Business Development Manager

Since the early 1980s Niger has consistently been ranked at the bottom of the UN’s Human Development Index. Over half the population suffers from chronic food insecurity and one in ten are extremely food insecure. Niger is also a disaster-prone country, regularly hit by food crises and vulnerable to flooding, cholera, and locust swarms. Access to health care and education for women and girls are very limited. In addition to the vulnerability of a significant proportion of Nigeriens, Niger also hosts refugees from neighboring Mali and Nigeria.

IRC’s vision for Niger is that individuals, households, and communities are resilient, self-reliant, and able to thrive in a changing context. IRC Niger is present in the regions of Tillabéri, Agadez and Diffa with projects in the following areas: Environmental Health (EH) and Non-Food Items (NFI), Emergency Response/Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM), Protection (SGBV, Child Protection, Monitoring Protection and Protection Integration), Education, Nutrition, Health, and Livelihoods.

Scope of work

The ideal candidate will have excellent planning, coordination, writing and analytical skills. He/she will be the focal point for proposal development in all its components and, in collaboration with the Grants Coordinator, will be responsible for coordinating the entire process of writing a new proposal in coordination with the different technical departments, building on the achievements of current and completed projects.

Main Responsibilities:

• Based on the call for proposals and donor reference documents, contribute to identifying the key elements of the project proposal in collaboration with the Grants Coordinator and the DDP

• Assist in the scheduling and facilitation of project design workshops with all relevant internal and external stakeholders, involving partners (as needed);

• Assist or lead the development of the proposal depending on IRC Niger’s role.

• Prepare high quality donor proposals and other annexes in coordination with technical coordinators and technical advisors, ensuring that IRC’s Strategic Action Plan (SAP) priorities are addressed.

• Highlight IRC ongoing/completed project completions in new proposals.

• Be prepared to assume a lead writing role for concept notes and proposals.

• Ensure review of technical and financial components of proposals written by staff, checking for clarity, relevance, format, consistency, and compliance, in coordination with program and operations teams.

• Manage the review, approval, and submission process through IRC’s database (OTIS) and coordinate revisions to proposal components based on feedback from headquarters.

• Ensure, in collaboration with the BD Officer and IRC Niger Finance, the development of new project budgets and collaborate with the Grants Coordinator to ensure the review of regional finance departments.

• Proactively raise issues of potential proposal inadequacy and non-compliance with donor guidelines to the Grants Coordinator.

• Maintain a broad and deep understanding of donor policies and develop this knowledge among program and operations staff.

• Digitally archive various versions of submitted proposals (on the server and on OTIS).

• Support the Grants Coordinator in the management of donor communications and meetings with donors to write project proposals.

• Supervise the BD Officer and ensure the coordination of his/her workflow.

Job requirements:

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in international relations, international development, humanitarian project management, or related field.

• Minimum two years of experience in a similar position in a humanitarian or development organization.

• Proven experience writing proposals and concept notes in both English and French.

• Excellent writing, analytical and synthesis skills in English and French.

• Familiarity with major USG (USAID/BHA, BPRM), European (DFID, ECHO, Europe Aid, Swiss Cooperation, SIDA), Canadian (GAC), and UN (UNHCR, UNFPA, UNICEF, WFP) donor regulations, procedures and requirements.

• Excellent oral and written comprehension and communication skills, in French and English.

• Very good command of the Microsoft Office package.

• Excellent organizational skills and ability to prioritize tasks in order to meet multiple simultaneous deadlines.

• Proactivity, dynamism, and autonomy in completing tasks.

• High attention to detail, format, presentation, and readability of documents.

• Ability to work in a team environment in a multicultural office.

• Ability to adapt, as well as accept and prioritize new tasks, according to the most urgent needs of a constantly changing environment.

• Interest in humanitarian projects and programs in Nutrition, Reproductive Health, Protection, Food Security and Livelihoods, WASH, Education, and Rapid Response Mechanisms to population movements.

Supervision:

The Business Development Manager reports directly to the Grants Coordinator.
He/she directly supervises the Business Development Officer.

Working environment:

The Business Development Manager will be based in Niamey with travel throughout the country. The security situation in Niger continues to be volatile. This is a non-accompanied position. He/she will live in shared housing.