Overview
The Strategy Assistant will support the design and implementation of strategies that further Counterpart’s mission and sustainable organizational growth. This role is dynamic, fast paced, and covers a broad range of internal and external topics. This role will work closely with the Strategy Associate Director as well as cross-functional teams and provide research, administrative support, and analytics that help to identify opportunities and assess challenges that will help us plan for and achieve strategic goals and objectives. Approximately 20% of the role will focus on delivering research and analysis for Counterpart’s business development department, along with serving as proposal coordinator for a limited number of bids each year. In addition, the role will regularly collaborate with the following teams: Programs; Communications; and Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning.
To excel in this role, the Assistant will need analytical and problem-solving skills, strong communication, and the ability to balance competing priorities. Furthermore, the Assistant will benefit from a strong interest in the international development sector and its market trends.
Overall, the Assistant will contribute to shaping Counterpart’s future, ensuring that it remains successful in realizing its mission impact goals.
Responsibilities
Strategic planning
- Assist the annual planning process related to strategy workstreams, organizational goals and priorities.
- Support processes that enable successful multi-year strategic planning.
- Assist in the development of departmental and technical area sub-strategies and associated performance targets.
- Assist Associate Director Strategy and staff from multiple departments to adapt strategic plans based on strategic progress and learnings.
- Provide research, analysis, and administrative support to help guide strategic commitments that increase clarity of decisions, trade-offs, and impact on organizational resources.
Strategy measurement and reporting
- Coordinate strategy workstream Gantt chart and reporting process for quarterly organizational goals.
- Assist in supporting the monitoring and reporting of technical sub-strategies’ implementation plan progress.
- Assist Associate Director Strategy to maintain, improve, and enable staff engagement for strategic measurement and reporting on the Strategy Department’s intranet site.
Strategic initiatives and strategy implementation
- Conduct market research and analysis, identifying trends and opportunities relevant to Counterpart’s mission, strategy, and market environment.
- Coordinate one or more cross-functional working groups on cross-organizational strategic initiatives, such as localization and locally led development.
- Support Counterpart’s Local Partner Funding Metric initiative, a single dataset that captures all local partners receiving funding, funding amount, donor, technical sector, and impact goal.
- Participate in and report on donor, peer, competitor, and other sector events.
- Support internal communications related to strategy focus areas, successes, and lessons learned including the Strategy Department’s intranet site.
- Provide administrative support related to the strategy team’s activities and responsibility areas.
New Business Development
- Conduct competitive analysis and related research for proposal opportunities using the C4 methodology.
- Populate and keep updated the small business repository and the database of umbrella contract holders and their consortium members.
- Serve as proposal coordinator for a limited number of live and/or capture-stage bids.
Qualifications
Required
- Bachelor’s degree in international development, public policy, public management, business, or other relevant fields.
- 1-2 years of experience working in international development.
- Intermediate user of Microsoft Office software suite.
- Strong writing and formatting skills.
- Comfortable working and communicating in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
- Experience and ability to complete a varied workload supporting a wide range of projects and initiatives.
- Ability to simplify and structure responses to ambiguous challenges and opportunities.
- Strong interpersonal and teamwork skills, detail-oriented, self-motivated, and curious.
- English fluency.
Preferred
- Knowledge of and experience in the funding and competitive landscape of USAID, USDA, and/or State Department grants and contracts.
- Experience in business case development, financial modeling, scenario planning, and decision support frameworks.
- Written and spoken ability in French, Spanish, and/or Portuguese.
Annual Salary Range: $37,587- $48,863
Counterpart is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and does not discriminate in its selection and employment practices. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, age, or other legally protected characteristics. Military veterans, Ameri-Corps, Peace Corps, and other national service alumni are encouraged to apply.
Accessibility Notice: If you need reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process due to a physical or mental disability, please send an email to recruiting@counterpart.org. Please view Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity Posters provided by OFCCP here.
Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision: Counterpart will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant.
Only finalists will be contacted. No phone calls, please.