Program Development Advisor – Middle East & North Africa

Background

Over the past 80 years, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has developed unparalleled expertise in responding to emergencies and helping uprooted communities to rebuild. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC’s mission is to help people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. The IRC is on the ground in more than 40 countries, providing emergency relief and rebuilding lives in the wake of disaster. In addition, through 28 regional offices in cities across the United States, the IRC also helps refugees resettle in the US and become self-sufficient. The IRC is committed to a culture of bold leadership, innovation in all aspects of our work, creative partnerships and, most crucially, accountability to those we serve. The IRC is a tireless advocate for the most vulnerable.

The Purpose of the Role

The Program Development Advisor (PDA) will lead and/or support new programme/business development efforts, in line with IRC’s Business Development strategy, in particular looking to increase our share of humanitarian funding in the near term while diversifying our donors and targeting development opportunities. Support will range from opportunity tracking and capture planning to proposal development, and submission. The ideal candidate will have a successful track record of working on new business efforts in humanitarian and international development with a range of multilateral and bilateral donors, in particular USAID, US Department of State, FCDO, EU and ECHO, GFFO, BMZ, Sida, SDC, World Bank and others.

The PDA – Middle East and North Africa (MENA) will support business development in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Libya.

KEY ACCOUNTABLITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Drive business development in MENA by providing effective proposal support, ranging from proposal management to in-depth support and quality assurance.
• Build IRC’s profile by building visibility with donors, peers and partners.
• Coordinate proposal development, including sharing initial assessment of new opportunities, preparing timelines, ensuring the proposal team adheres to deadlines, supporting recruitment, assisting in budget development, ensuring document completion, organizing meetings and compiling notes, and drafting and proofreading proposal sections.
• Work with technical units, country offices, and other staff to support conceptualization of winning program and bid designs for new project activities and/or amendments to current projects.
• Manage coordination, communication and inputs from subs or to our primes. Compile inputs from proposal team members, including consultants and partners. Identify partners, consultants, and other proposal development support as needed.
• Provide quality assurance and quality compliance support on proposals. Ensure responsiveness to and compliance with solicitation documents.
• Work with MENA countries to successfully position for opportunities in their pipeline or other strategic opportunities identified throughout the year. Lead and assist in the identification, tracking and updating of new business opportunities across a variety of technical sectors and donors.
• Lead or support capture planning for specific opportunities, including facilitating technical brainstorming, competitive landscape analysis and win theme sessions with technical and country staff.
• Facilitates internal post-submission debrief sessions to glean lessons learned.
• Maintain complete and accurate electronic files, including final submission packages.