Business Development Manager (BDM) At Cordaid

Business Development Manager (Kinshasa, DRC)

Cordaid believes in a world without poverty and exclusion. We strive for just and sustainable societies where every person counts. We stand for knowledge and talent sharing between North and South, between farmers and businesses, between activists and policymakers. Where poverty, conflict and exclusion divide societies, we connect people and communities. We stand for professionalism, expertise and solidarity across borders. We aim at maximizing our social impact and contributing to systemic change. We operate where natural disasters strike, where conflicts tear up communities and where lack of opportunities and service delivery keep families in extreme poverty.

Cordaid is an internationally operating value-based emergency relief and development organisation, working in and on fragility.

Cordaid is a member of the international Catholic networks Caritas and CIDSE and we are active in worldwide civil society networks. We work in around 20 countries in Africa, Middle East and Asia.

For the Cordaid Country Office in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Cordaid is looking for a

Business Development Manager (BDM)

Introduction

Cordaid has a long history working in DRC a country affected by war and conflicts for decades.

Cordaid is currently working in the following sectors: Health, Education and Security & Justice. We have a main office in Kinshasa, a coordination office for Eastern DRC in Goma and other offices in Bukavu, Bunia, Gemena, Kananga and Uvira. We are working in 24 of out of the 26 provinces.

To develop the portfolio for Cordaid in DRC, we are looking for an experienced Business Development Manager (BDM) with strong management and leadership capacities as well as a profound knowledge of the technical aspects of the job and excellent writing skills in French and English.

General objective of the posting

This BDM position supports Cordaid’ acquisition of resources from a wide range of donors, including the Dutch Ministry and Embassies, UNDP, World Bank, multi-lateral organisations, foundations, corporations, and other classical donors as well as a variety of emerging, non-traditional sources of funding.

The BDM will ensure portfolio growth under the strategic leadership of the Programme Director in DRC. Your leadership, management and knowledge will enable Cordaid DRC to deliver high-quality proposal and prepositioning, ensure effective donor engagement and high-quality reporting and communications.

Specific objectives

• Business Development & Grant Acquisition: shares responsibility for the fundraising strategy, regular checks on open tenders and other potential opportunities in country, works with Programme Director, Project Managers and Thematic Experts in identifying funding opportunities and preparing proposals.**
• Donor Engagement: Identifies, creates, and maintains partner relationships with authorities and with strategic (inter) national partner organizations working in the same field as Cordaid.
• Reporting and Communication: manages project reporting deadlines, ensures high-quality reports and articles in French and English, ensures a Communication strategy and assures Cordaid visibility of programs and key events. **

Specific tasks

Business Development & Grant Acquisition

· Coordinate the development and writing of high-quality proposals for submission to donors, ensuring full partner participation in program design when relevant;

· Research, track and analyse new business opportunities for DRC;

· Support DRC management’s cultivation and strengthening of institutional relationships with donors, partner organisations, and other collaborators in the international relief/development arena;

· Participate in all necessary internal processes and ensure adequate documentation is available prior relevant meetings;

· Work in liaison with the programme staff, the DRC MEAL Coordinator and Global Office on donor intelligence and community priorities/needs and positioning of Cordaid for emerging funding opportunities;

· Support and guide the identification and involvement of partners for all opportunities;

· Conduct donor mapping, identify potential allies/partners and competitors for funding opportunities in country in line with the DRC strategy;

· Research and maintain information on donor strategies and funding opportunities on the national level;

· Contribute to bid management processes with technical writing of the proposal in accordance with donor requirements and DRC’s Strategic Plan;

· Lead in the research process during the development of new proposals in coordination with related departments in order to ensure high-quality proposals which meet the requirements of donors;

· Ensure the follow up and review of the entire grant proposal development process, including conceptualisation, performing research, producing compelling content, make revisions and submission;

· Monitor the competitive landscape, assess and test new approaches, gather lessons learned and update the countries’ funding strategy.

Donor engagement

· Develop priority donor account plans in line with the funding strategy and ensure participation of technical and programme teams in donor engagement fora;

· Support the process and provide direction in the development of individual donor relations by periodically inviting donors and potential donors to visit Cordaid programme areas to get first-hand information on activities and also to explore new opportunities that can be leveraged with the achievements of existing programmes;

· Monitor, research and carry out regular in-country donor strategy analysis and share findings with Programme Director;

· Develop and maintain past performance in terms of thematic Capacity Statements and Track Records.

Reporting & Communications

· Manage all reporting deadlines, develop calendars for report development and coordinate report compilation with Project Managers and review of reports;**

· Coordinate with the MEAL coordinator to ensure data quality;

· Ensure high quality reports and articles in English and French;**

· Ensure a Communication Strategy for Cordaid DRC through the Communication Officer;**

· Coordinate the development of a communication and visibility strategy, oversee preparation of materials such as brochures and newsletters;

· Oversee Annual Report development, editing and ensure completion and distribution;

· Assure internal Cordaid visibility of programs and key events (ex. updates, website, social media sites, etc.).

Other

· Facilitate the training of DRC managers in effective donor engagement;

· Coordinate with the MEAL coordinator to ensure lessons learned are reported and best practices are shared, and ensure integration of lessons learned in new proposals;

· Keep overview and manage the organisational pipeline opportunity system and account related database for both countries;

· Collaborate with the IFDR team in Global Office on donor liaison and proposal development through (bi)weekly calls with the manager and take part of monthly extended IFDR calls;

· Attend to other duties as and when directed by the Programme Director;

· Ensure that staff under direct supervision have regular performance evaluations and receive ongoing feedback.

These duties and responsibilities listed are representative of the nature and level of work assigned and are not necessarily all-inclusive.

Qualifications

· Master’s Degree in Development, International Relations, or relevant field preferred; equivalent experience acceptable;

· Minimum five (5) years of international development experience, including at least three years (3) in a developing country;

· Demonstrated experience leading and producing competitive proposals, with experience in submitting proposals as part of a consortium (as lead agency or sub);

· Must be familiar with international donors’ rules, regulations and policies including -but not limited to- the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands/Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UN agencies, EU, World Bank, Global Fund;

· Demonstrated experience in donor liaison;

· Knowledge in health, education and stabilisation programmes preferred;

· Ability to work long hours in stressful, insecure, unstable and/or rigorous environments;

· Ability to cultivate and maintain professional relationships with internal colleagues and contacts in donor and peer organisation at country level;

· Excellent oral and written communication and editorial skills in both French and English;

· Excellent interpersonal, oral and written communication and negotiation skills;

· Strong analytical skills;

· Excellent attention to details;

· Strong planning and time management skills, multi-task & adapt to frequent changing priorities;

· Commitment to the mission and goals of Cordaid programmes and the security policy;

• Experience in DRC preferred but not required;
• Fluency in French and English, spoken and written, is essential.

· Ability and willingness to travel within DRC as needed, up to 30% of job time.

Specifics of station

The BDM will be based in Kinshasa. This is an accompanied position.

Contract information

The contract period is for one year starting as soon as possible, with the intention to extend for a longer period. We offer a Cordaid contract with a competitive salary and a benefit package which includes a comprehensive insurance cover, social security and pension contribution, a holiday allowance, 13th month, hardship allowance and cost of living allowance (if applicable).