Business Development Coordinator

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

The IRC has a focus on narrowing the gender gap in humanitarian aid and ensuring that we contribute to gender equality, diversity, and inclusion in both our programs and operations by working to establish a context where our clients (including those from minority groups) enjoy the same rights and opportunities as well as an equal access to services. The IRC also has a strong commitment to creating an equitable and inclusive culture, where safeguarding is upheld in our workplace and programs. We are determined to protect our clients and staff from safeguarding violations through prevention and, where misconduct is alleged, to address it without fear or favor.

Job Overview/Summary:

Based in Addis Ababa, the Business Development Coordinator owns the design and development of assigned funding proposals for the IRC Ethiopia program, from opportunity assessment through to contract signature. The role reports directly to the Deputy Director for Grants and Partnerships (DDGP) and works in close partnership with the Senior Business Development Coordinator, who owns business development strategy, the opportunity pipeline and donor relationships.

The Coordinator acts as proposal lead on assigned opportunities. This means convening and facilitating the technical design process, writing concept notes and proposal narratives, managing the proposal team and consortium partners day to day, and assuring the quality, compliance and on-time submission of the full package. The Coordinator is accountable to the DDGP for the quality and timeliness of every submission they lead, works with minimal direction, and escalates early when decisions, resources or deadlines are at risk.

The successful candidate will have a strong track record of leading proposal development with multilateral and bilateral donors in humanitarian and international development contexts, combining technical design skill and exceptional writing with the ability to coordinate many contributors under tight deadlines.

Major responsibilities include:

1. Pipeline and opportunity intelligence

• •Research and maintain current donor briefs on funding priorities, strategies, funding windows and geographic interests relevant to IRC Ethiopia, and give them to the Senior Coordinator and the DDGP to inform donor strategy and positioning.
• •Identify, qualify and track new opportunities across technical sectors and donors, including the private sector and philanthropy, and keep the opportunity pipeline and the Go/No-Go (GNG) tracker accurate at all times.
• •Prepare opportunity assessments for GNG meetings covering donor fit, competitiveness, partners, resources and risk, and present them with the Senior Coordinator, who owns the GNG process. Record decisions in the tracker and make sure every relevant team is informed.
• •Draft pre-emptive funding pitches and concept notes for priority opportunities as directed by the Senior Coordinator, working with technical teams.

2. Technical design on assigned proposals

• •Lead Project Design Meetings for assigned proposals, from half-day sessions to multi-day workshops, applying the design standards set by the Senior Coordinator. Prepare the agenda, pre-reads and facilitation plan, brief participants on donor expectations and compliance requirements, facilitate evidence-based prioritization of activities, and close each meeting with documented decisions, owners and next steps.
• •Own the intervention logic of each assigned proposal. With the MEAL team and technical leads, develop the theory of change and results framework or logframe, with explicit risks, assumptions and mitigation measures.
• •Test technical designs for feasibility, evidence base, donor compliance, cost-effectiveness and internal coherence, including bringing multi-objective or multi-sector designs together into one logic. Resolve disagreements between technical, regional and donor priorities, and escalate to the DDGP those that cannot be resolved.
• •Ensure designs reflect IRC’s commitments on gender equality, inclusion, protection and safeguarding, conflict sensitivity and accountability to affected people, as well as any cross-cutting requirements set by the donor.

3. Proposal writing and compilation

• •Write concept notes and proposal sections independently and to a high standard, including context and needs analysis, strategy, theory of change, results, sustainability and management arrangements. Produce full concept notes at short notice for fast-turnaround opportunities.
• •Compile narrative, financial and MEAL inputs from staff, consultants and partners into a single, coherent, donor-compliant document with consistent evidence and voice, and an exceptional standard of English, without dependence on AI tools.
• •Own the quality of every package you lead. Check compliance against the solicitation and evaluation criteria, alignment between the narrative, results framework and budget, completeness of annexes, and formatting. Complete the documented pre-submission checklist and submit the package for independent review by the Senior Coordinator before readiness is confirmed to the DDGP.
• •Manage submission logistics, including donor portal requirements and final packaging, so that every submission is complete and on time.
• •Collect donor feedback and debriefs on the proposals you lead and pass them to the Senior Coordinator for win and loss analysis.

4. Proposal management and coordination

• •Prepare the proposal development plan and timeline for each assigned opportunity, with defined slots for technical, regional, Finance and senior review. Take responsibility for holding all contributors to deadlines and making sure each person knows what input is needed, from whom and by when.
• •Chair proposal team meetings, assign and track tasks, control document versions, and flag risks to the timeline to the DDGP early.
• •Serve as proposal lead on opportunities allocated by the DDGP, and as a named contributor under the lead’s direction on proposals led by the Senior Coordinator or, for Category A and B opportunities, the Grants unit (for example design facilitation, theory of change and results framework, defined sections or compilation).
• •Manage external contributors, such as consultants or editors, engaged for the proposals you lead.
• •Coordinate required reviews and approvals with IRC’s regional and global funding departments and other regional and HQ offices.

5. Budget and value for money

• •Work with Finance to develop budgets that reflect the project design, donor rules, cost norms and consortium allocations, applying donor guidance on eligibility and compliance.
• •Own the alignment between the budget, the narrative and the results framework, and the clarity of the budget presentation. Write comprehensive budget narratives as needed, to the highest standard of English.
• •Review budgets for cost-effectiveness and allowability, and develop the value-for-money argument for each proposal. Flag budget risks and scope trade-offs to the Senior Coordinator and the DDGP in good time.

6. Consortium and partner coordination

Coordinate day to day with consortium partners on the proposals you lead to confirm roles, responsibilities and financial