Vice President, Strategy & Business Development

Job Description

Vice President of Strategy and Business Development

Counterpart International, Inc.

Organization

Founded in 1965, Counterpart International helps people build better lives and more durable futures, community by community. We equip individuals, organizations and communities-our counterparts- to become solution creators in their own families, communities, regions and countries. We work with them in some of the world’s most challenging places to tackle social, economic, environmental, health and governance issues that threaten their lives and undermine their futures. For more information on Counterpart, please visit our website at www.Counterpart.org

Position

A new position, the Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, will work closely with the CEO and Executive Team to define a substantive vision and direction for Counterpart International, Inc.’s growth (first in the area of assistance, to be followed by acquisition) that demonstrates our technical, operational and programmatic leadership while securing and delivering new awards. The Vice President of Strategy and Business Development will lead the New Business Development (NBD) function, reporting to the CEO.

To align Counterpart’s programmatic activities with long-term development and donor trends, the Vice President of Strategy and Business Development is charged with developing a business strategy for worldwide engagement and delivery of new awards with bilateral donors, with roles and responsibilities that may extend beyond the New Business Development team to include Programs and other Counterpart professionals. S/he will implement robust systems for collection and analysis of business intelligence based on strategic and ongoing client engagement, and make recommendations for the investments needed to keep Counterpart competitive with shifting donor needs and distinct vis-à-vis competitors.

The Vice President of Strategy and Business Development will lead strategic evaluation of current and new markets, positioning and proposal submission in each selected market, and development and execution of strong international and local partnerships to successfully deliver the solutions donors seek. S/he will identify and mobilize organizational teams to design, price and staff high-quality, award-winning programs, ensuring designs are fully compliant with donor rules and regulations and Counterpart policies and procedures, successfully meeting Counterpart’s annual revenue targets of $120M. S/he will directly supervise, train, and coach those involved in the full life-cycle of new business development (both within and beyond the 10-person Business Development unit) to engage donors in the solution-creation stage, identify and qualify existing opportunities, produce winning proposals, recruit top-flight personnel, and competitively price proposals (assistance and acquisition). S/he will be responsible for developing business processes that lead to feasible, compliant and innovative operational designs, drawing from Counterpart and partners’ deep knowledge and other best practices in key technical areas.

On a continual basis, the Vice President of Strategy and Business Development will bring the full range of analysis and recommendations needed for the Executive Team and C-Suite to make decisions on resource allocation for business development, which now stands at $1.7M/year. S/he will build a high-performing team of Business Development specialists with state-of-the-art skills in positioning, designing, and winning new programs with existing and new donors. S/he will build internal relationships beyond the Business Development team to optimize business development activities and collaboration, identify opportunities for life-cycle business development capacity strengthening, and opportunities for systems enhancements.

Responsibilities:

30% – Lead Team of 10+ to meet annual new revenue targets of over $120M

• Lead teams charged with capturing new business in various sectors, including democracy, rights and governance, health and nutrition, climate resiliency, livelihoods and agriculture, and education.
• Devise and manage a robust quality design and review process for making smart, early investment decisions for capture planning, capturing work and live bids, and producing winning proposals
• Re-engineer and design business development strategies and systems for identifying, assessing, and capturing new business opportunities;
• Supervise, train and mentor business development, recruiting and pricing staff and consultants, as well as key technical staff, at home office and abroad in all business development functions
• Oversee all business development functions, budget, operations, and staff
• Ensure appropriate allocation of business development resources to meet business goals
• Oversee and manage strategic proposal preparations and submission process, with oversight of strategy, pricing, recruitment and reviews
• In coordination with VP, Programs oversee identification, recruitment and packaging of key personnel and partners for strategic bids
• Ensure proposal compliance with USG Rules and Regulations (assistance and acquisition), and ensure quality assurance is executed for all bids
• Identify new opportunities with existing donors and practice areas (USAID, USDA, DOL, and DOS) and lead developing and delivering bid strategies for new donors.

25% – Lead Strategic Growth Analysis and Planning

• Serve as the primary partner to the CEO and Executive Team in developing and articulating a donor-solution growth and diversification strategy that produces $120M in new revenue annually from existing and new donors
• Set business development targets and plan that meets or exceeds Counterpart’s growth and positioning objectives on an annual basis
• Build a new business pipeline that draws on and builds Counterpart’s current and future competencies in alignment with the strategy and identifies sufficient qualified opportunities and deliver winning proposals to meet annual revenue targets
• Monitor industry trends to ensure competitive positioning in the market, with close interface with Counterpart’s Program leadership

15% – Strong External Relationships Development and Cultivation

• Align NBD resources to complement organization-wide Client and Partnership Cultivation plan, in coordination with VP, Global Growth
• Take a leadership role in developing relationships with specific clients and partners
• Ensure business intelligence from across the organization is smoothly integrated into positioning, capture and bid process
• Coordinate closely with the VP, Strategic Communications on issues of branding, external positioning, materials development, website and social media presence, and advocacy initiatives

30% – Lead Internal Relationships

• Ensure that proposals capture and integrate Counterpart’s worldwide technical experience and successes.
• Ensure proposals integrate best practices in management, evaluation, and priority technical areas to bring best-in-class solutions to clients.
• Play a leadership role in convening cross-functional teams needed to improve project design, breaking down corporate silos, utilizing emergent learning and effective internal communication practices.
• Build strong relationships with Programs team to support new revenue (target of 20%) derived from cost-extensions, modifications or limited solicitation re-bids.

Qualifications:

Required:

• Senior development professional with 15+ years of international development experience with expertise in program management, strategic planning, organizational development, new business development, and project planning.
• Proven track record of expanding organizational portfolio into new markets and major donors including USAID, USDA, DFID, and other bilateral donors, within agreed timeframe.
• Experience leading proposal development in both assistance and acquisition ranging from $5M to $100M including writing proposals, leading proposal teams, developing teaming agreements, negotiating contracts and grants, and reviewing and preparing cost proposal documentation.
• Experience managing and mentoring a team of professional business development and recruiting professionals
• Experience in key sectors such as Democracy, Rights & Governance, Education, Health, Economic Growth, and Organizational Capacity Building, etc. for various not-for-profit and for-profit entities.
• Track record as team leader securing funding major bilateral donor entities including USAID, USDA, DOS, and DFID.
• Proven track record coaching and mentoring successful teams, leading internal and external workshops, leading program design teams overseas, and representing at major international events.
• Ability to travel overseas up to 40% time – regularly over 25% time.

Preferred:

• Professional proficiency in foreign language, such as Arabic, Spanish and French preferred

To apply: Counterpart has retained the recruitment services of BroderickHaight Consulting for this search. Please send your CV and Cover Letter to Recruitment@broderickhaightconsulting.com.

About the Organization

Founded in 1965, Counterpart International helps people build better lives and more durable futures, community by community. We equip individuals, organizations and communities-our counterparts- to become solution creators in their own families, communities, regions and countries. We work with them in some of the world’s most challenging places to tackle social, economic, environmental, health and governance issues that threaten their lives and undermine their futures. For more information on Counterpart, please visit our website at www.Counterpart.org