BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST

Title: Business Development Specialist II

Dept: OSD/Public Resource Group/Business Development Team

Location: Baltimore

Reports To: Business Development Manager

Background:
This Business Development Specialist position is part of a nine-person unit comprised of the Director of Business Development; Business Development Manager, and three Business Development Specialists; and Food Security Team Leader and three Business Development Specialists. Business Development in CRS includes the research, identification and cultivation of relationships and opportunities that may lead to a funding opportunity; the pursuit of that funding opportunity though a competitive process, and; learning from and marketing our experience to improve our visibility and ability to attract new funding. The Business Development Team (BDT) supports HQ and field staff to identify and develop new public donor funding relationships and increase the agency's capacity to respond to funding opportunities from various public donors. As a unit, the team members are responsible for managing information to support proposal development; carrying out research on, and building relationships with, new donors and other potential growth partners; providing assistance to field programs in proposal development; and monitoring progress towards the unit's objectives. The team members all work towards and contribute to the following responsibilities.

Primary Function:
The Business Development Specialist will support the identification and pursuit of public funding opportunities. He or she will also provide field and HQ staff with information and training to improve their skills in donor and partner intelligence-gathering, proposal development, representation to donor and partner organizations, and marketing of CRS' results to enhance our competitiveness.

Job Responsibilities:

• Explore opportunities for public resource acquisition and develop new institutional relationships with public donors, international non-profit and for-profit partner organizations, and other collaborators in the public resource arena.
• Manage HQ intelligence and support field intelligence on potential public funding opportunities.
• Provide capture planning training and participate in capture trips
• Provide direct technical assistance to field and HQ staff in the preparation of proposals, through on- the-job training.
• Lead and coordinate global funding opportunities, including Leader With Associates awards and Indefinite Quantity Contracts, and internal vetting of country program applications for limited-submission RFAs.
• Coordinate processes and mentor staff to ensure timely submission of high quality proposals that are responsive to and compliant with donor requirements and with CRS technical application and cost application standards.
• Lead the development of agency-wide materials (training, distance learning, self-study) to support building of agency capacity in public resource acquisition, such as assessment and proposal development skills, basic elements of public donor compliance, etc.
• Support and guide the identification of international 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.
• Develop and maintain tools, guidelines, templates and donor intelligence information on the BDT's Public Proposal Toolbox.
• Support country programs to develop appropriate and 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 for both publicly- and privately-funded awards, by donor, sector, and region, in order to provide timely information for proposal submission.
• Track and report on agency proposal submissions; assist with analysis of successes and failures and dissemination of lessons learned.
• Contribute to public resource acquisition analysis for internal and external use, including public portfolio trends and growth projections.

Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff):

These are rooted in the mission, values, and principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and to achieve the desired results.

• Promotes learning
• Develops constructive relationships
• Models stewardship
• Serves with integrity

Key Working Relationships:
INTERNAL: Overseas Support Department; Program Quality and Support Department; Country Representatives and Heads of Programming, Country and Regional technical and business development staff.
EXTERNAL: Public donor representatives; business development officials of collaborating partner organizations.

Qualifications:

• Masters Degree in Development, International Relations, or relevant field preferred; equivalent experience acceptable.
• Minimum 3-5 years of international development experience, including at least 2 years in a developing country.
• Experience with all elements of USG proposal development; experience with RFAs, RFPs, IQCs preferred.
• Familiarity with funding policies, procedures and priorities of at least one of the following agencies: USAID, USDA, Department of Labor, or Department of State. Specific experience with food aid programming and with non-USG public donors highly desirable.
• 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 overseas as needed, up to 40% of job time.
• Fluency in English required; working ability in French, Portuguese or Spanish preferred.

This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skills, efforts, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.

 NOTE: All interested applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. at the time of application.

EOE/M/F/D/V

To apply please visit our website at: www.crs.org/about/careers

Qualifications

Qualifications:

• Masters Degree in Development, International Relations, or relevant field preferred; equivalent experience acceptable.
• Minimum 3-5 years of international development experience, including at least 2 years in a developing country.
• Experience with all elements of USG proposal development; experience with RFAs, RFPs, IQCs preferred.
• Familiarity with funding policies, procedures and priorities of at least one of the following agencies: USAID, USDA, Department of Labor, or Department of State. Specific experience with food aid programming and with non-USG public donors highly desirable.
• 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 overseas as needed, up to 40% of job time.
• Fluency in English required; working ability in French, Portuguese or Spanish preferred.

This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skills, efforts, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.

NOTE: All interested applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. at the time of application.

EOE/M/F/D/V

To apply, please visit our website at: www.crs.org/about/careers