Business Development Associate – Côte d’ivoire (Full time)

About ESPartners

ESPartners (Entrepreneurial Solutions Partners) is a leading consultancy founded in 2010 in Washington DC, dedicated to fostering sustainable enterprise development across Africa. With regional offices in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) and Kigali (Rwanda), we serve West, Central, East, and Southern Africa.

Our mission is to empower African entrepreneurs with the tools for sustainable success. We deliver “Intelligent Capital™” – a unique combination of insights and funding – through two key practice areas:

• SCALE: Supporting entrepreneurs from ideation to acceleration, with access to diverse financing solutions
• INSIGHTS: Providing innovative consulting services for sustainable development through value chain optimization and business strategy

ESPartners has four core values expressed via P.A.C.E.: Passion, Agility, Collaboration and Equity.

Position Overview

As a key senior member of the Growth Team, the Associate will collaborate with multiple senior management, practice leads and network partners to design and write high value winning proposals. The Business Development Associate supports ESPartners’ business and partnership development efforts. 

Specifically, the Associate will be expected to write a total of 7 programs proposals per year with a win rate of 30%. He/she will also perform quality control / compliance on proposals – Projects and programs.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead the development and submission of program proposals in close collaboration with Growth manager, practice leads and program managers;
• Conduct research on potential partners and ensure that ESPartners corporate capabilities, track records and team are presented in a way that matches each partner requirements (language, format);
• Reporting to the Growth Manager, serve as a focal point in the development of program proposals. Specifically, attend all briefings and meetings with potential partners;
• Lead the development of narratives, technical and financial proposals in line with ESPartners and partners’ objectives;
• Lead quality control and compliance on projects proposals prepared by analysts;
• Provide guidance to analysts and external proposal writers in proposal writing;

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in English, communications, international development, journalism, or related field. Postgraduate degree preferred;
• A minimum of 6 years of writing experience including at least 2 years in writing and substantive editing of international development–related proposals for clients such as USAID, World Bank, AfDB, major grant-giving philanthropic foundations;
• Love of writing and crafting clear language, with careful attention to detail and persuasive writing skills
• Ability to present technical ideas in a concise way that is relatively free of jargon;
• Good editing skills and advanced skills in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint 
• Ability to engage with technical experts, demonstrate critical thinking and use information to craft easily understood language;
• Ability to take in and process reviewers’ comments and other feedback and make sound decisions about when to ask questions.
• Flexibility, tact, and ability to work with diverse kinds of team members under tight deadlines;
• Self-motivated and capable of taking the initiative;
• Ability to quickly research and identify factual information from credible, recognized sources;
• Ability to perform well under pressure and in challenging environments;
• Professional proficiency in French and English;
• Good presentation skills and time and priority management;
• Commitment to ESPartners’ PACE values;
• A preference for candidates with AI chat prompt engineering experience or a willingness to learn.

We offer

• An opportunity to become part of a highly professional, motivated, and dynamic team. 
• A unique opportunity to have a strong impact in building the African entrepreneurial sector. 
• An entrepreneurial adventure to be lived daily. 
• An unparalleled personal and professional growth as our longer-term objective is to train / Help the next generation of entrepreneurs. 
• A structuring and expanding initiative. 
• Access to a high-level network 
• A good opportunity to challenge and grow with a competitive rewarding package. 

How to apply

Please send your CV, cover letter and two (02) references to the following email address, specifying the job title:

esptalent@espartners.co