NGO JOBS

Organization: Management Sciences for Health
Country: United States of America
Closing date: 17 Feb 2014

OVERALL RESPONSIBILITIES

The Contract Officer is an integral part of the new business development process. Under the direction of the Director, International Business Proposal Development, the Contract Officer oversees the development of cost proposals including the MSH budget, budget narrative, cost and price analysis of partner budgets, partner budget negotiations and documentation, MSH cost documentation and coordination with the proposal team members throughout the organization including Business Development, Center, and Human Resources staff. The Contract Officer may also lead the development of budgets and templates for US and non-US donors. The Contract Officer can budget for large and complex proposals, and also trains, mentors, assists, manages and supports the Business Proposal Analysts on smaller proposals.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES

I. Cost Proposal Development and Submission as Contract Officer:

1. Gather, research, analyze and document all cost assumptions for cost proposal budgets and certify cost data. Obtain US and international cost information, quotes and/or analyze historical costs from similar MSH projects, external vendors (as necessary), MSH finance teams (both headquarters-based and field- based) and local consultants.

2. Coordinate with the proposal team on strategic issues involving competitive, realistic and responsive proposal budgets. Ensure that the proposal team is educated on donor requirements and regulations for all cost proposals. Lead a stripping/cost analysis of the RFA/RFP document for initial proposal team meetings (Go/No-Go). Lead the development of Rough Order Magnitude Budgets for Go/No-Go Meetings. Develop cost strategy for individual proposals for review and approval by Director, International Business Proposal Development /Senior Director - CCO.

3. Manage assigned subcontractors as a part of the proposal process and perform activities including: preparing Pre Teaming Agreements, preparing and negotiating terms of Teaming Agreements (and amendments), providing budget assumptions, taking the lead in negotiating budgets with a focus on cost realism and cost and price analysis, developing budget templates, reviewing budgets and notes, and ensuring final submissions conform to donor requirements. Provide cost guidelines, standards and templates.

4. Review Terms and Conditions of sample contracts, and request exceptions to terms and conditions when necessary.

5. Supervise the Business Proposal and Contract Associates in development of ‘Instructions to Subcontractors’, collection of cost proposal documentation, determining whether cost documentation is responsive, and in producing and submitting the final proposal.

II. Cost Proposal Development and Submission as Budget Proposal Analyst:

1. Develop and revise complex proposal budgets in accordance with donor requirements, while utilizing advanced Excel spreadsheet techniques.

2. Draft explanatory budget narratives to accompany budget in cost proposal for review by Director of Business Proposal Development and/or Director of Corporate Contracts Office.

3. Schedule and manage proposal budget meetings, provide costs based on proposal design inputs, and make recommendations to the technical team to assure development of a competitive proposal. Developing scenario budgets and presenting scenario budgets to proposal managers to help ensure that the proposal team can develop a cost effective and responsive proposal.

4. Manage assigned subcontractors as a part of the proposal process and perform activities including: providing budget assumptions, negotiating budgets, developing budget templates, reviewing budgets and notes, ensuring final submissions conform to donor requirements, and assist new organizations with budget development as necessary.

5. Take a leadership role for Center-lead proposals including (but not limited to) contribution to project design and communicating directly with donors or prime recipients.

6. Review draft and final award documents for consistency of financial data with proposal budgets and provide written and oral analysis to the Proposal Contract Officer.

7. Maintain and update cost proposal binders (both in hard and soft copy) with all cost documentation and relevant email correspondence that support all inputs for proposal budgets.

8. Provide ad-hoc updates (via email correspondence, telephone calls or informal meetings) to the Director and Senior Director on proposal development progress and issues as needed.

III. General New Business Development Activities:

1. Research and analyze various donor requirements for proposal budgeting and project management.

2. Conduct country specific market research and cost/data gathering for pre- identified target countries.

3. Create and/or revise Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for cost proposal development process which includes the ongoing creation and revision of and roll-out of tools, templates, worksheets, guides and training manuals.

4. Create and/or modify budget spreadsheet templates to be responsive to donor requirements and create and/or revise new budget templates as needed for small proposals or non-U.S. Government donors.

5. Provide inputs and assist with routine maintenance and updating of proposal budget generator application.

6. Provide ongoing formal and informal training to Budget Liaisons and Technical Strategy Leaders on cost proposal budgeting processes, SOPs, tools, and templates.

7. Create and/or revise tools and templates for proposal handover and project start- up activities.

8. Create and/or revise SOP and tools and templates for local cost gathering for priority countries before funding solicitations are released.

9. Conduct market research for exchange and inflation rates for priority countries and propose rates for approval by the Chief Financial Officer.

10. Provide training (as needed) to local NGOs on various issues related to government contracting including (but not limited to) proposal budgeting, cost documentation and applying for and receiving a DUNS number.

11. Assist colleagues with other budget development activities as needed, including(but not limited to) serving as a secondary Budget Analyst for large proposals, conducting math and integrity checks on budgets prepared both within the Cost Proposal Unit and externally.

12. Liaise with Contract Officer supporting existing projects for operational inputs on proposal design.

13. Attend weekly and ad-hoc Business & Resource Development meetings.

14. Conduct research, engage international and/or local firms and consultants (as needed) to prepare for, or begin NGO registration in priority countries.

15. Provide inputs to the Cost Proposal Unit proposal tracking sheet. Maintain and revise (on an ongoing basis) content in the Cost Proposal Unit Training Manual.

IV. Additional Activities:

1. Negotiate consultant rates.

2. Conduct desk research and analysis on U.S. Government and other donor regulation policies including (but not limited to) Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Agency for International Development Acquisition Regulation (AIDAR), and U.S. Department of State Standardized Regulations.

3. Participate in the development and monitoring of the CCO Office work plan and work plan budget.

4. Conduct training for new staff on procurement integrity and the MSH Code of Business Ethics and Conduct.

5. Attend bi-weekly staff meetings and prepare and present on assigned topics at staff meetings.

6. Attend external trainings as necessary for professional development on pertinent issues related to international development and government contracting and report back on relevant contact to the Corporate Contracts Office.

7. Provide ad-hoc assistance and support to other units in the Corporate Contract Office including Corporate Procurement, Contract Compliance and Policy and the Contracts and Grants Management Unit.

QUALIFICATIONS

1. Bachelor’s Degree required; Master’s preferred

2. Minimum four years of experience working in the development of large scale ($50+ million) MSH cost proposals required

3. Experience working with US government rules and regulations required.

4. Experience with budgeting and knowledge of regulations and policies for non-US donors such as DFID, UN, WB, Gates, etc. required.

5. Experience interfacing with the Corporate Contracts Office.

6. Advanced analytical and business modeling skills.

7. Ability to graphically and textually depict data in order to make recommendations to management.

8. Advanced orientation to detail.

9. Strong computer skills and advanced knowledge of spreadsheets using MS-Excel.

10. Advanced experience in using MSH Cost Proposal templates and tools, such as MSH Budget Generator.

11. Strong interpersonal communication skills (written and verbal).

12. English language skills required. Foreign language (Spanish or French) a plus.

13. Ability to work in a team-oriented environment.

14. Ability to travel as needed.

Management Sciences for Health is an equal opportunity employer offering employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, citizenship, physical or mental handicap, or status as a disabled or Vietnam Era veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces.

How to apply:

**To apply for this position, please submit a resume to https://jobs-msh.icims.com/jobs/7212/contract-officer/job. For more information about MSH, please visit our web site at www.msh.org. If you cannot apply online or have difficulty doing so, please email an explanation of your problem to iRecruiterproblem@msh.org.