Position Title: Manager I, USG Donor Engagement – USDA
Department: Institutional Donor Engagement & Advancement Department
Band: D
Location: Baltimore, MD
FLSA: Exempt
Reports to: Director, USG Donor Engagement
About CRS:
Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. We welcome as a part of our staff and as partners people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need.
Job Background
CRS’ IDEA department advances the agency’s strategic position by managing and stewarding institutional donor relationships and resources, supporting the growth of CRS’ business and influence, and building the capacity of staff across the spectrum of resource acquisition and management. This position will cover a donor portfolio consisting of the United States Department of Agriculture’s McGovern Dole (USDA/MGD) and Food for Progress (USDA/FFPr) programs including the management and coordination of institutional relationships, pursuit of funding opportunities, and administration of awards from all relevant offices. S/he will manage a team of two staff that will provide comprehensive and integrated business development and award management services.
CRS currently holds a total of 15 USDA FFPr and MGD awards worth approximately 380 million USD (excluding distributed commodities). A successful candidate would build upon and strengthen this successful portfolio. Moreover, such a candidate would be responsible to leverage this existing portfolio to engage private and public sector partners to strategically align funding and partnerships in education, nutrition, and agriculture value chains. S/he would be responsible to implement a strategic vision for the portfolio that would fundamentally shift USDA programming from standalone projects to fully integrated opportunities for complimentary donor funding as well as private partnership and investment.
Key Responsibilities
Donor Relationship Management
· Build direct relationships with appropriate donor representatives and relevant inter-agency networks, while supporting cultivation of complementary relationships among other CRS staff.
· Monitor and analyze trends in the donor’s funding priorities and programs, including relevant legislation, regulatory changes, and policy developments that could impact current or future funding opportunities and CRS’ ability to comply with award requirements.
· Establish a well-defined protocol and internal coordination process for coherent communication and messaging that is aligned to donor structures, procedures, priorities and corporate culture.
Team Leadership
· Lead a team of professional(s) to provide comprehensive and seamless business development, award management, information management and data analysis services.
· Model the application of best practices in business development, award management, and donor relationship management among all team members, and provide leadership to the adoption of best practices among CRS offices and departments engaging with this donor portfolio.
· In partnership with the department’s Knowledge Management and Learning team, improve CRS staff capacity, tools and resources, and business processes to advance CRS’ donor-specific goals.
New Business Development
· Support proactive intelligence gathering, opportunity tracking, business forecasting and capture planning, ensuring CRS responsibly advances all real and potential opportunities for growth.
· Work with relevant staff to ensure timely and effective bid decisions, competitive teaming and capture strategies, high-quality development, review, and submission of proposals, and strategic leveraging of results for future positioning.
· Engage directly on priority funding opportunities when high-level support is needed for capture planning, teaming and/or agreement negotiations, bid and project design decisions, proposal coordination, oral defense or issues letter response and award negotiation.
Award Management
· Ensure effective award management for centrally-issued awards, such that: high risk issues are quickly surfaced and handled effectively with donors; reports meet deadlines and quality expectations; agreement terms and compliance requirements are commonly understood and respected; and problems and trends are fed back to project management and KML functions.
· Guide and advise teams implementing field-issued awards on best practice standards, promoting consistency of business processes and strengthened staff capacities within award management.
· Oversee cross-departmental initiatives concerning relevant financial and commodity management, procurement, and other operational policies and programmatic guidelines proceed effectively for timely and favorable grant revenue while managing agency risk.
Key Working Relationships: External: High-level contacts within targeted USG entities, relevant peer organizations and industry networks. Internal: HQ-based and field-based Overseas Operations staff; US Operations (particularly Marketing/Communications and Advocacy departments); Overseas Finance.
Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff):
These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.
· Serves with Integrity
· Models Stewardship
· Cultivates Constructive Relationships
· Promotes Learning
Professional Qualifications:
Master’s degree in Business, International Affairs or Development, or equivalent degree.
At least 5 years of relevant experience in international relief and development with at least 3 years of focused business development and award management experience.
Prior supervisory experience.
Knowledge of USG’s Farm Bill and Food Aid Legislation as well as USDA management information systems.
Understanding of monetization funding mechanisms and market driven programming.
Patience, flexibility, and a sense of humor is critical.
Significant direct experience developing proposals for funding to, and administering grants or contracts from, institutional donor agencies.
Deep understanding of the funding mechanisms, cycles, priorities and regulations of the donor agencies within this position’s portfolio, and existing strong contacts within those agencies.
Experience creating or advancing shared value with private sector actors, preferably within the international humanitarian and development spaces.
Understanding of Catholic Church and CRS’ mission and program approach highly desirable.
Experience in negotiation and representation at high levels.
Ability to travel domestically and overseas: estimated 25%.
French and/or Spanish highly desired.
Disclaimer: This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.
NOTE: All interested applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. at the time of application.
CRS’ talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.Equal Opportunity Employer
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