Business Development Officer - Business Development and Partnerships - World Learning

Business Development Officer

Business Development and Partnerships

Grade: 4

Reports to: Director of Business Development and Partnerships or Business Development and Partnerships Manager

Salary Range: $60,000-$75,000

Anticipated Start Date: ASAP

Term of Employment: Full-time

Apply by: ASAP

Base of Designation/Remote Eligible: Hybrid (Washington, DC)

Conditional on Funding? No.

World Learning seeks a Business Development Officer (BDO) to provide proposal development support to our portfolio of education, international exchanges, and development programs funded by the U.S. Government (USG) and support pipeline management with data input and analysis. In this role, the BDO will be responsible for coordinating with the program (Global Programs and School for International Training) units to identify and/or develop promising new funding opportunities and build positive relationships with donors and industry partners. They will coordinate proposal teams and manage selected proposals on their own, including conducting desk research, supporting strategy development for positioning, conducting competitor analysis, reaching out to partners, developing and implementing proposal schedules, and overseeing the development of technical and cost proposals, ensuring compliance and submission on schedule. The BDO will have expertise in using Salesforce to ensure accurate record keeping and data entry for all opportunities in the pipeline. The Business Development Officer will report to the Director of Business Development and Partnerships or the Business Development and Partnerships Manager.

Responsibilities:

Proposal Development

• Manage the proposal process for new business opportunities across World Learning's government funding pipeline, including all renewal bids for grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts.
• Provide proposal coordination support for large, complex USG bids.
• Support design lead in developing the overall win strategy during positioning including facilitating partner outreach; competitor analysis; contextual data collection; facilitating input from design team members, MERL, cost and pricing, recruitment, and business operations; and ensuring focus on bid development among competing priorities.
• Develop consultant agreements and budgets and monitor expenses, and process payments.
• Schedule proposal kick-off, and develop calendar, and compliance matrix. Responsible for collecting and submitting questions to the USG customer and updating the compliance matrix and calendar based on customer responses.
• Facilitate proposal planning meetings with program teams to be responsive to customer requirements, such as the Department of State, including the Bureau for Education and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Embassies, MEPI, and other public sector funders.
• Ensure that grant submissions are up to high standards of writing, formatting, and adherence to formal requirements.
• As needed and requested, draft specific sections of proposal such as institutional capabilities, key personnel, or past performance references.
• Develop, oversee, and maintain the proposal calendar in collaboration with technical proposal leads, and monitor adherence to the defined process and deadlines for technical proposals, rosters/recruiting, proposal budgets, production schedules, and quality standards for proposals.
• Problem-solve to resolve issues with delays or other roadblocks in the proposal process.
• Support the design lead, cost translator, and cost/pricing lead to develop cost proposals; coordinate between cost and pricing, recruitment, and technical unit on key personnel salaries, ensuring most accurate and up to date information and alignment with Human Resource policies and procedures.
• Participate in the review and compilation of lessons learned and after-action reviews of proposal submission processes for World Learning.
  

Business Development Strategy and Pipeline Growth Responsibilities

• Build strong relationships with key contacts in potential partners to help lead to new funding opportunities and partnerships that advance World Learning's mission.
• Support BDP management to keep updated standard operation procedures (SOPs), manage opportunity records in Salesforce, and identify new opportunities for the Daily Digest. Identify and act on opportunities for revising/streamlining SOPs.
• Responsible for managing and disseminating business intelligence and positioning information obtained from networks, technical units, and field teams.
• Represent World Learning at meetings, conferences, etc., relevant to the subject matter and themes of the assigned portfolio and disseminate information regarding World Learning's overall capabilities
• Develop and update organizational capability statements, past performance descriptions, and other standard proposal documentation.
• Support knowledge management practices, training content development, and administrative tasks within the unit.
• Provide excellent customer service to clients (both internal and external) during day-to-day email and phone interactions.

Home Office and Business Development Support

• Develop and build business development skills of program unit staff as needed.
• Assist in the development and training of program unit staff on processes, procedures, and standards for program design and proposal development.
• Support field-based business development activities and preparations for new and follow-on projects, including review of internal and external evaluations of projects.
  

Requirements

Required Experience/Education:

• The following combination of education and experience is required:
  • Bachelor's Degree in international relations, education, or international development or related field; at least two years of experience working in the international field; at least one year of experience in supporting proposal development, especially for U.S. Government opportunities such as for U.S. State Department Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and USAID.

OR

• Master's Degree in international development or related field; at least one year of experience working in international exchanges or development; at least one year of experience supporting proposal development, especially for U.S. Government opportunities for U.S. Government opportunities such as ECA and USAID preferred.
• Experience with program management, technical design, or writing proposals for ECA and USAID is highly desired.
• Experience with U.S. Government procurement policies, procedures, and mechanisms (such as Indefinite Quantity Contracts, Cooperative Agreements, etc.) for international development activities preferred.
• Experience using Salesforce or similar systems.
• Applicants must be authorized to work in the location where this position is offered.

Required Skills:

• Excellent organizational skills with strong attention to detail.
• Excellent time management skills, especially when facing tight deadlines.
• Excellent communication skills, including outstanding writing and editing skills.
• Language proficiency in Arabic, French, or Spanish is a plus.

Required Behaviors/Competencies:

• Willingness to assume responsibilities and take initiative; ability to be a team player.
• Familiarity with MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams.
• Overseas experience in developing countries, either short- or long-term, preferred.

Benefits At World Learning, we believe in doing everything we can to help employees succeed in their careers. Headquartered in Vermont and Washington, DC, and with offices around the world, we offer a comprehensive benefits package for all staff.

Core Benefits

• Generous paid leave, including:
  • 12 vacation days for first year of employment; 18 vacation days for second year of employment
  • 12 sick days per year
  • 2 personal days per year
  • 5 days for bereavement per year
  • 20 days for parental leave (additional unpaid parental and family leave available)
  • 10 federal holidays per year, plus one floating holiday
  • The week between Christmas and New Year's Day
• Health insurance
• Dental and vision plans
• Flexible spending accounts (FSAs)
• Retirement savings plan-403(b)-with match provided by World Learning
• Supplemental retirement fund
• Full employer-paid life insurance
• Supplemental term life insurance
• Full employer-paid short-and long-term disability insurance
• Full employer-paid travel accident plan for domestic and overseas staff
• Employee assistance program (EAP)
• Domestic partner coverage
• Flexible schedules
• Tuition assistance for World Learning programs
• Childcare referral service
• Pet insurance

Other Benefits (may depend on location)

• Parking and transit benefits
• On-site fitness center

Vaccination is required for all employees in our U.S. offices except for those receiving medical or religious exemptions. If boosters are subsequently recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) then employees and faculty will be required to receive the booster within thirty (30) days of their eligibility.

The World Learning Inc. Family

For more than 90 years, World Learning Inc. is a thriving global organization made up of The Experiment in International Living, the nation's most experienced provider of international education through exchanges for high school students; School for International Training, offering accredited undergraduate study abroad programs through SIT Study Abroad and internationally focused master's degrees through SIT Graduate Institute; and World Learning, a global development and exchange nonprofit organization.

World Learning | worldlearning.org

World Learning has worked to create a more sustainable, peaceful, and just world. World Learning's education, development, and exchange programs help people find their voices, connect with their communities, strengthen the institutions that form the backbone of a democratic society, and build relationships across cultures. With World Learning's support, these emerging leaders tackle critical global issues like poverty, conflict, and inequality.

The Experiment in International Living | experiment.org

The Experiment in International Living is the nation's most experienced provider of international education through exchanges for high school students. For more than 90 years, The Experiment has empowered young people to step off the beaten path, experience the world as a classroom, immerse themselves fully in another culture, and build the knowledge and skills needed to confront critical global issues.

SIT | sit.edu

School for International Training (SIT) was founded in the early 1960s as a training center for the first Peace Corps volunteers. For nearly 60 years, SIT has prepared students to be effective changemakers and global citizens through experiential education focused on the world's most critical global issues. SIT Study Abroad offers accredited summer and semester undergraduate programs in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, as well as comparative programs on multiple continents. SIT Graduate Institute offers global and hybrid certificates, master's, and doctoral degrees.

An organizational commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access.

We are a globally diverse community of staff, faculty, board members, alumni, students, and participants who believe that inclusive and equitable practices are at the heart of a peaceful and just world. Each of us strives to honor diverse voices and lived experiences, examine our own biases and privileges, actively work to address inequities in our structures, and foster a community of open dialogue. We are committed to acting with accountability, transparency, reciprocity, authenticity, and empathy.

World Learning is an equal employment opportunity/affirmative action/veterans/ADA employer, committed to increasing the diversity of its workforce.