Business Development and Program Technical Advisor III, EMECA Remote

Background

The CRS Europe, Middle East, Central Asia (EMECA) region consists of 10 country programs and 20 outreach countries. This includes 18 countries in Europe, 10 in the Middle East and North Africa, and 2 in Central Asia, reflecting recent expansion amid the Ukraine crisis and registration in Pakistan and Yemen. EMECA is home to many complex environments along the humanitarian-development spectrum with populations reflecting immense religious and ethnic diversity. Many countries are beset by protracted conflicts, including the world’s worst humanitarian crises in Afghanistan, Ukraine, Syria, Yemen and Gaza. Other countries are recovering from prior conflicts, and working toward resilience and development, such as Egypt, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Successive crises have led to large refugee flows and long-term displacement. 

 

Job Summary

The Business Development and Program Technical Advisor III will play a crucial role in advancing EMECA’s strategy. The position requires a blend of business development and technical expertise, along with a strong inclination to lead, bid and win complex, high-priority opportunities. From opportunity identification and assessment to project design, the position will provide strategic positioning and capture planning guidance to country program and regional teams. Efforts will include developing technical win strategies, conducting competitive assessments, and preparing strategic capture plans. Working with CP senior management, you will lead responses to Requests for Information, provide competitor and gap analysis, carry out stakeholder mapping, lead technical design and negotiations with partner teams. The Business Development and Program Technical Advisor III will also lead strategic regional initiatives, supporting CPs to identify opportunities to catalyze outcomes at scale and pursue non-traditional funding streams. 

 

Roles and Key Responsibilities

Strategic Positioning: 

• Support country programs to position for large and complex proposals that advance our regional strategy. 
• Support country programs in developing a collaborative understanding of systems and underlying drivers for change. Reinforce country programs’ capacities in effective stakeholder engagement as a foundation for effective collaboration and sustainable systems change.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of country program influence and scaling strategies. 

Capture Planning and Technical Design: 

• Lead capture activities for large and strategic opportunities, setting a plan with CP SMT to meet with donors and stakeholders and position us as the preferred organization. 
• Lead internal and external data gathering and analysis to inform go/ no go decisions and support strategic decision-making throughout the capture lifecycle, including decisions related to teaming, staffing and technical design. This includes leading the identification of partners and negotiation of CRS' role on proposal consortia and developing and maintaining a network of potential key personnel
• Lead the development of the technical design for high-priority complex funding opportunities, ensuring timely high-quality submissions that are responsive to donor requirements, applicable regulations, and CRS' technical and cost standards.
• Build and maintain strong working relations with CRS’ PIQA, IDEA, and Marketing and Communications (MarCom) departments to support regional and country program teams to advance key positioning and capture initiatives.
• As needed, provide other surge support to country programs business development efforts. 

Capacity Strengthening:

• Lead and/or support development of EMECA capture planning and design tools, resources and guidance. 
• Train and mentor regional and country program staff to improve their skills in capture planning and design, including in successful donor and partner engagement, intelligence gathering and marketing of CRS’ technical and programmatic achievements.
• Train and mentor regional and country program staff on identifying opportunities to catalyze outcomes at scale and pursue non-traditional funding streams.
• Support senior country program management to cultivate and strengthen institutional relationships with donors, partner organizations and other stakeholders. 

Supervisory Responsibilities: None

Key Working Relationships:

• Internal: Regional staff, Country Representatives, Heads of Programming,  the Business Development Community, country program staff, program quality staff, management quality and finance staff
• External: Business development staff of collaborating partner organizations; select donor representatives as appropriate.