Senior Advisor, Technical Proposal Writer
at Save the Children
JOB SUMMARY
New Business Development provides leadership in Save the Children’s efforts to achieve greater program results at scale through the successful pursuit of large and strategic US government development funding opportunities (incl. USAID, USDA, and DOL, among others). The Senior Advisor will lead proposal writing efforts across Save the Children’s International Programs divisions (Department of Education and Child Protection, Department of Hunger and Livelihoods, Department of Global Health, and multi-sectoral opportunities). The Senior Advisor will bring relevant experience to interpret solicitation documents and requirements, and to rapidly translate design inputs from technical experts into compelling narrative text. To achieve high-quality results, they are expected to work collaboratively and iteratively with proposal teams that include professionals working across many locations and time zones. The Senior Advisor is a critical position to advance the agency's strategic growth whose actions will substantially contribute to Save the Children’s ability to competitively and successfully pursue and acquire funding, thereby increasing the agency's resource base for children.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Proposal Writing/Program Development (80%)
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Serve as technical proposal writer for assigned opportunities, collaborating with the Proposal Director, Proposal Manager, Technical Lead and a variety of Technical Contributors to produce compliant and compelling proposal content that will yield the highest possible evaluation score from the donor.
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Lead outline development and storyboarding process for prime submissions
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For oral presentations, and co-creation activities, draft materials for the team engaging with the donor to include presentation scripts, portions of slide decks, and succinct responses to donor questions and feedback.
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Review and analyze solicitation requirements and relevant donor feedback to ensure final versions meet or exceed donor requirements.
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Review background information and interview stakeholders to understand the critical win themes, unique value propositions, organizational approaches, and standards that must be highlighted throughout the entire document.
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Conceptualize graphics, tables, and text boxes in order to emphasize strengths of the design and content within the documents.
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Serve as a reviewer for assigned opportunities to ensure alignment with Save the Children approaches and donor criteria.
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Serve as an editor for proposal files drafted by other team members, as time and expertise permits
Strengthen Proposal Writing Capacity and Knowledge Management (10%)
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Collaborate closely with Knowledge Management staff and technical leadership to proactively strengthen proposal writing resources, particularly technical content, global, country and thematic capability statements, and project past performance references.
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Identify and strengthen proposal writing tools and systems, specifically around storyboarding, outlines and incorporating reviewer feedback.
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Serve as a coach to less experienced proposal writers, including staff in country offices to provide constructive and actionable feedback on proposal sections and drafts, and foster increased global proposal writing capabilities
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During periods of proposal down time, contribute to the body of donor- and partner-facing marketing materials available to International Programs team
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Ensure proposal writing resources are archived, uploaded and available on intranet for ongoing reference.
Staff Management (10%)
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Supervise and manage a second member of the proposal writing team (to be hired in 2022). Support professional development of this individual by ensuring access to internal and external opportunities and regularly assessing progress toward professional goals.
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As a senior member of the department, provide mentorship to other NBD staff and leadership to department priorities.
EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS
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Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience, plus at least 7 years of relevant experience
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Professional proficiency in MS Office suite, including facility with advanced features of MS Word.
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Professional proficiency in spoken English, and ability to prepare written documents in fluent, donor-responsive American English.
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Demonstrated ability to communicate and collaborate effectively with individuals and teams at all levels, both internally and externally
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Demonstrated commitment to fostering and maintaining and environment of diversity, inclusion, and belonging
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Demonstrated record of writing successful proposals and quickly synthesizing large amounts of information into a compelling and compliant narrative
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Strong knowledge of USAID procurement procedures and technical proposal requirements
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Strong time management and organization skills, with ability to independently schedule and prioritize multiple tasks
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Willingness to travel to support proposal development efforts in country offices, often on short notice, up to 15% time
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
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Business Development experience targeting other donors (bi-lateral and/or multi-lateral funding agencies)
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Experience preparing polished slide decks and graphics/infographics for expert donor audiences
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Development programming experience and perspective, including ability to work productively with a diverse range of country office staff
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International work experience
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Training and/or facilitation skills and experience
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Professional capacity in a second language such as French or Spanish
APPLICATION PROCESS
Interested and qualified applicants should submit a cover letter highlighting fit for the position and resume to recruitment@broderickhaightconsulting.com with the subject line "Save the Children- Senior Advisor, Technical Proposal Writer"