Position title: Senior Specialist, Proposal Budget and Costing
Location: Flexible
ChildFund office: International Office
Manager/Supervisor title: Senior Director, Resource Mobilization
This is a full-time, global, remote position open to candidates in Quito, Ecuador, Nairobi, Kenya, Manila, Philippines, or Dakar, Senegal. Pay is in local currency. Candidates must have current work authorization in one of these locations to be eligible. We encourage people with disabilities to participate in this selection process.
About ChildFund
ChildFund is a child-focused international development organization that connects children with the people, resources and institutions they need to grow up healthy, educated, skilled and safe, no matter where they are. We work directly in 23 countries, with extended reach to more than 60 countries through our global partnership network.
ChildFund's Values
We aspire for every person in our organizationprogram participants, supporters, staff, and volunteers aliketo feel free, safe, and confident to be themselves. In our culture of connection, you will have ample opportunity to grow, learn, and lead while contributing your talents and innovations to our inspiring mission.
ChildFund's Commitment
ChildFund International has a zero-tolerance policy regarding sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH) and all other forms of harm by its staff, partners, and other representatives in the delivery of its mission and services for children. ChildFund is committed to creating a safe environment in the workplace as well as in the communities where it delivers programs and services. ChildFund expects every staff member, partner, and representative to adhere to this commitment and to ensure all organizational policies and standards are followed. This position is subject to a range of vetting checks, including a criminal records check and/or disclosure to ensure program participants are safeguarded.
About This Role
The Senior Specialist, Proposal Budget and Costing leads the development of budgets and cost proposals for new foundation, corporate, and institutional funding at ChildFund, ensuring that pricing is competitive, profitable, accurate, and aligned with feasible high quality implementation of programming. By analyzing project requirements, collecting and assessing cost data, and understanding market and competitive trends, they will lead and support country and regional offices in effectively engaging Finance, Human Resources, and technical staff to develop and finalize cost proposals that demonstrate ChildFund's value for money and contribute to its resource mobilization aims. As a core member of the Global Resource Mobilization team, the Senior Specialist leads advancements in proposal budget and costing with staff around the world and contributes to resource mobilization data analysis that strengthens data-driven decision making for improved results.
Required Experience and Education
- Bachelor's degree in business, finance, economics, or other relevant field required.
- At least 6 years of experience leading development of budgets as part of integrated proposal development processes for multi-million dollar grants with bilaterals, multilaterals, foundations, corporations, and innovative financing and pooled funding mechanisms (including US DOS, MCC, and/or DFC).
- Experience with large awards ($10M or more) strongly preferred.
Primary Responsibilities
- Lead efficient, effective, and participatory cost proposal development processes for high-value and highly strategic opportunities with foundations, corporations, institutions, and innovative financing mechanisms including: developing winning cost strategies, analyzing donor solicitations to understand terms and conditions for compliance, modifying budget templates to meet funder requirements, preparing guidance and tools to facilitate cost proposal preparation; reviewing, editing and finalizing budget narratives; collecting and incorporating the latest pricing data; and ensuring budgets identify and cost all project activities as well as maximize cost recovery.
- Review cost proposals developed by other cost and pricing staff to recommend enhancements as well as ensure accuracy, completeness, and compliance.
- Negotiate budget proposals and pricing agreements with partners and donors to secure profitability/cost recovery.
- Confirm adherence to donor as well as ChildFund policies and procedures about cost proposal preparation, review, submission, and negotiation.
- Develop and lead internal training to advance costing and pricing excellence, enhancing cost proposals competitiveness, profitability, compliance, and feasibility.
- Lead reporting (including data visualizations) and analyses of resource mobilization results, proactively monitoring and recommending key performance indicators as well as reviewing after action review inputs and donor debriefs to inform proposal cost-related process and system improvements and strengthen data-driven go/no-go decision-making.
- Lead the management of one global pipeline, coaching and supporting country and regional teams to maintain up-to-date and accurate pipeline data.
- Lead improvements, via coaching, training, and modeling, in participatory budgeting that effectively incorporates inputs from finance, human resources, technical, and partners.
- Apply, and support others to apply, best practices that increase cost recovery and leverage ChildFund's co-investment capabilities.
- Support country and regional teams to develop and/or maintain accurate and up-to-date pricing data.
- Remain alert and responsive to any safeguarding risks, acquire relevant knowledge and skills which will enable you to promote strong safeguarding practices, understand the safeguarding policy and procedures, and conduct yourself in a manner consistent with the Safeguarding Policy.
- Travel domestically and internationally on occasion.
- Complete other tasks and responsibilities as assigned.
Required Competencies
ChildFund's Core Competencies
- Teamwork: the ability to work effectively and collaborate with others; values and respects individual differences.
- Communication: demonstrates empathy and tact when communicating with others and uses a storytelling approach when appropriate.
- Results orientation: gets things done; takes proactive steps to achieve organizational goals and quality standards.
- Decision making: uses good judgement, critical thinking, and non-traditional ways to evaluate problems and opportunities; reflects and innovates to improve decisions and outcomes.
- Resilience: thrives and grows in rapidly changing, demanding, and complex environments.
- Digital literacy: adopts and champions new technology to relevant contexts, stays aware of technological trends and embraces technological solutions to business challenges.
Other Required Competencies
- The ability to read, speak, and write fluently in English. Proficiency in another language is beneficial but not required.
- Advanced proficiency in MS Excel, including pivot tables and pivot charts, advanced formulas and functions.
- Advanced proficiency with Sharepoint tools for knowledge management.
- Advanced proficiency with PowerBI.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite, including Teams.
- Excellent attention to detail.
- Demonstrated ability to present information clearly to diverse audiences in virtual settings.
- Excellent quantitative and analytical skills.
- Self-motivated with impeccable teamwork skills and the ability to work effectively as part of a virtual, geographically dispersed team.
