OVERALL RESPONSIBILITIES

The Business Development Advisor will be working under the supervision of the Chief of Party. She/he will be responsible for securing funding from the U.S. Government and Multilateral Donors. The Business Development Advisor is responsible for identifying US Government (USG) and other similar donors’ opportunities for the organization across several technical and/or geographic portfolios; identify and build strong relationships with donors, and other key stakeholders; developing plans to compete for these funding opportunities; executing those plans, including oversight of pre-solicitation/pre-proposal activities, as well as proposal preparation and submission; and contributing to the Organization’s external representation and internal fundraising efforts as they relate to USG and other donors. The Business Development Advisor will have a proven track record of producing successful, high quality grant proposals. She/he will also lead Business Development related capacity building supports

Main duties and Responsibilities

• Identify and track relevant upcoming USAID and equivalent donors’ funding opportunities, track grant forecasts, through advance intelligence gathering, partner relationships, and other available resources; prepare recommendations based on specific go/no-go decision criteria.
• Identify and reach out to potential partners; manage pre-solicitation proposal preparations and bid planning;
• Participate in pre-design meetings and drafting sections of the proposal in advance of the solicitation;
• Manage actions for pre-solicitation proposal preparations and bid planning including: teaming, bid strategy, development of win-themes, oversight of and contribution to technical design, drafting management and other sections of the proposal in advance of the solicitation.
• Organize technical team and lead the coordination and development of proposals from initial development to grant submissions; +
• Coordinate and facilitate design workshops with technical teams; support field teams to collect relevant technical area information that informs design.
• Manage the proposal review process and check for budget alignment, responsiveness and compliance with donor guidelines; build effective working relationships with partners on proposal bids.
• Manage major open USAID and equivalent donors’ solicitations and other proposal submissions, including teaming agreements, oversight of technical design and cost proposal, PPRs, capacity statements, internal review/quality control processes, drafting sections of the proposal.
• Position and manage all components of the proposal development process, ensuring a high quality and timely submission.
• Contribute to collecting and sharing proposal process lessons learned after the submission; coordinate program design hand over to program manager(s).
• Engage in the Teams’ development of best practice and evidenced base approaches utilized in proposals.
• Represent the organization’s business development interests at relevant meetings, events, and within resource mobilization or donor-specific peer networks, that relates to USG and other donor governments funding streams.
• Identify U.S, international, and local partners for future funding opportunities
• Develop and implement an annual Business Development plan
• Strengthen the ADA’s business development processes, systems and Procedures
• Strengthen the processes, systems and procedures to improve the quality and speed of preparation of expressions of interest, pre-qualification documents and proposals for opportunities and ensure continuous improvement.
• Prepare and oversee the preparation of expressions of interest, pre-qualification documents and proposals ensuring high and consistent standards are maintained throughout.
• Provide Business Development related capacity building supports.
• Contribute to the System strengthening and capacity development efforts of ADA.
• Perform other duties as assigned

Job Requirement

Required Qualifications, experience, abilities & skills:

• Master’s degree in Public Health, Education, international development, business administration, Sociology, project management or related technical discipline is strongly preferred; Bachelor’s degree in relevant discipline combined with substantive work and international field experience will be considered.
• Six years of experience in successful proposal development for USAID and other USG donors, including pre-solicitation preparation. Experience with USAID solicitations is required; substantive relevant experience in proposal development for other multilateral or bilateral donors may be considered within the years of experience sought.
• Experience with USG solicitation is required; substantive relevant experience in proposal development for other multilateral or bilateral donors may be considered.
• Ability to coordinate multiple projects simultaneously, work well under pressure and meet deadlines;
• Ability to effectively communicate with and coordinate activities of multiple partners, including field-based staff.
• Excellent technical skills in writing, editing, formatting, research, negotiation, and verbal communications;
• Excellent organizational skills and the ability to meet deadlines
• Keen interest and excitement in International Development, business development, entrepreneurial interests,
• Strong skills with Microsoft Office Suite
• Strategic planning and excellent time management skills
• Detail-oriented, flexible, and able to handle multiple concurrent tasks.
• Able to work independently as well as part of a team.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, and sense of humor
• Willing to travel extensively within and outside the region.

MINIMUM HOURS OF WORK: 40 Hours per Week

DUTY STATION:  Addis Ababa /frequently travel to Bahir Dar