Business Development Officer / Officer, Strategic Growth & Partnership 

The Officer, Strategic Growth & Partnership provides key support in meeting Global Communities’ business targets. The Officer provides research, writing, or coordination support for the business and proposal cycle activities involving headquarters and field staff. Activities will be multi-faceted such as providing support to major business development efforts including, but not limited to proposal coordination, proposal writing, desk research, and partner identification and cultivation; and business intelligence gathering, analyses, and reporting. In addition, this role develops, improves, and contributes to systems for information gathering and analyses, process and tools creation, and capacity building. The Officer works in coordination with other Sustainable Development support positions to maximize efficiency of all department efforts, and to ensure that all department functions related to donor and partner relationships are fully supported, especially during peak times.

Strategic Growth and Opportunity Development Support

• Contribute to development strategy and business pipeline; business intelligence gathering and analyses; client engagement and diversification; and organization-wide orientation to development.
• Serve as a liaison between divisions, field teams, US-based proposal teams, and partner organizations to facilitate information gathering and analyses towards successful business opportunities and proposal submissions.
• Support Strategic Growth & Partnership Managers in pursuit of target bids in roles such as, but not limited to the following:
  • Coordinate activities to identify and prepare for new business opportunities and prepare and submit proposals.
  • Conduct research for country background information, sectoral best practices, competitor strengths and weaknesses, partners and staff identification, and other information needed for successful capture activities and proposal design.
  • Identify potential partners and support negotiations of pre-teaming and teaming agreements. Work with proposed partners to be sure that they provide their required information to support the business and proposal development needs.
  • During the proposal preparation period, work with the Proposal Manager to develop, oversee and maintain the proposal calendar and monitor adherence to the defined process and deadlines. Work with the Proposal Manager to resolve issues with delays or other roadblocks in the proposal process. Write assigned proposal sections as agreed upon with the proposal team, including, but not limited to, background statements, technical components, cross-cutting issues, management and staffing, or organizational capacity. Ensure responsiveness to the solicitation using compliance monitoring and review. Provide administrative support for partner deliberations and meetings, design and review sessions, and proposal preparation sessions.
• May occasionally lead opportunity preparation and proposal submission on less complex proposals and/or continuing applications with the support and mentorship of Managers.
• Support the maintenance of all relevant information systems (i.e., Salesforce, SharePoint) and reports to inform strategic decision-making; cultivation of key relationships; and strategic tracking of program information and other databases as needed, in coordination with other units within the Department.
• Proactively strategize on and streamline improved utilization of the information systems within the department and across other relevant units/departments within Global Communities
• Assist with data entry and retrieval into/from key information tracking systems and databases, and supporting the design and creation of relevant reports

General Administrative Support

• Supports knowledge management systems including our internal SharePoint site and organization-wide BD HUB site, ensuring updated materials are available.
• Supports development of tools and orientation materials/trainings.
• Manages travel requests and expense reports as needed through Concur.
• Manages consultant agreements and procurements for the business development team as needed including vendor selection and invoicing.

POSITION SPECIAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

• There may be opportunities for international travel to support opportunity capture and proposal development. Travel is not required if the team member is not comfortable doing so.
• Promote a culture of excellence, inclusion, learning, support, diversity, and innovation.

• Ability to work independently on a variety of tasks simultaneously in a fast-paced environment, meet conflicting deadlines, and consistently follow up on details with a minimum of supervision.
• Demonstrated ability to be entrepreneurial and have a positive “can do” problem solving inclination.
• Strong interpersonal skills, and ability to work well independently and as part of a team.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to conduct research and compose clear, structured findings analysis and summaries, and articulate persuasive language for presentation to donors and potential partner organizations.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to multi-task and prioritize assignments in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to work with a diverse constituency of donors/partners.
• Self-starting skills, creativity, and the ability to express ideas, recognize opportunities, and communicate goals and objectives clearly.
• High proficiency in Windows-suite tools including Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, and SharePoint.

• Undergraduate degree in a related discipline and a minimum of two years of related work experience or six years of related work experience.
• Relevant experience in proposal/program development required.
• Experience with US Government proposal development preferred.
• Experience with Salesforce preferred.
• Fluency in English required, written and oral. Abilities in a second language preferred.
• A passion for the mission and values of Global Communities.
• Must have U.S. work authorization.