Senior Associate; Program Development at IPA | May 2024

Requisition ID: 1656

Bangladesh, Colombia, FWA, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

Position Summary

IPA is seeking an early career professional interested in working for a leading international research organization. Ideal candidates will be ambitious, excited to learn, and eager to take on new tasks in IPA’s fast-paced Business Development team. In this position the Senior Associate will support BD staff and our country offices,

gaining knowledge and skills in grant writing, the operations of an international non-profit, and promoting evidence-based programs.

The Senior Associate has three broad sets of responsibilities. The first is to provide Development coordination and technical support to our West African Country

Programs. This will include taking the lead on several core, cross-cutting support processes and contributing to support processes led by other members of the BD

team in West Africa and globally. Second, they will provide targeted, strategic support to particularly relevant or complex opportunities, including writing, editing,

packaging and submitting proposals; coordinating with multiple internal and external stakeholders; leading other targeted support activities, as needed. Third, they will

contribute to organization-wide business development through identifying, vetting, and sharing information on new potential funding opportunities both internally and

externally; and developing and improving common IPA Business Development resources, including the maintenance of our guidelines and memos on BD processes

and systems.

Responsibilities

50% Lead Business Development Coordination and Technical Support (West Africa)

● Support the core administrative and technical business development functions to support our West African Country Programs, the Global BD Team, and IPA HQ functional teams.

● Provide proposal development support and advise to Country Directors, country office-based staff playing BD roles, and other members of the BD team throughout the proposal development process by setting proposal development timelines; leading coordination between all partners and donor organizations; creating compliance matrices; developing application templates and language; reviewing, packaging and submitting applications.

● Complete due diligence documents, collect other supporting documents, and develop budget summaries/narratives, as needed.

● Communicate and coordinate the BD process with Country Office-based staff, external partners, and HQ.

20%  Targeted, Strategic Proposal and Business Development Support (West Africa; Global, as needed)

● Write, edit, and format sections of grant proposals and adapt past proposals to apply to new donors; draft EOIs.

● Provide guidance and advice on business development opportunities (e.g. clarifying on funding call eligibility requirements, matching unfunded projects to relevant opportunities, advising on ‘winning themes’, etc.) to our West African Country Programs

● Facilitate and participate in proposal development meetings with partners, Principal Investigators, Country Office staff, and the Regional Director

● Lead on the coordination and submission of other select IPAled proposals, sector proposals, multi-country proposals, and large value or otherwise strategic proposals, etc. in coordination with the ABDB and DBD

● Providing targeted support to select country offices that could benefit from guidance to deepen and strengthen their pipeline and business development strategies 

30 % Organizational Business Development Support (Global)

Potential Funding Opportunity / Donor Coordination

● Research potential funding opportunities (PFOs) globally – both regular and new calls for Country Offices; log PFOs in Salesforce and coordinate the dissemination of key information on upcoming calls to country offices, including the preparation and dissemination of compliance matrices, PFO / budgetary guidelines.

● Maintain a list of major donors and upcoming calls and coordinate the review assignments of the other BD team members.

● For each donor, complete donor guidelines, compile feedback and add to relevant Salesforce Donor record and Box record.

● Liaise with donors on any clarification questions on funding opportunities and requests for proposals.

Capacity Building & Resource Development

● Provide Project Development training to Country Offices and Global teams; advise on relevant Business Development / Project Development resources available.

● Expand and improve IPA’s proposal development resources, information management, and stock language. 

● Develop and disseminate on Salesforce guidelines, proposal development resources on Box, Country office checklists, and global helpdesk. Communication 

● Review project development inquiries and ensure they are shared same-day with the relevant parties – Country Offices, Business Development team, and IPA HQ / Functional teams. 

● Create and distribute monthly partner funding email, on open and upcoming calls.

● Support with other tasks as needed to improve IPA’s business development process

Qualifications

Required

● 3-5 years of related work experience in the fields of economics, international development, and applied scientific research required.

● Excellent verbal communication, including the ability to effectively communicate with internal and external individuals and organizations;

Demonstrated ability to produce high-quality written documents under tight deadlines.

● Excellent computer proficiency, previous experience with Salesforce.com a plus

● Familiarity with randomized control trials; previous experience/expertise in this methodology is preferred.

● Knowledge of and experience with donors working in international development

● Experience developing and managing large budgets for fieldwork in developing countries, a plus.

● Must be able to provide exemplary service to internal and external stakeholders.

● Ability to work independently and complete high-quality assignments.

● Must be extremely organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage multiple competing deadlines.

● Critical thinking a must and ability to make positive contributions to a team are essential

● Bachelor’s degree in economics (micro or development econ), international relations, political science, or other fields related to international development or public policy.  

Preferred

● Fluency in French preferred but not required

● Master’s degree preferred. 

Reports to

Director of Program and Business Development

Location

Any IPA office location (Bangladesh, Colombia, FWA, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.)

Application Deadline

May 31st, 2024

About IPA 

Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) is a research and policy nonprofit that discovers and promotes effective solutions to global poverty problems. IPA brings together researchers and decision-makers to design, rigorously evaluate, and refine these solutions and their applications, ensuring that the evidence created is used to improve the lives of the world’s poor. In recent decades, trillions of dollars have been spent on programs designed to reduce global poverty, but clear evidence of which programs succeed is rare, and when evidence does exist, decision-makers often do not know about it. IPA exists to bring together leading researchers and these decision-makers to ensure that the evidence we create leads to a tangible impact on the world. Since its founding in 2002, IPA has worked with over 600 leading academics to conduct over 900 evaluations in 52 countries. This research has informed hundreds of successful programs that now impact millions of individuals worldwide. 

IPA’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) 

As an organization, IPA is dedicated to improving the lives of the world’s most vulnerable populations through evidence and policy. We also recognize how important it is for our staff to reflect the diversity of the places where we work and the communities we work with. As such, IPA is committed to hiring from a diverse pool of candidates, from a range of backgrounds, beliefs, experiences, and perspectives. We know that this makes our work stronger and more responsive to the challenges faced by those we work with and for and we encourage people from historically underrepresented groups to apply. Click here to learn more about IPA’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Innovations for Poverty Action is an affirmative action-equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other protected class. IPA will endeavor to make a reasonable accommodation to a qualified applicant with a disability unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of our business. If you believe you require such assistance to complete this form or to participate in an interview, please contact us at jobs@poverty-action.org or via phone at 1-202-386-6200. The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work to be performed by the specified position. The statements are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all possible duties, tasks, and responsibilities. Management reserves the right to amend and change responsibilities to meet organizational needs as necessary. Please note that IPA will never request any form of payment from an applicant. Applicants are encouraged to confirm the information listed above with IPA prior to releasing any extensive personal information to the organization. Please direct questions to jobs@poverty-action.org. Please note that only qualified applicants will be contacted by the hiring manager