Business Development Specialist

Note: Current work authorization in the United States is required.

Business Development Specialist
Type – Full time (remote until further notice)
Location- Alexandria, VA
Reporting – Chief Executive Officer

Position Overview
Nascent Solutions seeks a dynamic professional to fill the position of Business Development Specialist at its head office in Alexandria. The successful applicant will lead the business development capture activities and oversee BD processes. The position will work closely with Nascent’s program team, including technical staff, to gather required technical content for writing compliant, responsive, and persuasive technical proposals for USG, European, and UN institutional and foundational opportunities. When not actively engaged in writing proposals, this person will support corporate business development strategy and implementation for targeting institutional and foundational awards. In this capacity, he/she will develop donor targeting strategies to inform the development of critical agency messaging, advise on developing and implementing long-term donor positioning plans, and help identify, influence, and qualify BD opportunities through the agency.

Company Details
Nascent is a women-led international development organization founded in 2004 with a mission to harness the creative entrepreneurial skills of target beneficiaries and strengthen their capacity to champion the development agenda of their communities. In the last 17 years, Nascent has mobilized resources and implemented food security, nutrition, education, and maternal and child health programs, impacting the lives of over 10 million people in several African countries. For more details, visit: www.nascents.org.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Proposal Development & Coordination: 60%
• Serve as lead writer and proposal coordinator for business development opportunities, ensuring high-quality concepts and timely response efforts, serving as the main point of contact, and coordinating technical, cost, staffing, partnering, and operational teams.
• Innovate BD at Nascent by amending existing processes for efficiency.
• Conduct ongoing BD-related research and data analyses to support the team.
• Coordinate, position, and manage all components of the proposal development process.
• Provide capture leadership of assigned opportunities to support the new business development unit and growth strategy, including capacity building of Nascent’s team.
• Determine, manage, and execute the full BD life-cycle process across multiple simultaneous bids and proposals with USG and other bilateral and private sector (corporate and foundation) donors.
• Track business development forecasts, assist with go/no-go decision-making, and manage pre-bid preparations, including coordinating and contributing to capture teams.
Partnership/Outreach: 30%
• Assist in developing methods and materials to communicate our work (priority technical areas) and the countries we serve (priority geographic areas) to clients.
• Coordinate business intelligence collection efforts and assist in developing concept notes, letters of interest, and solicitation responses for contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements.
• Provide input and facilitate the coordination of strategic initiatives for Nascent’s growth in key regions and technical areas.
• Review RFPs/RFAs and support the design of proposal documents, timelines, templates, and processes that guide proposal development in an efficient manner.
• Lead the development of concise, client and partner-facing documents demonstrating Nascent’s value-add.
• Draft teaming agreements, MOUs, and other efforts to improve new business development initiatives.
• Produce and maintain a strong network of agency connections in the international development and humanitarian community to leverage Nascent’s outreach and service provision.
• Stay abreast of current trends and occurrences in the international donor community to understand our clients’ needs better.
• Represent Nascent at conferences, career fairs, and other industry events.
Training and Lessons Learned: 10%
• Manage and or/support post-submission and lessons-learned processes.
• Utilize program design expertise to guide and lead quality program design (involving US and field-based technical and finance colleagues) that builds on evidence-based approaches and is responsive to the guidelines and specifications outlined by the donor.
• Maintain a productive work environment with appropriate training of other personnel.
• Support a fruitful team environment and complete other tasks and projects as needed.
Required Skills, Qualifications, and Attributes
• Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline; master’s degree preferred.
• 5-7 years of experience working on writing technical proposals in international development with major donors and business development, preferably with USG awards (USAID, State Dept, USDA).
• Ability to identify new business development opportunities.
• Knowledge of US government award mechanisms and procurement rules and regulations.
• Highly self-motivated and autonomous; ability to work with little guidance.
• Have a successful capture management track record across organizations and programs at various acquisition dimensions.
• Strong skills with Microsoft Office Suite, knowledge of PC-based word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, and database applications, and demonstrated ability to use the Internet as a research tool.
• Technical writing and proposal development experience in the NGO sector.
• Knowledge of and networks within the international development community.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills with proficiency in English.
• Exceptional time management skills with the ability to deliver under tight deadlines.
• Willingness and ability to undertake a broad range of tasks as necessary in a small, growing organization.
• Ability to communicate effectively in multidisciplinary and cross-cultural teams.
• Ability and willingness to travel internationally.