Business Development Specialist II, Pricer

The Business Development Specialist (BDS) II, Pricer supports the agency in acquiring new business by providing high-quality business development surge support on strategic funding opportunities. Lead the production of high-quality applications and proposals, with a specific focus on cost proposals, for funding in support of CRS' engagement with institutional donors and initiatives to serve the poor and vulnerable. Utilize knowledge and skills to provide specialized assistance related to pricing and budgeting in all dimensions of the BD cycle to cross-disciplines and cross-functional teams. Strong ability to write and explain budget elements in English, with the ability to write, read, and speak in French preferred.

• Provide BD expertise, with a particular focus on pricing strategy and cost inputs in positioning, capture planning and proposal preparation for specific opportunities with institutional donors government, multi-laterals as well as foundations, corporations and other awarding non-governmental organizations.
• Serve as pricer and budget lead on proposal teams, working with key stakeholders to integrate inputs into a responsive, cost competitive and detailed budget and budget narrative. 
• Collaborate with proposal teams to ensure an understanding of the proposal requirements and to establish competitive and reasonable cost and pricing data to develop cost proposals in accordance with relevant proposal specifications. Create or modify budget spreadsheet templates in accordance with client requirements.
• Provide support to the proposal budget processes, including compliance reviews, to ensure adherence to the solicitation, donor rules and regulations and internal CRS policies and cost standards.
• Manage partners as a part of the proposal process and perform activities including developing budget templates, providing budget assumptions, negotiating budgets, reviewing budgets and notes, and ensuring final submissions comply with donor requirements.
• Lead proposal teams in collecting, preparing, and analyzing historical cost data for use in budgeting.
• Advise on the developing or updating relevant cost proposal tools, resources and training modules, including CRS’ Cost Application Guidance. Develop templates and tools for efficient and effective cost proposal preparation according to donor and industry best practices.
• Support BD Knowledge Management and Learning (KML) initiatives and continuous improvements efforts as related to cost and pricing.
• Collaborate with proposal teams to ensure the timely submission of high-quality proposals that are responsive to donor requirements, applicable regulations, and CRS' technical and cost standards
• Train and mentor staff, as needed, to improve their skills in cost proposal and pricing strategy development across a variety of donors.
• Guide and advise on partner identification and negotiating CRS' role on proposal consortia. Ensure a competitive position for CRS that adheres to the agency's partnership principles and strategic directions. 
• Actively contribute to CRS' Business Development Community of Practice and advance CRS' Business Development practices through contributions to strategic initiatives and annual summits. Cultivate collaborative relationships with other key stakeholders, including global finance staff. 

• Bachelor's degree in international development, international relations, finance, economics, or related field. 
• Minimum eight years of proposal development and/or budgeting experience.
• Three years' experience working in multi-cultural and/or multilingual work contexts.
• Experience developing cost proposals for private corporations and foundations, including using strategic approaches to capture direct and indirect costs within non-traditional budget structures and requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in international development, international relations, finance, or related field.
• At least three years’ experience working in a developing country.
• Demonstrated experience utilizing diverse, proactive strategies to competitively position an organization for new funding and productive institutional relationships.
• Demonstrated experience leading and producing competitive cost applications and proposals (including detailed budgets, budget narratives and other supporting cost information) for a variety of donors in programming contexts similar to CRS. 
• Experience leading complex bilateral and multilateral international development donor grants and contract proposal processes.
• Demonstrated experience leading