Youth Technical Advisor II, New Business Development Unit at IREX

Your Background & Skills

• Bachelor’s degree required; graduate degree preferred.
• 10+ years of relative experience.
• 6-8 years of experience in positive youth development and established network of international development client, partner, and practitioners contacts in sectors relevant to IREX's core areas.
• Experience designing and writing winning proposals for donor funded projects, a preference for a positive track record designing and drafting proposals in response to USAID-funded program solicitations.
• Positive approach to iterative proposal drafting, able and willing to effectively incorporate varied inputs into proposal drafts.
• Strong experience and knowledge of best practices in youth development.
• Seasoned team player with a dedication to collaborative program design and proposal development. processes that inclusively leverage the expertise and diverse perspectives of stakeholders globally.
• Willingness to travel to developing countries, estimated at up to 20% of the time.
• Ability to conceptualize and write winning proposals for projects funded by the Department of State, USAID, and other donors.
• Technical expertise in positive youth development strongly preferred.
• Ability to manage proposal development efforts and ensure quality and timely submission.
• Ability to remotely cultivate new partnerships and build complementary consortia for effective program implementation.
• Strong donor, partner, and peer collaboration and negotiation skills.
• Demonstrated experience and expertise in Positive Youth Development (PYD) approaches that support youth to contribute to their full potential.
• Outstanding interpersonal, intercultural and collaboration skills.
• Analytical and strong writing skills.
• Fluent, professional, written and spoken English required; other languages encouraged.
• You must have unrestricted authorization to work in the United States, Kenya, Nigeria, Guatemala, or Jordan.

Your Daily Tasks

• Conduct field assessments including PEA-type analyses.
• Experience in supporting positioning events as relevant to youth NBD opportunities.
• Write technical narratives, concepts, expressions of interest, or other documents.
• Promote IREX's participation and represent IREX in conferences and industry functions.
• Assess youth programs and initiatives in the sector with the purpose of enhancing the competitiveness of IREX’s business proposals.
• Conduct market and donor assessments.
• Identify and assess new and emerging solutions deployed in youth programs.
• Identify and assess gaps in IREX’s youth-focused capabilities and proactively address those gaps in collaboration with the IREX’s Strategy and Development Group and in coordination with IREX’s Global Programs.
• Lead initiatives, including direct youth engagement activities on the ground, to position IREX as a dynamic provider of solutions to some of the most pressing problems facing youth globally.
• Harmonize all IREX’s youth-focused development efforts to ensure they are in full alignment with strategy and are grounded in rigorous competitiveness analysis.
• Lead proposal development efforts to ensure quality and timely submission.
• Help create dynamic and forward-leaning solutions in IREX’s funding proposals to donors.
• Write technical narratives, concepts, expressions of interest, or other documents.
• Contribute to ensure IREX is fully prepared to pursue new business opportunities.
• Lead proposal management efforts using consistent business development processes.
• Cultivate new partnerships around the globe and effectively engage new partners in proposal development processes.
• Leverage technical expertise to increase quality of proposals and IREX positioning.
• Track and gain intelligence to advance IREX' s new business opportunities.
• Conduct reconnaissance missions for project development.
• Contribute to priority sectors for business development.
• Contribute to country strategies for priority countries.
• Contribute to proposal development in strategy meetings and partner discussions.
• Oversee the development of relevant new business promotional materials and their dissemination to target audiences.
• Review funding trends and intel to inform business development.
• Develop and manage relationships with IREX' s clients, partners, etc.
• Help identify COPs and other key personnel and participate in interviews.
• Mentor and train staff and interns when required.
• Other support duties as needed.