Strategic Pricing Advisor

Role Overview

This position sits at the intersection of finance and business development, helping Mercy Corps turn program ideas into well-structured, cost-competitive proposals that stand up to donor scrutiny. You will work alongside the Strategic Pricing Senior Manager and a range of technical, operational, and country-based colleagues to build accurate budgets, test pricing scenarios, and flag financial risks before proposals go out the door. Your day-to-day work directly shapes whether the organisation can secure funding and deliver impactful programs in complex environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Partner with proposal teams to craft pricing strategies and cost proposals that are both compliant with donor rules and competitive in the marketplace.
• Build and review detailed budgets, ensuring assumptions, calculations, and supporting documentation are consistent, realistic, and fully aligned with program design.
• Act as a finance liaison throughout the proposal lifecycle, translating technical plans into clear cost structures and advising on affordability and value-for-money.
• Support consortium and partner budget development, coordinating with international and local partners to produce coherent, consolidated financial packages.
• Run financial analyses, scenario planning, and sensitivity tests to inform pricing decisions, identify cost drivers, and assess commercial and financial risks.
• Maintain pricing benchmarks, collect donor and market intelligence, and contribute to tools, templates, and guidance that standardise budgeting practices across the organisation.
• Provide hands-on support and training to country and regional teams, helping them strengthen their own budgeting and cost-proposal capabilities.
• Monitor proposals for risk and escalate pricing, compliance, or financial concerns to senior leadership in a timely manner.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business, or a related field.
• 2–4 years of experience in budgeting, proposal finance, pricing, or financial analysis, ideally within an international NGO or similarly complex, multi-stakeholder environment.
• Familiarity with donor funding mechanisms and competitive bid processes, including various funding modalities and their compliance requirements.
• Hands-on experience developing or reviewing budgets and financial proposals, with a strong command of spreadsheet modelling and financial analysis in Microsoft Excel.
• Sharp analytical and problem-solving skills, with meticulous attention to detail and a knack for spotting inconsistencies or hidden assumptions.
• Ability to explain complex financial concepts clearly to non-finance colleagues, including technical program staff and partners.
• Strong organisational skills and comfort juggling multiple deadlines in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
• Collaborative working style, comfortable engaging across finance, operations, programs, and business development teams, and committed to Mercy Corps’ humanitarian mission.