Business Development Senior Officer (d/f/m) (ECHO)

***in Berlin / Bonn or Remote (within Germany) | ASAP |

***full-time (40 hours/week) | Initially for 2 years

About Us

Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. In 2016, IRC Germany was founded and engages in global humanitarian work as well as throughout Germany in the areas of education, economic wellbeing, and safety, legal protection, and empowerment.

The Crisis Response, Recovery and Development (CRRD) Department runs the IRC’s humanitarian, recovery, and development programs in five regions: West & Central Africa, East Africa, Middle East and North Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Within CRRD, the Award Management Unit (AMU)’s Grants Operations & Analytics Team (GOAT) supports pre- and post-award work for projects managed by Technical Excellence, Global Supply Chain and Airbel.

Major Responsibilities

The Business Development Senior Officer (ECHO), will be responsible for leading a portfolio of business development opportunities, ensuring that all proposals are compelling and submitted in accordance with IRC and Donor policies.

Business Development Process (80%)

ECHO oversight: Provide IRC Germany oversight to opportunities submitted under ECHO’s Strategic Policies and Strategic Humanitarian Supply Chain HIPs. This will include completing ECHO pre-award checklists and uploads to APPEL.

Proposal leadership: Outside of the ECHO HIP season, will serve as Proposal Lead for funding opportunities assigned by the Head of Business Development.

• Lead the overall proposal development process to ensure submissions are compliant, responsive, and compelling.
• Support the technical team to position for anticipated calls, including pre-development of concept notes.
• Project manage proposals ensuring internal approvals in line with external submission deadlines.
• Coordinate with country programs and partners to collect the documents and inputs needed for each proposal.

Proposal Budget development: Serve as Budget Lead for funding opportunities assigned by the Head of Business Development.

• Develop proposal budgets to ensure consistency and accuracy across projects. Design, draft, refine, and finalize budgets and budget narratives (as needed) that are reflective of program design costs.
• Ensure appropriate internal formats and donor formats for budget development are used.
• Coordinate and liaise with country program finance and grants staff on proposals, providing guidance and feedback on workplans, deadlines, and proposal parameters.
• Secure approvals across departments for submissions.

Process Support and Feedback (10%)

BD Process Improvements: Work on departmental and organisational initiatives to improve IRC’s BD processes.

• Support refinement of business development processes for Technical Excellence.
• Attend key cross-unit and cross-departmental meetings regarding business development to maintain an in-depth understanding of IRC funding streams and business development priorities.

ECHO Awards Management and Compliance (10%)

Awards Management: Act as IRC Germany’s post-award focal point for Technical Excellence and Global Supply Chain ECHO awards.

• Provide ad-hoc compliance guidance to grants team on ECHO awards
• Coordinate with grants team to ensure timely submissions of reports on APPEL.
• Monitor ECHO portfolio through participation in project implementation meetings, ensuring progress against objectives and compliance with ECHO guidelines.
• Manage donor relationship with ECHO across portfolio.

Your Profile

Essential

• Experience preparing or submitting proposals to ECHO
• 5+ years of progressive work experience connected to business development and working in or closely with Technical teams
• Highly collaborative and pro-active colleague with a talent for delivering results with cross-functional groups
• Advanced Microsoft Office skills (Excel, PowerPoint) and experience with organizational information and financial systems
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in a multi-cultural environment
• University degree in Business Administration, Finance, International Development or a relevant field, or equivalent work experience
• You have English language skills at C1 and German B1 according to theCommon European Framework of Reference for Languages (CERF)

Desired

• Experience working with IRC systems is a plus
• Dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion, and a strong passion for our mission
• Comfortable adapting to new challenges and dynamic priorities, while maintaining professional grace
• Fluency in French, Spanish or Arabic language a plus

We Offer

• Meaningful work within a collaborative team
• A starting salary between 60,028 and 67,090 Euro gross per year as well as an annual salary increase
• Attractive employee benefits such as gym membership, company pension scheme, shopping vouchers, childcare subsidy, job bike leasing, subsidized Deutschlandticket (national public transport), and access to timely and confidential psychological support if needed
• 30 days of annual leave and special leave days
• Flexible hybrid-work options (working hours, office/homebased)
• Training and professional development opportunities, including access to free language courses
• Assistance services for people with disabilities, if required.