Partners of the Americas seeks a proactive, highly motivated and creative individual to head the Proposal Development Unit and lead the process to identify and win new grants and contracts through funding opportunities offered by US government agencies (USAID, Department of State, Department of Labor), foundations, international organizations, and the private sector. The Director of Bids and Proposals will report to the Vice President of Resource Development.

Main responsibilities include: 

• Lead proposal development process from leads discovery to proposal submission, including technical writing, collaborations with local organizations, program budgeting, and overall proposal strategy and design
• Identify new opportunities for funding (through government, private sector, foundations, etc), outreach, and strengthening organization’s portfolio
• Direct Resource Development Unit, including setting strategies, budget, managing staff and consultants
• Form part of fundraising team and help bring in unrestricted funding
• Represent Partners at meetings and conferences

Required Skills/Abilities/Experience:

• 5-10 years of experience in proposal writing for competitive US-government grants offered by USAID, Department of State, Department of Labor, and Department of Labor with proven proposal development skills as demonstrated by successful track record.
• Excellent proposal development skills including assessing opportunities, conceptualizing design, recruiting staff, crafting capability statements, negotiating with counterparts and formulating budgets 
• Knowledge of development and field experience in Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Superior written and oral communication skills in English
• Strong problem-solving ability and outstanding interpersonal skills to operate comfortably in a fast-paced environment while meeting deadlines under pressure
• Professional level Spanish required. Portuguese and/or French a plus.

Desired Qualifications:
While many candidates may not have all qualifications, the ideal candidate will possess:

• Technical familiarity with projects in exchanges and fellowships, democracy and governance, child and youth development, education and non-formal training, agriculture and the environment, and microfinance
• Extensive knowledge of proposal writing best practices for government grants and contracts as well as ability to attract funding from foundations, private sector and other non-government sources
• Two years field experience executing development projects in Latin America or the Caribbean
• Demonstrated experience in outreach efforts to raise profile of organization/company -leading to more exposure and program opportunities through meetings, public appearances, and relationship-building with other organizations.
• Fundraising experience through individual and corporate appeal campaigns
• Strong abilities in both leading teams and functioning as a team member.
• Demonstrated experience in outreach efforts to raise profile of organization/company -leading to more exposure and program opportunities through meetings, public appearances, and relationship-building with other organizations.

Salary: Commensurate with experience, and includes an excellent benefits package.

Please send a cover letter and resume to Partners of the Americas by email to recruit@partners.net, with “Director of Bids and Proposals” in the subject line.  Finalists will be contacted by the January 31, 2009.  Due to a high number of submissions, Partners will be unable to respond to all applicants.

Founded in 1964, Partners of the Americas links U.S. states with Latin American and Caribbean countries in partnerships that use the energy and skills of citizen volunteers, their institutions and communities to address shared concerns of social, economic and cultural development. Partners volunteers and professional staff build on this fabric of enduring linkages to mount a wide array of activities and programs. Their work covers areas as diverse as emergency preparedness, agriculture, cultural exchange, domestic violence prevention and local government strengthening. Partners of the Americas is a private, nonprofit, non-partisan organization. Its international office is located in Washington, D.C.

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