Business Development Senior Officer

ARK is a social enterprise, empowering local communities through the provision of agile and sustainable interventions to create greater stability, opportunity, and hope for the future. If you want to know what that means in reality and what we hope you will contribute to, please take a look at our website, www.ark.international.

We believe that resilient communities are the foundation of local, national, regional and international development and stability – and ultimately a safer, peaceful and more prosperous world. At ARK, we have delivered research and programmatic interventions validating this approach in over twenty countries since 2008. As a social enterprise we work in partnership with communities, our donors, and other implementers to build local capacities, generate opportunity and bring about sustainable change.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SENIOR OFFICER:

The purpose of this position is to lead ARK’s business development efforts. This includes managing project and proposal design and drafting, opportunity tracking, partner identification and engagement, competitor analysis, client engagement and strategy development.

The role is responsible for bid prioritisation, coordinating resources for bids and ensuring the coherence of all tender submissions. You will also develop high quality cross-cutting content and processes for business development and work closely with ARK’s technical leads to ensure ARK stays at the cutting edge of the sector.

You will work to improve the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of ARK’s BD activity by directly contributing to tender submissions and mobilising team members and external resources to work on identified opportunities. The role will require for you to work closely with the senior leadership team to prioritise opportunities and ensure adequate resources are allocated to our responses.

The Business Development Senior Officer will manage the BD lessons learning process, driving continuous improvement of ARK’s BD activities. You will be responsible for winning new projects by leveraging your successful track record in a previous BD or senior development sector role, innate understanding of our clients’ requirements, and ability to write clearly and compellingly.

You will also work closely with ARK’s senior leadership team to develop our commercial strategy including developing our commercial offer and positioning within the market. You will routinely scan relevant BD portals and frameworks to proactively identify new opportunities that align with ARK’s values and capabilities and will build relationships with new donors and partners identified.

The role would ideally be based in London (other locations can be considered) with the requirement for occasional overseas travel.

About you

You have a proven track record of successfully winning new projects in a previous BD role in the development, stabilisation or security sector and have some knowledge and experience in one of ARK’s technical areas of expertise. You enjoy successfully building effective relationships with stakeholders from a wide range of professional and cultural backgrounds, and working effectively in politically sensitive and challenging environments. You are proactive, well organised, enjoy working as part of a close-knit team, and are genuinely committed to achieving lasting change for the beneficiaries we serve. You have strong analytical skills, are able to understand complex problems quickly and write clearly and compellingly in English.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Opportunity tracking: The selected candidate will work with ARK’s senior leadership and Operations Team to identify framework and related business development opportunities. The candidate will monitor framework call-down requests, expressions of interest and terms of reference for potential projects and keep up-to-date with all developments on government frameworks and other market developments, include partner identification and competitor analysis. You will proactively identify upcoming opportunities and seek to develop new relationships with potential donors and partners. You will coordinate bi-weekly business development meetings and ensure accurate tracking of the pipeline of future tender opportunities, regularly updating the senior leadership team on the BD portfolio.

Bidding process: The selected candidate will conduct background research covering a range of different geographies and thematics, including stabilisation, security and justice, governance, conflict and peacebuilding, development and strategic communications. You will be required to coordinate bid processes and author responses in coordination with relevant colleagues and partners. You will ensure that appropriate internal and external review teams are in place and that all content is provided to them on time. You will ensure the coherence and quality of all tender submissions.

Business Development Strategy: You will lead the development of ARK’s Business Development strategy, working closely with the senior leadership team to understand strategic shifts in the sector and to identify new opportunities to grow ARK’s project portfolio and to diversify our offering and funding. You will maintain established relationships and build new ones with donors, partners and subject matter experts. You will work closely with ARK’s communications team to ensure we are well positioned for future opportunities.

Information management: The selected candidate will support the aggregation of learning within the department and the development of more streamlined knowledge management processes related to core thematics and geographies. This includes coordinating with project teams to ensure examples of successful implementation and best practice are kept updated, as well as engaging with and augmenting ARK’s pool of Subject Matter Experts.

SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Essential

• Extensive track record of successfully securing grants and contracts in this sector from governmental and non-governmental sources.
• Proven ability to develop high-quality technical and commercial proposals, with a strong understanding of financial and commercial strategy.
• Relevant university education in the social sciences (political science, international development, etc).
• Strong analytical ability and excellent written English.
• Well organised with meticulous attention to detail.
• Performs effectively under pressure and manages time well respecting deadlines.
• Strong communicator that works well as part of a team.
• Detailed understanding of the organisations active in our key markets.

Desirable

• Previous experience working on donor funded projects and programmes in a project management, research or monitoring and evaluation role.
• A second language.

MORE ABOUT OUR COMPANY:

What Makes Us Different

We pride ourselves on being the first people able to access and operate in challenging fragile and conflict-affected environments. We are expeditionary by design and our systems and structures enable flexible and agile responses while ensuring safe, effective and compliant delivery.

Working with and through teams drawn from the communities in which we operate enables us to deliver impactful interventions built on intimate local understanding. In collaboration with our global network of international and local experts, we integrate a nuanced understanding of the challenges we aim to solve with best practice and field-leading innovation to deliver programming that meets short-term stabilisation objectives and builds the evidence base and knowledge needed to lay the groundwork for long-term peacebuilding and development programming. Key to everything we do is the promotion of sustainable solutions.

What We Do

We enjoy sectoral experience in civil society development, good governance, protection and human rights, refugees and migration, stabilisation, gender, security and justice, as well as cross-cutting experience in programme design and learning, organisational development and management, research and analysis, needs assessments, MEAL, communications and capacity building.

Our People

Today, our team covers a diverse range of professional backgrounds; from diplomacy, humanitarian, development and the military, to the UN, civil society groups, multilateral organisations, journalism and the private sector.

The multi-disciplinary and multi-national nature of our team means the research we undertake and the programmes we deliver are grounded in identified need and deliver measurable and sustainable impact.

ARK staff are widely diverse, but united by a common DNA. We are people who want to make a positive and lasting change in the world. We are on the beneficiary’s side. We are humble but we voice our thoughts, and informed ideas win. We take on big and varied challenges, and we relish opportunities to learn along the way. ARK staff are:

Committed: Each of us want ARK, its partners and beneficiaries to succeed. This means taking initiative, assuming ownership when necessary and never giving up on our beneficiaries. We are accountable, to both our donors and the communities we serve.

Outspoken: We tackle diverse challenges, and we always want to find the best solution to a problem. We aren’t afraid to share our opinions and we want to hear those of others too.

Smart: We think deeply about things. We’re proud of our institutional knowledge and our grounding in rigorous research, which we use to make informed decisions.

Humble: Our work leaves little room for pride or arrogance. Our operating environment is constantly evolving, and we recognise our limitations. We believe in and rely on the education and experiences of others while remaining quick to read, invite feedback, and ask sensible questions.

Collegiate: We know we are stronger together, and that every contribution counts. We trust each other and always support each other.

ARK Group is an equal opportunity employer. We actively seek a diverse applicant pool and encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply. ARK Group does not discriminate on the basis of ability, age, gender identity and expression, national origin, race and ethnicity, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation. We welcome all kinds of diversity. ARK Group places human dignity at the centre of its development and stabilisation work and is thus committed to the protection from sexual exploitation and abuse of children and adults. All ARK Group employees and related-personnel are expected to share this commitment, and only those who also uphold these values will be recruited as part of our team. This vacancy is therefore subject to a range of due diligence checks.