Program Development Advisor, Asia

IRC - International Rescue Committee; Pakistan; On-site; PKR 16,662,000 - 24,993,000; Full time

Job summary

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is seeking a Program Development Advisor, Asia to support country programs in pursuing funding opportunities with donors such as USG, UK FCDO, EU, and others. The role spans opportunity identification through contract signature, with emphasis on partnerships, due diligence, and high-quality proposal development.

Based in Asia with flexibility for Pakistan/Thailand offices, the role requires experience in humanitarian proposals, strong writing, and ability

Qualifications

• Experience in developing and supporting humanitarian and development proposals for NGOs.
• Experience with strategies and proposal processes of key government/statutory donors – US, UK, EU, German, Scandinavian, etc.
• Experience collaborating with national and community-based partners.
• Excellent written and verbal communication in English.
• Ability to multi-task and prioritize effectively.
• Ability to travel internationally (approx. 20%).

Responsibilities

• Plan and lead BD strategy alignment with country teams.
• Support end-to-end proposal development from opportunity identification to submission.
• Coordinate donor engagement and partner coordination for proposals.
• Build capacity through BD training and knowledge sharing.
• Represent IRC in donor meetings and with partners as needed.
• Ensure compliance with donor requirements and IRC standards.

Skills

Proposal writing

Donor engagement

Stakeholder collaboration

Multi-cultural teamwork

Communication skills

Travel readiness

Job description

Background

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. This position will support business development for institutional donors in the IRC’s Asia region, which includes programs in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Thailand. Candidates who are from these countries and/or have significant experience in the region are strongly encouraged to apply. Candidates in IRC hub locations with overlapping time zones (London, Berlin, Nairobi) who have significant experience working in IRC Asia countries are also encouraged to apply.

The Purpose of the Role

The Program Development Advisor (PDA), Asia will support country programs to pursue funding opportunities in line with IRC’s Business Development Strategy. Support will include all phases of the business development process, from opportunity identification to contract signature, including pre‑positioning, partnerships building, proposal development, and due diligence phases. The successful candidate will have a strong track record of working on new funding opportunities in humanitarian and international development with a range of multilateral and bilateral donors (USG, FCDO, DG INTPA, DG ECHO, GFFO, BMZ, GIZ, Sida, SDC, World Bank, etc.), as well as experience collaborating with local partner organisations.

Scope and Authority

This position does not have any line management responsibilities.

Working Locations

This position is open for recruitment in Pakistan, Thailand, or other locations where IRC has an office presence. Candidates based in Asia are especially encouraged to apply.

Key Working Relationships

Reports to Head of Business Development for Asia. Works closely with all Regional Program and Award Support team members, Country Grants, Programs and Finance teams, and across all other teams within Awards Management Unit, Crisis Response Recovery and Development Department, Global Partnerships and Philanthropy, Global Supply Chain, Finance, Office of General Counsel, Technical Excellence, and other key departments within IRC. Donor and partner points of contact as applicable per region.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Planning and Strategic Leadership (10%)

• Collaborate with country teams to proactively identify and address their priorities and support needs in BD.
• Support HBD in collaborating with other AMU pillars to gather donor intel through desk research to identify funding leads and analyze resource mobilization trends in the region.
• Support country offices with Donor engagement and intel sharing for positioning; prepare for and participate in Donor calls as needed.
• Collaborate with country offices to successfully position for new funding opportunities by leading or assisting in the identification, tracking, and updating of new business opportunities across a variety of technical sectors and donors.
• Lead or support pre‑positioning for specific opportunities, including facilitating technical brainstorming, partner and competitor landscape analysis and win theme sessions with technical and country staff.

End to End Program Development (70%)

• Support the full proposal lifecycle including sharing initial assessment of new opportunities, supporting Go/No Go processes, preparing, and sharing templates and timelines, ensuring adherence to deadlines, supporting recruitment, assisting in reviewing budgets, ensuring document completion, organizing meetings, and compiling notes, and drafting and proofreading proposal sections.
• Facilitate the identification of consultants, partners and other proposal development support as needed in collaboration with the country team.
• Collaborate with technical units, country offices, and other colleagues to support conceptualization of winning proposal and bid designs for new project activities and/or amendments to current projects.
• Provide quality assurance and quality compliance support on proposals.
• Ensure responsiveness to and compliance with solicitation documents and with IRC’s requirements.
• Support coordination, communication, and inputs from consortium partners in accordance with donor and IRC processes.
• Coordinate and support regional reviews and approvals of proposal packages depending on country and regional needs.
• Review agreements to ensure accurateness and highlight key compliance requirements, in coordination with post‑award, compliance and country grants teams and support in award negotiation as required.
• Maintain complete and accurate electronic files, including final submission packages and internal trackers.
• Deploy to country offices to lead on proposal development as needed.

Donor and Partner Engagement (5%)

• In line with IRC’s Partnership Ambition, and in collaboration with regional Partnerships teams, contribute to increasing the volume and equity of IRC's work with local and regional partners (with a focus on women‑led national organizations) by coordinating support to country offices in identifying partnership opportunities, identifying strong partners, and finalizing teaming arrangements.
• Coordinate regional and country‑level inputs to donor meetings, conferences and communications as needed.
• Represent IRC externally to donors, peers, and partners, as needed, and when requested by line manager.

Capacity Building and Training: (10%)

• Contribute to developing, updating, and delivering business development related training for the region.
• Facilitate internal post‑submission debrief sessions, (i.e., After Action Reviews) with country teams, technical units, regional team, and other relevant stakeholders to collect lessons learned.
• Collaborate with HBD and other stakeholders to ensure internal knowledge management, share lessons learned and ensure they are incorporated into future proposals.
• Support in recruiting, onboarding, and training of new grants and partnerships team members.

Other Responsibilities (5%)

• Contribute to AMU and regional strategic priorities and initiatives.
• Support with translation to regional or donor languages when necessary.
• Participate in special projects as needed and other tasks as assigned.

PERSON SPECIFICATION Essential Skills, Knowledge, and Qualifications:

• Experience in developing and supporting humanitarian and development proposals for NGOs.
• Experience with strategies and proposal processes of key government/statutory donors – US, UK, EU, German, Scandinavian, etc.
• Experience in collaborating with and supporting national and community‑based partners.
• Experience in proposal budgeting.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to effectively collaborate across a variety of relationships in a multicultural environment.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate equally effectively with colleagues in remote and diverse teams, including as team leader for proposals.
• Clear, compelling writing skills.
• Ability to multi‑task and prioritize effectively.
• Ability to travel internationally (approximately 20% of time).
• Fluency in English.

Professional Standards:

All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. Our Standards are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding, Conflicts of Interest, Fiscal Integrity, and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC is committed to take all necessary preventive measures and create an environment where people feel safe, and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm occurs. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) helps people whose lives have been shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover and rebuild. We are trusted for our ability to reach people in the toughest places, put our clients at the center of everything we do, and - as an evidence‑based organization - to relentlessly improve the impact we deliver for those we serve. If you’re ready to be part of a team that brings ingenuity, fortitude and optimism to making a lasting impact, we want to hear from you. The IRC Way, our code of conduct, is founded upon our core values of Integrity, Accountability, Service and Equality. These values unite IRC staff around the world and keep our programs firmly directed towards the well‑being of our clients while meeting the expectations of our donors as responsible stewards of their resources.