MEDA - Senior Director, Partnerships and New Business Development

SENIOR

DIRECTOR, PARTNERSHIPS AND NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

February 2023

About MEDA

Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) – is an international economic development organization that creates business solutions to poverty. For nearly 70 years, MEDA has been creating business solutions to poverty that are sustainable, scalable, measurable and replicable.

MEDA has worked in over 70 countries and brings a unique market systems approach to project design that integrates technical assistance and access to capital. As an early leader in innovative finance, MEDA leverages public and private funding to advance social enterprises around the world that are positively impacting social, environmental and governance challenges in their communities. MEDA works in agri-food market systems, focusing primarily on women and youth in rural communities in the Global South. Success is measured by income, improved processes, increased knowledge, and the creation of decent work. In order to respond to global changes with sustainable and successful solutions, MEDA has a Theory of Change that directs and guides its work and is designed to be intersectional in its solutions.

MEDA began as an association of Mennonite business people who believed they were called to be faithful in generously sharing their abilities and resources. Today, MEDA welcomes all who share their values and want to join them in their mission.

MEDA Values

Collaboration: We value inclusive and diverse partnerships regardless of income, gender, race, class, ethnicity, nationality or religion. We build relationships of trust and peace.

Accountability: We manage human, financial and environmental resources with care and integrity.

Respect: We treat clients, colleagues and partners with respect and dignity.

Entrepreneurship: We seek sustainable innovation. We promote justice by partnering with entrepreneurial people experiencing poverty to attain business success.

The Role Job Summary

Role: Senior Director, Partnerships and New Business Development

Location: Canada

Salary: $120,000-140,000 plus benefits

Reports to: Senior Vice-President, Global Programs

MEDA’s successful approach has gained important recognition and significant new investments. The organization is embarking on a trajectory of growth and transformation. The Senior Director, Partnerships & New Business Development (PNBD) will seize on this momentum and play a substantive role in growing revenue to drive MEDA’s goal of creating 500,000 decent jobs in the agrifood sector in the Global South. MEDA has maintained solid and trusted relationships with key funders, including the Government of Canada, over the past decades. In 2022, MEDA was chosen by the Mastercard Foundation to lead a Consortium of partners on a $200M fund-of-funds initiative in sub-Sahara Africa, representing major growth and opportunity for MEDA. The Senior Director will lead efforts to diversify and expand funding, bringing new ideas and approaches that are pro-active.

The successful candidate will have a successful track record mobilizing resources and a strong network with government and multilateral agencies - especially USAID - foundations, and corporate supporters, as well as links to technical partners in agri-food, impact investment, and other relevant sectors. The role requires someone who will clearly articulate and confidently position MEDA’s unique value proposition. A strong communicator, with excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to build strong working relationships with internal and external stakeholders is needed. Strategically positioning MEDA’s technical expertise and impact to build partnerships is at the heart of this role.

In collaboration with a wide range of expert colleagues, the Senior Director will develop and execute the PNBD business plan. The Senior Director will identify and respond to business opportunities while developing new relationships with donors and partners for future impact. They will ensure these efforts are responsive to and aligned with the regions and countries where MEDA operates and to developments in the international sector.

MEDA recognizes that partnership and business development happens across the organization and at various levels. The Senior Director is part of the Global Programs Senior Management Team and will contribute to the overall success of the department. The Senior Director will promote an approach that is coordinated, coherent and achieves higher level goals. The Senior Director will manage the PNBD team (currently two staff), coordinate across departments, and engage external stakeholders to prepare successful proposals and initiative designs. The Senior Director will also review PNBD systems, processes and assets and lead efforts to improve the team’s response time and success rates.

MEDA is headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada and operates globally. Domestic and international travel is required for this role.

Responsibilities

Partnership and New Business Development Strategy

• Lead the development and execution of the PNBD business plan

• Diversify and grow MEDA’s revenue streams while generating momentum across the organization in support of new partnerships

• Initiate and build relationships with representatives of key funding organizations with the goal of developing new sources of revenue

• Establish strong, values based partnerships with potential co-implementing organizations in the countries and regions where MEDA works

• Collaborate with other MEDA Directors and support their country and regional strategy development, donor mapping and resourcing plans, ensuring alignment with PNBD and Organizational Strategies

• Prepare donor and sector briefs to inform resourcing decisions

• Ensure alignment with trends, opportunities and MEDA’s thought leadership/evidence base

• Coordinate with the Communications and Marketing team to position MEDA strategically and effectively to donor audiences via social media channels, presentations and publications

Proposal Development

• Lead the proposal development process for all submission from go/no-go evaluation to submission and post-submission review

• Lead, guide and/or provide support to crossdivisional teams in the co-creation of proposals

in support of MEDA’s strategic goals and set standards

• Promote and develop bid-team capacity around a process of proposal co-creation and partnership with organizations in the Global South

• Maintain a forward-looking opportunity pipeline, both tangible and anticipated based on intelligence gathering

• Manage proposal team workflow and timelines

• Ensure clear, compelling design and consistency of voice that effectively responds to funder requirements and serves MEDA’s strategic goals

• Support budget development and review processes

• Coordinate internally to ensure full alignment between proposal and funders’ financial, administrative and programmatic guidelines

Process Improvements

• Review and improve MEDA’s proposal development process

• Strengthen internal systems and ways of working that support effective positioning and partnership development and overall PNBD strategy execution

• Oversee the development and utilization of MEDA’s information systems including the CRM and document repository

• Ensure key proposal content and assets (country profiles, technical briefs, project summaries, results reports, impact data etc.) are available, complete and in donor friendly language

Qualifications

• Graduate level degree in applicable area of expertise

• Extensive experience in program design, implementation and reporting in the agri-food sector in the global south, ideally with impact investors (at least 5 years)

• Experience in financial inclusion, youth employment/engagement, agriculture and/or SMEs would be most helpful for this role

• Track record mobilizing and/or stewarding resources from North American and European Institutional donors and foundations, ideally with institutional donors and foundations (USAID experience ideal)

• Excellent communicator with a solid understanding and appreciation of business principles, impact investment, international development and MEDA’s approach of creating business solutions to poverty

• Extensive network and strong representational skills

• Deep understanding of the donor landscape as well as the inner workings of government funding agencies, foundation, non-governmental organizations and other prospective MEDA funders and partners

• Experience leading and/or participating in consortia and co-creation arrangements to negotiate proposal outcomes

• Experience working in a matrixed environment, mobilizing talent and resources internally from across divisions to develop time sensitive proposals

• Demonstrated experience managing and improving successful proposal development processes, including selection and management of consultants

• Strong management, team building, relational, interpersonal and communication abilities and skills

• Results-oriented mindset and a willingness to be hands-on with a high attention to detail

• Strong organizational skills with the proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously

• Strong cross-cultural skills with a proven ability to contribute to a positive team atmosphere and collaborative organizational culture

• Commitment to addressing North-South power imbalances

• Willingness and availability for domestic and international travel

• English fluency required. Fluency in French and/or Spanish is considered an asset.

• Appreciation and support of MEDA’s mission, vision and values

How to Apply

All correspondence, at this stage, should be via Oxford HR. To apply for this post, click on the “Apply” button on the job advert page, complete our online application form, and submit your CV and cover letter in two different documents, which should be prepared before applying as they will be considered in the application process. The cover letter should be no more than two pages long and explain why you are interested in this post and how your skills and experience make you a good fit. The documents should be saved in MS Word in the following format: Your First Name-Your Last Name-Document Name-Date (mmyy) e.g., PatJones-CV-022023-MEDA.

Timeline

Interviews will be conducted on a rolling basis.

Selection Process

All candidates will receive an update regarding their application after the closing date. We advise candidates to add the role email to their safe senders list and regularly check their spam folder.

Equality Statement

MEDA is committed to fostering and cultivating a culture of diversity, inclusion and belonging and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We encourage applications from Indigenous peoples, racialized people, people with disabilities, people from gender and sexually diverse communities and/or people with intersectional identities.

Queries

If you have any queries on any aspect of the appointment process, need additional information, or would like to have an informal discussion, please email at meda@oxfordhr.co.uk in the first instance.

About Oxford HR

Oxford HR operates globally - mainly within the international development and social-profit sectors. We carry out retained executive search mandates at board and senior management levels. We also offer human resource and organisational development consultancy.

Oxford HR has many years of experience in search as well as an extensive network of international development, social sector, corporate, public sector, and academic contacts from across the world. We carry out comprehensive and often international searches designed to meet the specific needs of our client.