Business Development Specialist II, East Africa – Asia Pod

Catholic Relief Services

Business Development Specialist producing high-quality funding applications for CRS and leading proposal processes. Position plays a key role in securing funding from institutional donors in alignment with global development initiatives.

Posted 5/5/2026full-timeRemote • 🇺🇸 United StatesSeniorLeadWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Provide BD expertise to country leadership and proposal teams in positioning, capture planning and proposal preparation for specific opportunities with institutional donors.
Manage pre-positioning, capture and proposal development processes to ensure timely execution and submission of high-quality proposals.
Deploy as proposal coordinator and advise on opportunity analysis, lead go/no-go decisions, capture planning, and coordinate partner inputs and proposal review panels.
Deploy as a lead or support writer on proposals, contributing both technical and non-technical content and integrating inputs from staff and partners into a responsive, coherent proposal with a compelling vision and clear win themes.
Deploy as budget lead or to support the lead in developing proposal budgets. Provide recommendations to develop a competitive proposal, as required.
Guide and advise on partner identification and negotiating CRS’ role in proposal consortia. Ensure a competitive position for CRS.
Liaise with senior management and donor engagement focal points to develop a resource mobilization strategy.
Research, track and analyze new opportunities and CRS’ competitive position within the marketplace.
Lead and/or support development of CRS BD tools, resources and guidance on BD best practices and CRS approaches across the BD cycle.
Train and mentor staff, as needed, to improve their skills across the CRS BD Cycle.

Requirements

What you’ll need

Bachelor's degree in international development, international relations, or related field.
Minimum eight years of international development experience.
Master's degree in international development, international relations, or related field preferred.
At least three years' experience in a developing country.
Demonstrated experience utilizing diverse, proactive strategies to competitively position an organization for new funding and productive institutional relationships.
Demonstrated experience leading and producing competitive proposals in programming contexts similar to CRS.
Experience with both grants and contract funding mechanisms.
Demonstrated experience leading project teams and processes to produce deliverables under tight deadlines and at exceptional quality.
Experience providing remote support to diverse teams.
Experience in developing content for and facilitating trainings related to key business development practices. Knowledge of adult learning approaches.
Fluency in English required; working ability in Spanish and/or French preferred.

Benefits

Comp & perks

CRS offers U.S. based staff a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, life insurance, vision, and a generous retirement savings plan. Benefits packages for successful candidates employed outside the U.S. are based on the country of employment/in-country office where the candidate will perform the role. CRS´ work culture is a collaborative, mission-driven culture committed to improving the lives of the poor throughout the world.

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

proposal developmentbudget developmentopportunity analysiscapture planninggrant funding mechanismscontract funding mechanismsbusiness development practicestraining facilitationcontent developmentproject management

Soft Skills

leadershipmentoringcommunicationnegotiationstrategic thinkingteam collaborationanalytical skillstime managementproblem-solvinginterpersonal skills

Certifications

Bachelor's degreeMaster's degree