Guatemala: Regional Technical Advisor for Growth & Proposal Development
Country: Guatemala
Closing date: 30 May 2014
Job Title: Regional Technical Advisor- Growth and Proposal Development
Department/Location: LACRO/Guatemala City, Guatemala
Band: D
FSLA: Exempt
Reports to: Regional Technical Advisor, Growth Manager
About CRS:
Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. We welcome as a part of our staff and as partners people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need.
Background:
LACRO country programs make approximately 40 submissions per year to external donors. In FY 2013,the combined value of these submissions was $156 million, in agriculture, water, food security, disaster risk reduction, water, urban programming, peacebuilding (including youth livelihoods, migration, and workers’ rights), and education. While the US Government is and will likely remain the largest source of public funds in the region, LACRO growth efforts will seek to maintain and grow its diverse portfolio of donors that include other public donors, UN bodies, foundations, and private companies.
The 2010-2020 CRS/LACRO strategy prioritizes “signature” and “emerging” programming sectors in which LACRO is, or has the earnest potential to be, a recognized leader, demonstrating specific technical capacity, innovation, learning, scale and influence in sector policies and programs. These areas are: emergency response and preparedness (DRR), agriculture (agroenterprise), water (integrated water resource management), peace & justice (migration and trafficking, youth and employment, and workers’ rights), and microfinance.
LACRO growth decisions and investments (human and financial) will be guided by these strategic programming priorities. LACRO growth functions encompass the three phases of the Business Development Cycle: 1) Pre-positioning; 2) Pursuit of Opportunities; and 3) Leveraging of Results. The Proposal Development Specialist will primarily focus on capture planning (part of Phase 1) and proposal planning and development (Phase 2), while the LACRO Growth Manager will be primarily responsible for the other components of the cycle, with both positions reinforcing and back-stopping the efforts of the other.
The Proposal Development Specialist will therefore have the opportunity to spearhead a number of improvements in the quality of capture planning and proposal development in the region. These include improved forecasting and positioning of CRS in the marketplace, increasing the number and diversity of actors that CRS brings to the table in solving development issues (Cross Sector Engagement), and the introduction of new tools and best practices in proposal design and development.
Primary Function:
Under the direct supervision of the LACRO Growth Manager, the RTA Proposal Development Specialist will take the lead on supporting all activities related to the identification and tracking of opportunities through the capture planning stages and into final proposal production. The emphasis will be on ensuring the development of high quality proposals for the right opportunities, shepherding resources to support both technical quality and streamlined, effective proposal development. This includes providing surge capacity for technical and non-technical writing and other proposal development needs. The Proposal Development Specialist will build capacity of country program and partner staff, as appropriate, in proposal development and the introduction of new tools and best practices in coordination with agency-wide efforts from the Business Development community of practice.
Job Responsibility:
Pursuit of Opportunities:
· Coordinate regional involvement in the Proposal Development and Approval Process, including coordination of regional reviews, BD (non-financial) review of project budgets, and coordination of HQ support and TDYs as needed.
· Support country programs to perform due diligence in go/no-go analyses and decisions.
· As determined by the Growth Manager and DRDs for PQ and GS&J, deploy throughout the LACRO region to provide hands-on proposal development support to country programs.
· Ensure receipt and incorporation of regional and/or HQ technical input into project design and technical narratives to ensure soundness of proposal technical components.
· As appropriate, ensure mainstreaming of gender, capacity strengthening, influence, evidence-based approaches and other LACRO priorities during proposal design and development.
· Assist proposal development teams to improve proposal competitiveness through cross sector engagement and integration of Shipley tools and other best practices for proposal development.
· Provide input to proposal teams and review from a growth perspective, including overall responsiveness to donor requirements, incorporation of cost-effectiveness considerations, and other aspects that may affect CRS’ competitiveness.
· Assist with proposal writing and other proposal development needs as appropriate.
· Develop and maintain a roster of consultants and TDYers for proposal development.
Prepositioning:
· Actively gather intelligence about and seek out new funding opportunities, analyze them, and share with CPs and RTAs as appropriate.
· Maintain LACRO opportunity pipeline and act as the main LACRO point of contact for the win/loss database.
· Inform and advise DRDs and country programs on relevant funding opportunities.
· Assist country program teams with capture planning for prioritized funding opportunities.
· Support country programs to improve their forecasting capacities and practices, including the forecasting of expected proposal development needs.
· Provide support to CPs in the development and execution of their positioning plans.
Agency learning:
· Share learning around pursuit of opportunities with the BD community of practice.
· Build CP and partner staff capacity in TAG, CAG, and capture planning-related skills, through training and ongoing accompaniment.
· Support development and roll-out of BD competencies and CSE training programs for targeted CP staff, particularly in competencies related to capture planning and proposal development.
· Identify professional development opportunities for country program staff, especially dedicated growth staff, including TDYs within LACRO and elsewhere.
· Work with CPs to develop and maintain capacity statements, past performance tables, and evidence-based results for emerging and signature areas; work with HQ/RAD to maintain global past performance and corporate capacity statements.
Key Working Relationships:
Internal: LACRO Growth Manager, Deputy Regional Director for Program Quality, Deputy Regional Director for Global Solidarity and Justice, Deputy Regional Director for Management Quality, Regional Finance Officer, LACRO Regional Technical Advisors/IDEAS group, LACRO Country Representatives and Heads of Programming, LACRO CP-level growth staff, HQ Resource Acquisition Department, HQ Public Donor Liaisons.
External:Representatives from peer international NGOs, local partner organizations.
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.
· Serves with Integrity
· Models Stewardship
· Cultivates Constructive Relationships
· Promotes Learning
Qualifications:
· Master’s degree and 5-7 years of relevant professional NGO experience
· Two or more years of experience in a developing country, preferably in Latin America or the Caribbean
· Demonstrated experience with proposal development, at least some of which was in a leading or coordinating capacity; USAID proposal development experience preferred
· Familiarity with one or more of the LACRO signature and emerging program areas
· Familiarity with procedures, policies and priorities of USG and UN agencies, other public and private donors, and Caritas agencies
· Demonstrated experience in capacity building, training and mentoring
Personal/Professional skills
· Demonstrated ability to work in a team; excellent interpersonal, diplomacy and negotiating skills
· Ability to work independently, make sound decisions, and work effectively under pressure and competing priorities; assertiveness
· Demonstrated experience managing people and processes, leading teams to produce deliverables under tight deadlines and at exceptional quality
· Commitment to the Agency’s mission
· Excellent oral and written communication, interpersonal, and networking skills required
· Fluency in spoken and written English and Spanish required; French is a plus
· Willingness and ability to travel internationally at least 35% of the time
This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.
How to apply:
To apply, please visit:
EOE/M/F/D/V
