EU Business Development Advisor (INTPA) at Action Aid

The Role 

The EU Business Development Advisor is an integral part of the EU partnership /funding team and is responsible for supporting AAI members to increase institutional income from EU Development Aid (INTPA and EU Delegations). The EU Business Development Advisor will keep up to date on EU funding trends, priorities and modalities as well as funding eligibility criteria and guidelines. This will inter alia involve active participation in CONCORD (FFSD NDICI Group). They will support AAI members to strengthen their capacity to engage with EU Delegations, design solid projects and develop strong funding proposals. The core aspect of the role is to identify and disseminate EU development cooperation funding opportunities, oversee coordination of the proposal development process for EU applications, provide technical guidance on proposals and eligibility criteria, oversee proposal quality assurance and risk assessment processes.  The EU BDA will work in coordination with the Business Development Unit within the Institutional Funding Team and alongside the EU BDA for ECHO and new partnerships, and the EU BDA for national programmes.

Who we're looking for 

• A proven track record in managing and writing successful fundraising proposals for institutional donors such as EU, ECHO, DFID and UN with ability to provide clear guidance on donor requirements and procedures to other staff
• Comprehensive understanding and knowledge of EU Funding opportunities and EU proposal requirements, standards and criteria
• Excellent written communication skills, able to convey projects in a clear, engaging way, excellent verbal communication skills, able to engage and promote dialogue between a range of stakeholders
• Highly accurate with strong attention to detail when handling information, able to review a high volume of information quickly
• and accurately, taking responsibility for its quality
• Good experience in developing proposal log frames and budget preparations
• Driven to actively improve proposal development, by learning from experience and identifying new opportunities
• Proven facilitation, training and capacity building skills.
• Excellent interpersonal, negotiation & influential, written and verbal communication skills to work effectively and manage relationships at all levels in a multi-cultural environment, often at a distance
• Ability to think and work proactively and creatively, prioritising own workload under pressure or when faced with competing demands and work with minimal supervision.
• Excellent organisational awareness and problem-solving skills 
• Ability to work in a multicultural context/environment, engage in social justice activism/advocacy and demonstrate innovative practices