Partnerships & Business Accelerator Coordinator

Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) invites applications for a Partnerships & Business Accelerator Coordinator to join our dedicated and talented Partnerships and Business Accelerator team in our mission to create business solutions to poverty

MEDA's work is built on a foundation of Mennonite business roots and faith-based values, within the global context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We believe business solutions are effective interventions to address poverty. Through a market-systems approach and strategic partnerships, MEDA enables access to finance and provides business and technical expertise to build transformative agri-food market systems that create decent jobs, allowing traditionally excluded groups to become active participants in a sustainable economy. MEDA welcomes all who share our values and want to join us in our mission. To find out more about MEDA, please visit our website at

Position Summary

The Partnerships & Business Accelerator (PBA) Coordinator will play a key role in supporting and managing systems for effective proposal processes and business development initiatives. This position will collaborate closely with North America-based staff and country teams to support resource mobilization from institutional funders to achieve MEDA's long-term goals and annual growth targets. Occasional domestic and international travel may be required. This role will report to MEDA's Senior Vice President, Partnerships and Business Accelerator.

• Job Status: Full-Time
• Start Date: June 2024
  
• Location: Hybrid/Remote within Canada or US, ideally within proximity to a MEDA office
• Annual Salary Range:
  • Canadian-based employee: $53, ,050 (CAD)
  • US-based employee: $55, ,003 (USD)

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Proposal Coordination Support

• Manage the Go-No-Go decision-making process, evaluating alignment with MEDA priorities
• Support proposal development processes through capture planning, background research, contract drafting, document formatting, team assembly and coordination, timeline development, among others
• Contribute to drafting and/or editing non-technical sections of proposals and budgets, in collaboration with programming and technical teams
• Lead the preparation of essential documents (contracts, NDAs, teaming agreements, compliance documents)
• Coordinator proposal development processes under the direction of the Business Development Manager and submit compliance documents and final proposals as per requirements
• Oversee logistics and internal, partner and donor meetings

Identify and analyze funding opportunities and prepositioning

• Identify, research and analyze new funding opportunities, competitive intelligence and MEDA's competitive positioning on a continuous basis
• Oversee maintenance of opportunity pipeline, proposal submission, consultant roster, donor intelligence and relationship management tools on MEDA's online information management systems, in collaboration with other departments
• Support internal communication and information management processes to ensure access and use of partnership and business development information by relevant stakeholders within the organization
• Support country program teams to develop engagement and resource mobilization strategies for donor and potential donors, as needed
• Assist with positioning MEDA as a leader in local partner collaboration with potential donors, highlighting concrete results and approaches
  

Knowledge Management & Capacity Building

• Ensure effective internal communication and accessibility of business development information to stakeholders
• Develop and disseminate business development resources, including materials, guidelines, tools, and templates
• Identify external training opportunities for business development and facilitate staff participation
• Act as the main liaison for collaborations on Change Initiatives between the Partnerships & Business Accelerator and Strategy & Impact teams
• In collaboration with the rest of the team, and the programming and technical teams, help foster a culture of business development in MEDA by contributing to the development and dissemination of standardized business development materials (learning resources, guidelines, tools and templates, and online information) and support capacity building of staff on their application
• Help identify relevant external business development training and learning opportunities and share the People & Culture and relevant staff

Monitoring and documentation of results

• Support the conceptualization and production of proposal and donor communication materials in collaboration with programming, technical and communications staff, including project fact sheets, sectoral and/or geographic focus papers, technical capacity statements, boilerplate language, past performance documentation and others
• Work with country program and HQ staff to analyze past performance by donor and sector/theme, with an emphasis on solicited proposal submission, success rates, and lessons learned
• Support After-Action Reviews of submitted proposals and debriefs from funders on funding decisions, to capture and document lessons learned in order to continually improve proposal processes
  
  

PBA Coordination

• Overall coordination of PBA activities
• Coordinating PBA travel with travel agency and supporting visa documentation (eg. Visa letters of introduction)
• Provide support to the Senior Vice President, Partnerships & Business Accelerator

REQUIREMENTS

Education: University degree (ideally Master's) in Business Administration, International Economic Development or related field.

Experience: Minimum 2-4 years of experience in business development, fundraising or management in the humanitarian or development sector

Additional Qualifications:

• Understanding and appreciation of business principles, international development, and MEDA's approach of creating business solutions to poverty
  
• Willingness and availability for domestic and international travel as required
• Demonstrable experience in synthesizing large amounts of information from various sources
• Strong professional writing experience, samples may be requested
• Familiarity with bilateral and multilateral government agencies, donors, non-governmental organizations and other development agencies
• Knowledge of proposal requirements and submission processes of MEDA's main donors, including USAID, GAC, Foundations and other funding agencies
• Demonstrated experience supporting new business development initiatives and supporting proposal development processes
• Experience with project management and database software
• Strong team building, relational, interpersonal and communication abilities and skills
• Extensive proficiency utilizing Microsoft 365 suite and Google Docs
• Fluency in English, proficiency in French and/or Spanish would be a strong asset
  
  

APPLICATION DEADLINE: May 13, 2024 by 4:00 pm Eastern Time

MEDA is an equal opportunity employer and accommodations are available during all phases of the recruitment process. We ask that any applicants requiring accommodation make their needs known in advance.