Senior Business Development Specialist
Status
Closed
Posting Date
2 July 2015
Closing Date
18 September 2015
Location
International Center for Biosaline Agriculture, Dubai, UAE
Report To
Director of Partnerships and Knowledge Management
Vacancy Type
Full-time
Job Number
ICBAPKM-SBDS-2015-006
Job Summary
The Senior Business Development Specialist will play a vital role in supporting the planning and development of business opportunities through a variety of strategies to support the growth of ICBA as laid out in the ICBA Strategy 2013-2023. He/she will utilize professional skills to support the Partnerships and Knowledge Management (PKM) Director in identify funding opportunities, support donor/partner relationships, offer strategic ideas and help develop proposals to make ICBA success and increase revenue. The Business Development Manager will be play a key role in developing business opportunities with the private sector. As part of the PKM team the position will play a key role in the development and implementation of ICBA’s business plan and provide input into strategic business growth and improvement decisions.
Job Responsibilities
- Manage the Business Development Process including:
- Ensuring a robust pipeline of opportunities through proactively seeking and identifying potential new donors and partners, including private sector and private foundations.
- Identifying the decision makers within the donor and partner organizations, and assist in setting up meetings with them with senior level ICBA management.
- Ensure all business opportunities are managed professionally and opportunities are maximized.
- Present to, and consult with, senior level management on business trends with a view to developing proposals and distribution channels.
- Arrange and participate in internal and external business development debriefs.
- Support ICBA senior level management and scientists with the presentations to donors and partners ensuring that these are on message and on brand.
- Work with ICBA senior level management and scientists to meet donor and partner communication needs.
- Develop business opportunities with the private sector.
- Research and develop a thorough understanding of ICBA’s services and develop a plan on how the scale of services can be enlarged.
- Design and develop an effective system to ensure that senior level management, scientists and proposal development specialists are aware and can act on existing and new business opportunities.
- Support the planning of approaches and pitches and work with the Senior Proposal Development Specialist to develop proposals that speaks to donor’s needs, concerns, and objectives. Including:
- Ensure that prerequisites for proposals (CV’s, institutional information etc.) are provided within a timely manner.
- Provide input to teaming partner and subcontractor selection.
- Work with the Senior Proposal Development Specialist to develop a yearly work plan for proposals' development and submission to ensure that all opportunities are maximized.
- Work with the Senior Business Development Specialist and the Finance Section to develop pricing models and establish a database for costs, that tracks the different costing guidelines from the major donors and will maximizes full cost recovery for ICBA.
- Ensure that business information data is accurately entered and managed in an institutional record.
- Provide strong representation of ICBA, if required, attend relevant functions, such as events, conferences, meetings and seminars, and provide feedback and information on donor and partner trends.
- Identify trendsetter ideas in agriculture research and development by researching related events, publications, and announcements; tracking individual contributors and their accomplishments.
- Present business development training and mentoring to staff.
- Oversee and track ICBA's partnerships and the development and updating of MOUs.
- Updates resource mobilization knowledge by reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations.
- Fundraising support for the planned ICBA endowment/ trust fund.
Qualifications and Experience
Essential
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- Degree in marketing and/or business development (MBA preferred).
- A minimum of 10 years of marketing, resource mobilization or business planning and development experience preferably in international agriculture research and development.
- A solid understanding of the international agricultural research and development arena.
- Fundraising experience.
- Confident and articulate in all communications in English (bilingual Arabic English would be preferable).
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- Clear strategic mindset with analytical focus.
- Rapport and relationship building at organizational level.
- Project management skills, problem solving, organizational and planning skills.
- Demonstrated ability to improve efficiencies.
- Superior interpersonal and networking skills
- Effective business plan, report writing, presentation and proposal writing skills
- Results driven, innovative, creative and able to work on own initiative.
- Professional, energetic
- Multi-tasking
- Advanced computer literacy
