SVP Partnerships and Business Accelerator

MEDA invites applications for a Senior Vice President, Partnerships and Business Accelerator to join our dedicated and talented team in our mission to create business solutions to poverty!

MEDA believes that business solutions are effective interventions to address poverty. Through a market-systems approach and strategic partnerships, MEDA enables access to finance and provides business and technical expertise to build transformative agri-food market systems that create decent jobs, allowing traditionally excluded groups to become active participants in a sustainable economy. MEDA welcomes all who share our values and want to join us in our mission. To find out more about MEDA, please visit our website at www.meda.org.

ROLE

The Senior Vice President, Partnerships and Business Accelerator (SVP PBA) is a member of the Executive Team who contributes to shaping MEDA’s vision and direction. This position leads the PBA division and is responsible for developing a business strategy for worldwide engagement and delivery of new awards with bilateral donors, while fostering a business acquisition culture at MEDA.  He/she is accountable for delivering revenue targets that will drive MEDA’s goal of creating 500,000 decent jobs in the agri-food sector in the Global South and spearheading the transformation of MEDA’s business model and partnerships.

Status:  Full-time

Location:  Hybrid/Remote - role can be located anywhere, but individual must have the ability to work and be hired in a location where MEDA is able to hire and they must have the ability to travel to Waterloo, Ontario (Canada) on a quarterly basis for Executive Leadership Team Meetings. Locations include:  Kenya, Ghana, Senegal, Canada & US  *Other locations may be considered.

Salary Scale: $158,708 - $176,295 USD, Global Salary Scale, no allowances,

Hire Date:  May 2024

KEY FUNCTIONS

Lead Team of 10+ to meet annual new revenue targets of over $50M+ annually (30%)

• Lead teams charged with capturing new business in agriculture/ agribusiness for economic development bringing together MEDA’s expertise in impact investment, access to finance, climate resiliency, gender, environment, and partnership building.
• Re-engineer and design business development strategies and systems for identifying, assessing, and capturing new business opportunities; ensuring alignment with PBA and Organizational Strategies. Oversee all business development functions, budgets, operations, and staff.
• Oversee and manage strategic proposal preparations and submission process, with oversight of strategy, pricing, recruitment, and reviews.
• Oversee verification of proposal compliance with all major donor rules included but not limited to USG Rules and Regulations (assistance and acquisition), EU, FCDO, etc. and quality assurance execution for all bids.
• Identify new opportunities with existing donors (USAID, GAC, Mastercard Foundation, BMGF, etc.) and lead developing and delivering bid strategies for new donors.
• In coordination with SVP, Programs, and SVP S&I, oversee identification, recruitment and packaging of key personnel and partners for strategic bids.
• Facilitate appropriate allocation of business development resources to meet business goals.
• Supervise, train and mentor the business development team, recruiting and pricing staff and consultants, as well as key technical staff, at home office and abroad in all business development functions.
• Devise and manage a robust quality design and review process for making smart, early investment decisions for unsolicited pitches, capture planning, capturing work and live bids, and producing winning concept notes, and proposals.

_Lead Strategic Growth Analysis and Planning (25%)
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• Lead strategic evaluation of current and new markets, positioning and proposal submission in each selected market, and development and execution of strong international and local partnerships to successfully deliver the solutions donors seek.Set business development targets and plan that meets or exceeds MEDA’s growth and positioning objectives on an annual basis. Monitor industry trends to ensure competitive positioning in the market, with close interface with MEDA’s Program leadership.

• Build a new business pipeline that draws and builds on MEDA’s current and future competencies in alignment with the strategy, identify sufficient qualified opportunities and deliver winning proposals to meet annual revenue targets.

• Serve as the primary partner to the CEO and Executive Team in developing and articulating a donor-solution growth and diversification strategy that produces $100 M in new revenue annually from existing and new donors.

_External Relationships Development and Cultivation (15%)
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• Align PBA resources to complement organization-wide Client and Partnership Cultivation plan, in coordination with the ELT, and take a leadership role in developing relationships with specific clients and partners.

• Coordinate closely with the VP, Strategic Communications on issues of branding, external positioning, materials development, website and social media presence, and advocacy initiatives.

• Oversee the seamless integration of business intelligence from across the organization into positioning, capture and the bid process.

Lead Internal Relationships (30%)

• Guarantee that proposals capture and integrate MEDA’ s role as a decolonized organization and reflect a regional office structure each with worldwide technical experience and successes.

• Play a leadership role in convening the right expertise into the accelerator on a time limited basis and as needed.

• Oversee the integration of best practices in partnership, management, evaluation, and priority technical areas into proposals to bring best-in-class solutions to clients.

EXPERIENCE, SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES

• 15-20 years of experience and MA/PhD level qualifications

• Senior development professional with expertise in program management, strategic planning, organizational development, new business development and project planning.

• Proven track record of expanding organizational portfolio into new markets and major donors including USAID, USDA, EU, DFAT, DFID, and other bilateral donors.

• Experience providing vision for new business development, leading proposal development acquisition ranging from $5M to $100M including writing proposals, leading proposal teams, developing teaming agreements, negotiating contracts and grants, and reviewing and preparing cost proposal documentation.

• Experience in recruiting, managing, and mentoring a team of business development professionals.

• Experience in key sectors such as Economic Growth, and Organizational Capacity Building, etc. for various not-for-profit and for-profit entities.

• Track record as team leader securing funding major bilateral donor entities including USAID, USDA, DOS, and DFID.

• Proven track record coaching and mentoring successful teams, leading internal and external workshops, leading program design teams overseas, and representing at major international events.

• Ability to travel overseas up to 40% of the time – regularly over 25% of the time.

*Please note - MEDA is working with a recruitment partner, Millar Cameron on this search, and selected candidates will go through a screening process with Millar Cameron before meeting MEDA hiring managers*

This job description may be reviewed, revised and updated as required to meet department and/or organizational objectives.

MEDA is an equal opportunity employer and accommodations are a__vailable during all phases of the recruitment process. We ask that any applicants requiring accommodation make their needs known in advance.