Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. CRS works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding.

Job Summary:
As Business Development (BD) Specialist II, you will lead the production of high-quality applications for funding in support of CRS engagement with institutional donors and initiatives involved in international development to serve the poor and vulnerable. Your knowledge and skills will allow you to provide specialized assistance in all dimensions of the BD cycle to cross disciplinary and cross-functional teams. The BD Specialist will provide supervision to the Communications Manager to ensure quality materials for communication with key stakeholders in multiple media formats.

• Provide BD expertise in positioning, capture planning and proposal preparation for specific opportunities with institutional donors (government and inter-governmental award issuing organizations, as well as foundations, corporations and other awarding non-governmental organizations).
• Coordinate proposal development processes (often with short deadlines) to ensure timely submission of high quality proposals that are responsive to donor requirements, applicable regulations, and CRS technical and cost standards. Lead and support proposal budget processes and propose recommendations to develop a competitive proposal.
• As appropriate, serve as proposal coordinator or other lead role in proposal team, and participate in bid analysis and proposal review panels. Serve as a lead or support writer on proposals, contributing both technical and non-technical content and integrating inputs from staff and partners into a responsive, coherent proposal with a compelling vision and clear win themes.
• Ensure development and dissemination of quality, appropriate communications and marketing materials in line with CRS and donor branding and marking to improve CRS visibility and positioning in key sectors.
• Train and mentor staff to improve their skills in proposal development, representation to donor and partner organizations, intelligence-gathering, and marketing within their sector or portfolio.
• Support and guide identification of 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. Research, track and analyze new opportunities and CRS’ competitive position within the marketplace.
• Support senior management to cultivate and strengthen institutional relationships with institutional donors, partner organizations and other stakeholders.
• Work with appropriate staff to maintain data on past performance and corporate capacity, in order to provide timely information for proposal submissions.
• Strategize together with the country representative, head of programs, and other relevant staff on a CRS Haiti visibility, marketing and communications strategy and manage this strategy once developed.
• In coordination with country program senior leadership and HQ staff, participate in advocacy efforts for increased funding and visibility for major issues affecting Haiti.
• Provide backstop support to senior program managers and/or the head of programs during absences or periods of intense activity within the country program.

• Bachelor’s degree in international development, international relations, or related field. Master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum five years of international development experience, with at least three years of experience in a developing country.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
• Strong strategic, analytical, systems thinking, and problem-solving skills, with capacity to see the big picture.
• Strong relations management abilities. Ability to relate to people at all levels internally and externally. Strategic in how you approach each relationship.
• Excellent negotiation skills.
• Strong communications and presentation skills.
• Proactive, resourceful, solutions-oriented and results-oriented.
• Adaptable and accepting of change, particularly related to emergency program development

Preferred Qualifications
• Demonstrated experience utilizing diverse, proactive strategies to competitively position his/her organization for new funding and productive institutional relationships.
• Exceptional writer with expert command of English grammar and AP style.
• Demonstrated experience leading and producing competitive proposals in programming contexts similar to CRS.
• Comprehensive familiarity with a broad range of institutional donor technical and cost requirements.
• Experience with both USAID RFP and RFA funding mechanisms highly desirable.
• Familiarity with relevant institutional donor regulations, policies, procedures and priorities.
• Demonstrated experience managing teams and processes, leading teams to produce deliverables under tight deadlines and at exceptional quality.
• Knowledge of CRS programs, justice agenda and Catholic Social Teaching principles a plus.
• Experience using MS Windows and MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information management systems.

Required Languages – Fluency in English and French required, Haitian Creole a plus

Location – Haiti is the preference, but open to telecommuting.

Travel - Must be willing and able to travel up to 25 %.

Interested candidates should submit a resume along with a cover letter, diplomas and certificates

Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff)
These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.
• Integrity
• Continuous Improvement & Innovation
• Builds Relationships
• Develops Talent
• Strategic Mindset
• Accountability & Stewardship

Supervisory Responsibilities (if none, state none)

Key Working Relationships:
Internal Head of Programs, Head of Operations, Haiti CP Program Sector Leads, Finance Manager, Regional BD Specialist, Regional DRD PQ & DRD MQ
External Donor agencies (USAID, EU, BID, etc), partners, OCHA Working Groups

***Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. We welcome as a part of our staff people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need. CRS’ processes and policies reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

Disclaimer:? This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.

CRS' talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer

2023-10-01