Head of New Business - Americas

Focus of the Role

We don’t just talk, we do. Lead the change with us.

At the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, we work with political leaders around the world to drive change. We help governments turn bold ideas into reality so they can deliver for their people. We do it by advising on strategy, policy and delivery, unlocking the power of technology across all three. And by sharing what we learn on the ground, so everyone can benefit. We do it to build more open, inclusive and prosperous countries for people everywhere. 

We are a global team of nearly 800 changemakers, operating in more than 30 countries, across five continents. We are political strategists, policy experts, delivery practitioners, technology specialists and more. We speak more than 45 languages. We are working on over 100 projects, tackling some of the world’s biggest challenges. We’re all here at TBI to make a difference. 

In a world of ever more complex challenges, we believe diversity of background and perspective is a strength. We pride ourselves on a culture that values and nurtures difference. We are dedicated to unlocking potential, not only for the countries we work in but also for each of our team members. No matter where you’re from or who you are, if you’re passionate about the transformative power of progressive politics, we invite you to build a better future with us.

Job Introduction

The Global New Business (GNB) team at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) is responsible for generating leads and upstream engagement in the pipeline in support of the wider Business Development & Income (BD&I) agenda for the Institute. This role will establish the Americas section of GNB including shaping and executing a new strategy to reach funders from bilateral, multilateral agencies as well as large foundations in the region whilst supporting the commercialisation strategy in close collaboration with GNB and regional leadership. As such, this is an exciting time to join the team.

The Head, New Business Americas is responsible for developing, accelerating, and maintaining a strategy-based portfolio pipeline of diversified funding, with the expectation to achieve a firm portfolio of qualified opportunities within year one. The core aspects of this role include taking a regional approach to lead generation and fostering key strategic relationships with both donors and partners in the region. This includes preparing donor engagement strategies and building a institutional donor pipeline of forecasted opportunities that align with TBI’s regional footprint and programming. The Head of New Business will also lead cross-functional teams towards funder engagement, manage existing and develop new relationships, and evaluate institute goals against the external market.

Critically, they will transform relationships within a target portfolio from transactional revenue sources into strategic revenue partners. This will include working with GNB leadership to shape a portfolio that reflects the needs of clients in the region, the Institute’s ambitions, and value proposition. This role will require and individual who is a natural problem solver and deal closer with ability to shape up and lead a team to successfully build TBI’s institutional revenue stream in the Americas.

This role will be based in Washington DC, and will closely collaborate with the GNB Director to ensure geographical alignment and strategic delivery. The role sits within the Business Development & Income Division of TBI, part of the wider strategy & Partnerships group (S&P). S&P is one of three external facing business critical departments, the other two being: Policy & Politics, and Global Government Advisory. The S&P group leads and oversees the the Institute’s strategic direction and growth, with specific responsibility for futureproofing growth, developing scalable partnerships, innovating in tech and secure financial resources to measurably advance the Institute’s operational goals and drive sustainable impact. The role reports to the Director, Global New Business and has people and budgetary responsibility.

Key Responsibilities

Revenue

• Develop and execute a strategy that’s relevant to the region and value proposition
• Develop and maintain a portfolio of funders/clients in line with agreed targets
• Directly and in time, through others; deploy engagement management structures to maximise revenue from the portfolio for the region and Institute
• Collaborate with others including regional teams, Strategy & Partnerships as well as others to ensure appropriate collateral including proposals and capabilities; are effectively communicated to targets
• Ensure a healthy and ambitious pipeline is maintained above target and in line with ambitions for the region
• Develop thorough knowledge of team’s needs to provide proactive, efficient, and expedient resources and support

Leadership

• Work with colleagues across the BD&I and Business Operations teams to support the internal reporting cadence of progress toward targets and metrics for the region
• Collaborate with the central business intelligence until and project teams to maintain and update horizon scanning, opportunity capture and general trends to inform strategies.
• Manage and oversee additional revenue related projects as they arise and are identified by team members
• Closely collaborate with the other regional Heads of New Business and New Business Managers for the generation of collateral to inform proposals and contract management.
• Grow the team to reflect resource needs for a successful operation in line with portfolio growth; ensure a highly engaged and performing team

Administration

• Work closely with all teams within BD&I to maintain database integrity and perform routine prospect data clean-up
• Track revenue activities in TBI’s CRM database for all stages of opportunities within the Americas pipeline

Person Specification

The ideal candidate should have broad and comprehensive years of frontline business development related experience, preferably at a consultancy, international non-profit or in a relationship management role, and a Bachelor’s or advanced degree from an accredited college or university. A commercial mindset will be essential for this role. Strong knowledge of and senior-level networks with USAID, FCDO, US Department of State, IDB, global foundations, and implementation partners in the region will be important as will a track record of successful lead generation translating into large scale multi-million dollar programmes. Team leadership and general management skills will be essential for future ambitions.

We seek a strong relationship manager who can influence partnerships, and has have intellectual curiosity who will truly understand the work and can speak to it fluently.  With confidence on their people management skills, can run a team of engagement managers to deliver against targets and account development

We seek a detail-orientated and agile colleague, who exhibits exceptional judgement, strong interpersonal skills, and the ability to work collaboratively with colleagues around the globe. Exceptional written and verbal communications skills, strong presentation skills and a high degree of professionalism are essential, as we interact and engage with high-level staff, funders/clients, and sensitive information.

An interest in international development, politics, and global affairs is strongly recommended.

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