Business Development Coordinator

Position description

Reports to: Director Research Business Development

Team: Business Development

Salary range: £30,000-35,000 per annum (depending on skills and experience).

Location: London, Hybrid (min. two days a week)

Contract: Full-time Permanent 

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​About RUSI

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The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) is one of the world’s leading research think-tanks in the field of defence, security, and geopolitics. The Research Business Development team was established in 2023 to support RUSI’s nine research groups to meet their annual funding targets by responding to competitive bids, proactively identifying new funding opportunities, and sharing best practice across the organisation.

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Team values:

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• Pragmatism – we solve problems and find solutions to complex issues. Action oriented.
• Drive – we are constantly learning and trying to improve, working to move the organisation forwards. Proactive and independent.
• Professionalism – we treat people with respect and assume good intentions to build strong relationships with our colleagues and other stakeholders. We deliver on our promises and communicate clearly.
• Positivity – we set an optimistic tone and focus on what we can reasonably do to make a positive difference to the organisation.
• Outcome-led – we want to see results from our work and care about making a tangible difference.
• Curious – we keep an open mind, seek to understand, and bring a diverse set of experiences to the table.
• Sustainability – we think of the long-term, taking the time to fix issues so they don’t arise again and ensuring that our working patterns are healthy and productive.

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​Main purpose of the post

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We are seeking to appoint a Business Development Coordinator to join a wider team that spearheads RUSI’s research fundraising efforts. Reporting to the Director, Research Business Development, the successful candidate will enhance the institute’s business development activities by providing administrative and coordination support for business development, contracts, and risk management. Working closely with research groups, central services teams, and the senior management team, the successful candidate will be responsible for ensuring that RUSI is well-placed to spot and respond to new funding opportunities and that our contracts are high-quality and executed efficiently.

This is a highly collaborative role that involves building very strong internal relationships at all levels of the organisation and managing competing priorities and deadlines. We are seeking a team player with a pragmatic and positive attitude and excellent attention to detail, who will enjoy taking on new challenges, using your initiative to solve problems, and seeing your work directly contribute to meeting our short- and long-term goals.

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​Key tasks

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Tracking, identifying, and sharing new funding opportunities:

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• Conduct research to identify potential funders and grant opportunities, populate and maintain a prospects tracker. Ensure we have an accurate and current map of relevant funders at all times to draw from.
• Manage the Business Development email inbox, ensuring we are registered to all relevant portals and that we are regularly checking funder portals that do not send notifications. Share summaries of relevant opportunities with the BD Director along with suggested dissemination plan, agree next steps and follow up with appropriate Research Groups.
• Support research colleagues to identify funders to invite to RUSI events and draft outreach emails.

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Providing administrative and coordination support on bids, contracts, and new business activities:

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• Assist the Bids Manager with compiling information about RUSI as an organisation, its registrations, policies, organisational structure, banking and insurance details, financial information, and other generic details to be included in bid submissions and for due diligence.
• Support the Bids Manager/Director of Research Business Development with administration and coordination of specific components on large bids.  

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Maintaining and improving business development processes and systems:

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• Ensure the business development team trackers (action log, new funding opportunities etc.) are accurate and up to date.
• Work closely with RUSI’s Legal and Contracts and Finance teams to finalise funder contracts and ensure that final copies are saved centrally, and key information is distributed to relevant teams. Ensure that relevant and accurate funder information is tracked by the finance system for ongoing analysis.
• Review drafts of subcontractor agreements and work closely with RUSI’s Legal and Contracts team to manage the process for preparing, securing approval, finalising, and sharing sub-contracts.
• Act as central point of contact for the research funding pipeline, ensure it is functioning as needed and respond to ad hoc questions.
• Manage the team’s Sharepoint page, ensuring that it is useful and relevant for research colleagues, with high-quality templates and guidance. 
• In coordination with colleagues on the Communications team, update RUSI’s customer relationship management (CRM) system with accurate, relevant and up-to-date funder information and develop and promote best practice for CRM usage for BD.
• Update RUSI funders on the website annually, ensuring that they are accurate and that we have appropriate permissions to acknowledge them publicly.
• Assist in preparing training materials and internal presentations, including by conducting data analysis.
• Schedule regular catch ups with research groups, take and share notes in appropriate formats, update trackers.
• Take accurate and useful minutes and share and follow up on action points after Business Development meetings.
• Establish strong working relationships with research teams, central service teams, and senior management.
• Assist with administrative tasks for the business development team as needed, including setting up tech (Zoom/Teams) meetings, coordinating diaries, and booking meetings.

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Managing the institutional Risk Management process:

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• Be responsible for ensuring that risk registers are maintained and updated across the Institute to track risk within the organisation.
• Attend all Audit & Risk Committee meetings to update members on changes to the risk register, and take minutes for each meeting.
• Work with the COO and Business Development team to ensure that RUSI has in place all policies and procedures across the Institute that are required by funders on various projects.
• Assist the COO in keeping up to date with all Charity Commission guidance on charity operations and compliance.

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​The above list of duties is not exhaustive. The post holder will be required to undertake such duties that may reasonably be expected within the scope and grade of the role.

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​Person specification

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​Essential Skills and Experience:

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• Professional experience in charity administration, business development, customer service, events management, account management or similar.
• Previous experience in grants administration or project management.
• Basic knowledge and awareness of common requirements for bid submissions including such items as statements on duty of care, quality assurance, supply chain management, gender, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Experience in contract administration and completion.
• An undergraduate degree or equivalent in business, international relations, or related field.
• Team Player – a genuine enthusiasm to help others, collaborate across multiple teams, and to see your work contribute to the benefit of the organisation.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work with different personalities and manage confidential information with sensitivity.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, able to communicate clearly and professionally on video calls, Teams chat, email and in person. Able to produce clear, accurate and insightful written output, meeting the highest quality standards.
• Excellent organisation and attention to detail – you can maintain, implement, and improve systems, processes, and databases to ensure that our data and outputs are accurate, thorough and up to date.
• Outstanding time management skills and a willingness to work flexibly – juggling shifting priorities and competing deadlines, managing people’s expectations effectively.
• Strong IT and Microsoft skills (Excel, Word, Outlook, Adobe and PowerPoint)
• An interest in, and knowledge of, defence, security and geopolitics.

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Desirable Criteria:

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• An interest in, and knowledge of, defence, security and geopolitics.
• Experience in a Think Tank/Charity sector

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​Our expectations

We expect all staff to abide by and promote our RUSI’s Vision and Values https://rusi.org/content/values and Equal Opportunities Statement.

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​ Benefits

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• 25 days annual leave (rising with service)
• Additional days off during Christmas -RUSI Christmas closure days
• Generous pension contributions at 6% employer contribution,
• Access to 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme
• Season ticket loan
• Access to free access to RUSI’s world leading programme of events and conferences, research materials and library
• Trained Mental Health First Aiders
• *Enhanced sick pay
• *Enhanced maternity and paternity leave

*Depending on length of service

Application instructions

Please be sure to indicate you saw this position on tendersglobal.net