Advisor Sr, GCF Pipeline and Capture Lead

ImpactAlpha; Council Bluffs (IA); Remote; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive medical insurance

Dental insurance

Life insurance

Vision insurance

Generous retirement plan

Job summary

Catholic Relief Services seeks a Senior Advisor, GCF Pipeline and Capture Lead to drive the development and advancement of CRS’ global Green Climate Fund pipeline. You will provide enterprise leadership for donor intelligence, capture management, and proposal governance across multiple country programs and technical teams.

The role requires extensive coordination, strong writing and analytical skills, and a willingness to travel as needed. Remote-global position with international scope.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in climate change, environmental sustainability, international development, business development, international relations, or a related field.

Responsibilities

• Lead intelligence gathering on strategic priorities, programming directions, investment trends, country opportunities, and funding windows.
• Maintain CRS’ global GCF pipeline, including capture plans, opportunity identification, prioritization, sequencing, and readiness for Board submission windows.
• Clarify roles in RFPs, proposal coordination, and technical review processes; onboard CRS staff and consultants.
• Establish learning capture from GCF engagements and maintain resources and dashboards for oversight.

Skills

Donor intelligence

Capture planning

Pipeline management

Proposal governance

Cross-functional coordination

Stakeholder engagement

MS Office proficiency

Written communication

Leadership

Analytical thinking

Education

Bachelor’s degree in climate change or related field

Tools

MS Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)

Web conferencing tools

Job description

About Catholic Relief Services

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943, CRS operates as a global leader in humanitarian aid and development work, functioning as a trusted partner in emergency response, poverty alleviation, and sustainable development across more than 100 countries worldwide. The organization serves individuals and communities regardless of race, religion, or nationality, demonstrating a commitment to universal humanitarian principles and values-based service delivery. CRS implements comprehensive relief and development programs spanning multiple critical sectors including emergency response, HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, health services, agricultural development, education, microfinance, and peacebuilding initiatives. With headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland, the organization employs thousands of staff members globally and partners with local communities, governments, and international organizations to address root causes of poverty and vulnerability. The agency maintains a strong commitment to safeguarding principles, ensuring the protection of children and vulnerable adults from exploitation and abuse across all operations and programs. The organization’s work culture emphasizes collaboration, mission-driven service, and commitment to improving the lives of the poor throughout the world. CRS welcomes staff members of all faiths and secular traditions who share the organization’s core values and demonstrate genuine commitment to serving those in need. The agency prioritizes talent acquisition procedures that reflect commitment to safeguarding the rights and dignity of all people, particularly children and vulnerable adults, ensuring they live free from abuse and harm.

About this Role

This is a remote-global role with the hiring team considering candidates wherever Catholic Relief Services is registered to work. The pay range referenced applies to applicants performing the job within the United States and to applicants classified by CRS as International Assignees. Staff hired on local payroll follow the respective country pay range, with specific salary information available from the recruiter during the candidate selection process based on the anticipated work location. The Senior Advisor, GCF Pipeline and Capture Lead will lead the development and advancement of CRS’ global Green Climate Fund (GCF) pipeline, spanning from early opportunity identification and country positioning through concept note and full funding proposal readiness and submission. This role provides enterprise leadership for donor intelligence, capture management, pipeline governance, proposal review processes, resource planning, and organizational learning. The position ensures that country programs and proposal teams have the necessary tools, guidance, staffing structures, and decision-making processes to systematically advance a focused, competitive, and well-managed GCF pipeline. Project-specific design, technical leadership, and proposal drafting remain with designated country teams, technical leads, proposal coordinators, and specialist advisers. While the main focus of this role centers on the GCF, the position will also identify possible opportunities across other climate funds and present positioning recommendations and resource allocation requirements to the unit Director. The role operates with CFSU director co-leadership responsibilities for GCF, FRLD (Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage), and GEF (Global Environmental Facility).

Responsibilities

• Lead intelligence gathering and analysis concerning strategic priorities, programming directions, investment trends, country opportunities, and relevant funding windows
• Lead and maintain CRS’ global GCF pipeline, including capture plans, opportunity identification, prioritization, sequencing, and readiness for anticipated GCF Board submission windows
• Identify pipeline risks, bottlenecks, dependencies, and staffing gaps early and elevate decisions to the appropriate leadership level
• Work with country programs, regional teams, GREM (Global Resources, Engagement and Mobilization), PIQA (Program Impact and Quality Assurance), and CFSU colleagues to clarify the path from early project ideas through concept note and funding proposal stages
• Clarify the respective roles and responsibilities of the RFP (regional focal point) or proposal coordinator, technical lead, country program, reviewers, CFSU, and other contributing teams
• Be accountable for filling roles internally and externally
• Onboard all CRS staff and consultants working on the pipeline, coordination and technical support
• Establish a structured approach to capturing learning from GCF engagement, including feedback from GCF, NDAs, reviewers, partners, consultants, country programs, and proposal teams
• Ensure lessons from project idea pitches, concept notes, funding proposals, reviews, and external engagement are documented and fed back into capture strategies and pipeline processes
• Maintain a coherent suite of resources, including Climate Funds 101, GCF Donor 101, Project Idea Note review guidance, value proposition tools, capture templates, pipeline dashboards, roles and responsibilities dashboards, and Concept Note and proposal tools and templates
• Establish regular feedback loops with country programs, coordinators, technical leads, reviewers, and leadership to ensure guidance remains practical and responsive to operational needs
• Develop and manage consultant rosters for GCF pipeline and proposal needs, including writers, proposal coordinators, technical specialists, economists, financial experts, safeguards specialists, and other priority functions
• Maintain regular communication with leadership and colleagues so that pipeline status, upcoming decisions, resource requirements, and emerging issues are visible and addressed early
• Represent the pipeline perspective in relevant internal planning and coordination forums and support engagement with GCF regional teams, NDAs, partners, and peer organizations as appropriate
• Maintain a network of external contacts with peer organizations, technical experts, consultants and Climate Fund technical staff and represent CRS in key engagements with these stakeholders

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in climate change, environmental sustainability, international development, business development, international relations, or a related field
• 10 years relevant experience in international development, climate finance, institutional fundraising, capture management, proposal management, or related business development functions
• Demonstrated experience with institutional climate funding streams, including the GCF
• Familiarity with other multilateral climate funds, development finance institutions, bilateral donors, foundations, or corporate climate funding
• Strong track record in donor intelligence, capture planning, pipeline management, proposal governance, and coordination across diverse technical and operational stakeholders
• Demonstrated experience developing practical tools, guidance, templates, and standardized processes and improving them through user feedback and organizational learning
• Experience managing consultant rosters, developing scopes of work or job descriptions, vetting candidates, and deploying external expertise against proposal needs
• Strong understanding of GCF investment criteria, country ownership, proposal stages, review requirements, and the roles required to develop Concept Notes and Funding Proposals
• Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), and Web Conferencing Applications
• Demonstrated experience transferring knowledge to diverse audiences through training, mentoring, and other formal and informal methods
• Excellent writing, synthesis, facilitation, and judgment, with the ability to turn complex information into clear decisions, responsibilities, and next steps
• Strategic and analytical thinking, with the ability to connect donor intelligence, organizational capabilities, country priorities, and pipeline decisions
• Strong process leadership and the ability to create clarity across complex, multi-team workflows
• Excellent interpersonal communication, negotiation, facilitation, and representation skills
• Ability to build the capacity of colleagues and partners through practical guidance, coaching, and learning processes
• Ability to manage competing priorities, identify risks early, and bring decisions to resolution
• Strong commitment to collaboration, continuous improvement, and usable institutional knowledge
• Oral and written fluency in English is essential
• Willingness and ability to travel 25%
• Personal Accountability – Consistently takes responsibility for one’s own actions
• Acts with Integrity – Consistently models values aligned with CRS Guiding Principles and mission
• Builds and Maintains Trust – Shows consistency between words and actions
• Collaborates with Others – Works effectively in intercultural and diverse teams
• Open to Learn – Seeks out experiences that may change perspective or provide an opportunity to learn new things
• Lead Change – Continually looks for ways to improve the agency through a culture of agility, openness, and innovation
• Develops and Recognizes Others – Builds the capacity of staff to reach their full potential and enhance team and agency performance
• Strategic Mindset – Understands role in translating, communicating, and implementing agency strategy and team priorities

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical insurance coverage
• Dental insurance coverage
• Life insurance coverage
• Vision insurance coverage
• Generous retirement savings plan
• Collaborative, mission-driven work culture
• Benefits packages for successful candidates employed outside the U.S. are based on the country of employment and in-country office where the candidate will perform the role
• Supervisory responsibilities included in role