Manager, Cost & Pricing

The Manager, Cost & Pricing is a member of the Cost, Compliance & Teaming team of the Business Development Group reporting to the Senior Director, Cost and Pricing. They participate in the design of innovative, impactful international projects by capturing and evaluating nuanced details of cost-drivers of high-quality interventions as part of multi-year budgets for complex, competitive USG bids. Help facilitate business decisions with the proposal design team about Price to Win, Fee Structures, and potential partnerships by ensuring these elements align, enhance, and support a robust, realistic, and feasible win and implementation strategy for the technical approach and management approach. Develop cost volumes for each assigned bid; the Manager, Cost & Pricing liaises with the proposal design team and partners to request, analyze, and present business and cost requirements in the most effective manner with excellent budgeting, writing, editing, and presentation skills using Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Adobe. Help drive quality improvements on bid applications by organizing reviews and delivering production support for bid materials prior to submission.

Responsibilities

Capture & Program Design (30% LOE)

• Conduct desk research and tabulation of local country cost-drivers, such as labor rates and employment rules, travel and training venue costs, office rental and housing costs, local inflation, equipment and supplies procurement, security needs, etc., to determine feasible cost parameters for anticipated USG and other donor bids.
• Collect data and documentation about potential local and international partners that can demonstrate evidence of capacity to effectively manage awards including reviews of policy and procedures, annual budgets, recent audits, financial and programmatic reports, and local registration, as well as assessing fitness for award receipt by running these organizations and their leaders through the EPLS database.
• Work directly with international and local partners to frame and complete their anticipated business and cost application materials including supporting their registration in systems like Sam.gov, in alignment with client initiatives.
• Build and roll-up activity level budgets with anticipated interventions that include co-funding and/or stand-alone cost-structures responsive to submission requirements.

Bid Strategy & Proposal Development (50% LOE)

• Adapt comprehensive tools and templates, as directed, to deliver high quality cost and business application materials in a timely manner including document checklist, partner document list, compliance matrix, and bid calendar.
• Create comprehensive bid-specific budget and cost narrative in alignment with technical approaches and participant targets, that demonstrates price to win, fee structures, implementation feasibility and cost competitiveness per participant.
• As needed, create complex, (CLIN, sub-objective activity level) budgets to best suit the competitive needs of each bid.
• Review pricing inputs from technical or other pricing contributors for completeness on a timely basis.
• Compile and compose detailed cost and business questions for submission by senior team members.
• Track, review and provide feedback as needed, on partner cost documentation and ensure compliance with solicitation requirements.
• Serve as partner liaison, as assigned, on active bids to track partner cost inputs to ensure all documentation is received in full and in a timely manner.
• Ensure compliance with ACDI/VOCA’s best practices and policies, solicitation requirements, and client policies across a range of opportunities, donors, and schedules, especially flagship programs for USAID and USDA, such as Food for Peace and Food for Progress, based upon analysis of specific solicitations.
• Provide regular updates on status of all cost and budget narrative development, while proactively communicating obstacles and solutions to meet proposal calendars deadlines.
• Integrate all partner pricing inputs into consolidated budget, budget narrative and cost application.

Process Improvements & Trainings (20% LOE)

• Help develop and modify checklists and instruction manuals as needed for successful delivery of inputs for color reviews.
• Participate in internal debriefing meetings and make informed recommendations on how to improve cost and pricing activities/products.
• In collaboration with Proposal Manager, Proposal Leader, and Senior Director, Cost, and Pricing, help adjust process and deadlines as needed, while upholding corporate interests, business needs, and our overall win strategy.
• Review internal and external debriefing analysis; as directed, implement improvements accordingly.
• Remain current on industry trends and best practices.

Other duties

• Support and enhance the company’s culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion and align with our corporate values by treating others with respect and congeniality.
• Ability to host or attend in person meetings when required.
• Perform other duties as assigned.