideas
•  Drive the proposal timeline forward, including HQ approval processes and submission 
•  Manage OTIS (Opportunity Tracking Information System) workflow for proposals
•  Be responsible for the coordination with country programs and partners on documents needed
•  Provide templates and guidance to program teams
•  Lead on the coordination of reviews between technical units
•  Work with AMU on potential institutional funding opportunities and solicitations
•  Attend key cross-unit and cross-departmental meetings regarding business development
•  Develop and maintain an in-depth understanding of Technical Unit funding streams and business development priorities

Proposal Budget development:

• Lead on the development of proposal budgets that reflect the technical design 
•  Develop proposal budgets to ensure consistency and accuracy across projects. Design, draft, refine, and finalize budgets and budget narratives (as needed) that are reflective of program design costs
•  Ensure appropriate internal formats and donor formats for budget development are used
•  Advise on the allowability of costs
•  Guide supporting financial documentation for proposals in coordination with the HQ Finance Department, including annexes
•  Coordinate with and support country program finance and grant staff on proposals, providing guidance and feedback on workplans, deadlines, and proposal parameters 
•  Secure approvals across departments for submissions

Proposal Development:

• Support the proposal development processes for TU-specific opportunities as required for multi-country, multi-Technical unit, and/or multi-region opportunities 
•  Support Unit technical staff in the development of proposals, including reviewing and contributing to concept notes, proposals and creating budgets ensuring donor and IRC compliance
•  Track Technical Excellence’s pipeline for business development and assist with assigning business development (concept note, expressions of interest, proposal development) to Grants Managers
•  Coordinate with GOAT staff to ensure visibility on all opportunities and the appropriate level of salary support in the post-award phase 

Process Management and Creation (10%) 

• Handover Procedures: Working closely with the Sr BD Advisor and the Sr Grants Advisor, develop standard processes for handover procedures between pre- and post-award. 
•  Support on KIIs with key staff on the gaps in the current handover process 
•  Support the creation, piloting, and iteration of process improvement changes for handover procedures for both public and private awards 
•  Collect lessons learned from previous handover processes 

Go/No Go (GNG) Process:

• Working closely with the Sr BD Advisor and BD Officer, support on process changes in the Technical Excellence GNG processes, including the following:
•  Support the collection of GNG inputs on live opportunities for appropriate next steps
•  Support on KIIs with key staff when changes are being proposed
•  Collect lessons learned from previous iterations of the GNG process

Key Working Relationships:

• You will report to: the Senior Business Development Advisor, GOAT

Other Internal and/or external contacts: 

Internal:

• Regular contact with Technical Unit teams, GOAT Grant & Contract Mangers, GOAT BD Officer, and Country Program staff, the Awards Management Unit, Finance, Human Resources and Global Supply Chain.

External:

• Interact with donors, vendors, contractors, and consultants. 

Desired Qualifications:

•  3+ years of progressive work experience connected to business development and working in or closely with Technical teams 
•  Experience developing proposals for USAID, FCDO, and other large scale funders
•  Highly collaborative and pro-active colleague with a talent for delivering results with cross-functional groups
•  Experience working with IRC systems is a plus
•  Dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion, and a strong passion for our mission
•  Comfortable adapting to new challenges and dynamic priorities, while maintaining professional grace
•  Sophisticated Microsoft Office skills (Excel, PowerPoint) and experience with organizational information and financial systems
•  Excellent written and verbal communication skills in a multi-cultural environment 
•  University degree in Business Administration, Finance, International Development or a relevant field, or equivalent work experience
•  Fluent in English; French, Spanish or Arabic language a plus

Working Environment 

•  Standard office working environment, flexibility to work remotely
•  Workspace booked via a desk reservation system in an open-plan office when in person
•  Limited travel expected
•  This role may require working remotely full or part time depending on pandemic and public health changes