Proposal Development Officer JOB

Vacancy reference:** 201809/PDO

Our package: Attractive depending on skills and experience

Contract type: Open-ended

Hours of work: Full-time, 37.5 hours per week

This role reports to: Head of Business Development

Staff reporting to this post: None

Annual budget for the post: None

Closing date: 14th October 2018

Interview date: TBC

About PSA

Pamela Steele Associates (PSA) is a niche management consultancy with a mission to ensure that no patient in developing countries suffers due to lack of essential medicines. We specialise in supply chain transformation for the public health and humanitarian sectors through consultancy, research and training.

PSA was founded in 2013 by Pamela Steele. It has headquarters in Oxford, UK, and regional offices in India, Kenya and Nigeria.

We provide sustainable solutions for developing the in-country capacity of individuals and organisations to reduce dependency on external support. Working with governments, International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs) and the United Nations, we Research, Train and provide Technical Assistance, deploying technical specialists to transform health and humanitarian supply chains in collaboration with client teams.

At PSA, we are committed to excellence in all we do – for our colleagues and our communities, and for our clients and, ultimately, for the patients who benefit from our work. Our collaborative culture transcends organisational and geographic boundaries.

PSA is ISO 9001:2015 certified and accredited by the British Accreditation Council for Independent Further and Higher Education as a Short Course Provider.

Our values

• Humanitarian: we work for the alleviation of suffering;
• Ethical: we work with integrity;
• Service-driven: we use our professional expertise to meet our clients’ needs.
• Pragmatic: we apply general principles and frameworks but listen and adapt to the differing needs of our clients;
• Innovative: we seek to learn and apply new ideas, and embrace new technologies;
• Collaborative: we collaborate with partners, clients and service providers for mutual benefit and support, to create a strong team;
• Respectful: understanding local culture is important for effective change so we work with local partners who are familiar with the context.

Our team

PSA’s Business Development team forms part of the Supply Chain and Business Development Unit, which comprises:

• Consultancy and projects team
• Operational Research team
• Training and professional development team
• Business development team

Who we are looking for

As PSA’s Proposal Development Officer, you will support efforts to respond to PSA’s business expansion, with an emphasis on strategically increasing PSA’s client portfolio. You will also identify relevant new business opportunities and determine if those opportunities fit PSA’s core competencies thorough research and analysis.

You will be responsible for leading the development and submission of high-quality research, training and consultancy proposals within our business focus areas (varying in value and complexity). They will meet all donor requirements, including internally or externally imposed deadlines. Proposals can vary in length and may require the support of lengthy documents that describe in detail the scope of the work to be performed and the organisation’s ability to carry it out. In developing proposals, you will lead on project design and contribute to writing key sections of proposals and ensuring all critical components are successfully completed (including, but not limited to, methodological note, project plan, quality assurance, budget development and human resource allocation).

As the ideal candidate, you will lead and manage the proposal development process; drive the proposal response and content contributors, writers, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), and reviewers to the proposal outline; schedule and ensure that the proposal is compliant, compelling and persuasive in accordance with the solicitation and all referenced documents. You will also assume responsibility for proposal production and delivery to the client and, as necessary, contribute to finalising presentation development.

You will need to be well organised, used to working to deadlines and have excellent writing skills.

Job Purpose

To lead the development and submission of high-quality research, training and consultancy proposals within our business focus areas (varying in value and complexity).

Key Responsibilities

• To serve as the lead writer on the technical approach areas (primarily Health & Humanitarian Supply Chain) related to the sectors and countries in which PSA works;
• To lead the design, development and delivery of proposal engagements across multiple PSA business units, as well as with external actors;
• To be accountable for creating and delivering a winning proposal for each assigned opportunity and ensuring full compliance with RFP requirements;
• To facilitate all aspects of project management for assigned proposal efforts, including initial RFP review/analysis, template creation, task management, kick-off/status calls, scheduling, input review/consolidation and delivery;
• To facilitate actively the conceptualisation–by other PSA team members-of what PSA responses could look like, including describing the specific added value;
• To provide the basic literature and themes on the subject for conduction quick desk reviews to inform our approach and identify existing similar projects;
• To craft responses to various RFP sections utilising existing narratives, customising existing narratives and creating new content that addresses/complies with the requirements outlined in the solicitation, scores well in terms of the evaluation criteria, and incorporates winning themes and other strategies developed by the proposal team;
• To collaborate with SMEs to develop the winning themes and write proposal content, including cover letters, executive summaries that communicate the company’s competitive distinguishers and benefits, CVs, project descriptions and past performance references to respond to proposal requirements;
• To engage members of the PSA proposal team to become familiar with the subject matter, critically evaluate proposed technical approaches to identify strengths and weaknesses, suggest areas for improvement, and incorporate changes and improvements into proposals;
• To work with PSA SMEs, including country office staff and consultants, to translate technical solutions, approaches and strategies into a clearly articulated, compelling and compliant proposal document that is effectively written;
• To work with the PSA proposal team on developing appropriate graphics for inclusion in the proposal;
• To manage several proposals simultaneously in high-volume in a quick-turnaround environment;
• To proofread and edit technical documents and proposals;
• To manage, create and finalise PowerPoint presentations for use by project team leads (e.g. finalist presentations, etc);
• To keep up to date with company solutions, products and messaging to ensure the company’s competitive advantage is clearly communicated in client-facing materials;
• To conduct some donors’ intelligence, identifying changes in their thematic priorities, approaches and procedures; compiling that information and informing PSA team accordingly;
• To participate in on-going continuous improvement of the proposal development process, as well as maintaining knowledge databases including, but not limited to:
• Key donors’ channels for funding and main criteria for selection;
• Standard CV of PSA team and associates;
• Standard presentation of PSA;
• Standard presentation of PSA methodologies;
• Presentations of PSA experiences;
• Presentations of PSA partners companies.

Support to the wider organisation:

• To collaborate closely with external associates on initiatives and with colleagues on other teams;
• To perform other reasonable duties in support of the organisation as requested by the line manager or CEO;
• To work with team members to organise conferences and workshops as required.

Skills, experience and knowledge

Essential

• Right to live and work in the UK.
• Bachelor’s degree in English, Journalism or Communications.
• Five years’ experience as a proposal writer with excellent writing/editing capabilities and strong analytical/research skills.
• Ability to subdivide parts of a system or approach and understand, explain and present those parts within a proposal document.
• Skilled in self-management, balancing competing priorities, and working against multiple deadlines.
• Knowledge and understanding of cross-cutting requirements in international development, including monitoring, evaluation and learning, gender mainstreaming, technology and innovation, public–private partnerships, capacity building and training.
• Strong project management skills (e.g. planning, execution, issue resolution, control, etc.).
• Effective in clearly articulating complex technical solutions and consolidating multiple streams of input into cohesive and readable narrative.
• Proven ability to produce high-quality deliverables in a virtual team environment.
• The incumbent is required to have close attention to detail in order to prepare and analyse data and figures; transcribe; edit on the screen; and read closely and extensively. The incumbent is also required to have the ability to determine the accuracy, neatness and thoroughness of work.

Desirable

• Experience of working in supply chain.
• Excellent Word, Excel, Vision, PowerPoint and other ICT-related skills.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to maintain working files and revisions of documents.
• Ability to handle and use constructive feedback to make needed changes to proposals.
• Team player with proven ability to work in a collaborative environment.
• Strong conceptual, analytical, writing and editing skills, including the ability to synthesise large amounts of information into concise narratives.
• Knowledge of competitive proposal processes and the role of a proposal writer in those processes.
• Strong organisational management skills, including the ability to prioritise tasks, time management, adherence to tight deadlines, and the ability to handle multiple activities.
• Excellent written and oral communications skills and fluency in English.

At PSA, our job descriptions provide a guide to what might be expected in the role. Along with our strategy the job description is used to help to shape specific objectives for employees. Employees are supported to deliver these objectives and they are annually assessed against them as part of the PSA performance review process. This job description is not incorporated into the employment contract. PSA is dedicated to building an inclusive workforce where gender balance and diversity is valued.