Responsibilities 

Fundraising:

• Assist in advising staff on the development and implementation of fundraising strategies
• Perform competitive intelligence gathering through research and analytics to identify new donors and funding prospects, including private industry, foundations, high-net worth individuals, multilateral agencies, and government
• Advise staff on strategies for approaching donor prospects and draft outreach & communication materials
• Manage cultivation and stewardship for select foundations and individual donors

Proposal Development & Coordination:

• Proactively liaise with research units and corporate services to facilitate proposal development efforts, streamline the process, strengthen the output, and track progress and staff input throughout the proposal process
• Work closely with and support research units from project concept to full proposal development, incorporating input from multi-disciplinary staff
• Provide high quality review for key proposals to ensure output complies with proposal requirements, and facilitate professional service support (grant writer, editor, etc.), in collaboration with research units and finance
• Continually assess and propose improvements for practices/procedures/systems involving IFPRI’s proposal pipeline and funder/funding intelligence

Other duties may include:

• Assist with event coordination as needed.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in agricultural development, international development practice, project management, agricultural economics or relevant field
• Ten years of relevant professional experience with at least 5 years of management experience.
• Experience in a business development team supporting international development clients.
• Experience developing and/or implementing fundraising strategies for nonprofit organizations, including prospect research; outreach to funding sources; and donor cultivation and stewardship
• Experience developing successful proposals/grants targeting various funding sources (government, private industry, foundation and individuals), preferably in agriculture, nutrition and/or relevant fields
• Highly effective and versatile communication skills—both written and oral. Ability to effectively synthesize scientific/programmatic content for multiple audiences
• High level of professionalism, including the ability to diplomatically coordinate individuals with various disciplines to accomplish common objections
• Self-motivated, with proven ability to work independently and multi-task in accomplishing key goals and completing projects
• Strong analytical skills
• Comfortable in a global team, including working well with team members and collaborators located in multiple time zones and countries
• Willingness and ability to travel as needed
• International experience, especially in Africa, Asia and Latin America
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office and donor databases
• Background, or interest in, international development