Business Development Advisor (80-100%)

Swisscontact ist eine unabhängige, gemeinnützige Entwicklungsorganisation, die 1959 aus der Schweizer Privatwirtschaft und Zivilgesellschaft hervorging. In unserer Entwicklungsarbeit fördern wir auf Basis privater Initiative eine nachhaltige wirtschaftliche Entwicklung sowie Wohlstand für alle in Entwicklungs- und Schwellenländern. Unter anderem stärken wir die Kompetenzen von Einzelpersonen sowie die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit von Unternehmen. Die Organisation ist derzeit mit rund 1100 Mitarbeitenden in über 130 Projekten in 41 Ländern aktiv. Der Hauptsitz befindet sich in Zürich, Schweiz.

The Acquisition team of the Global Office oversees Swisscontact’s global business development efforts. We provide strategic guidance and professional support to bid managers in regional and country offices, ensuring that new project proposals align with internal organizational criteria and donor requirements, and managing institutional risks. Additionally, we promote knowledge sharing across regions to strengthen our global project portfolio.

We are looking for a new team member by 1 February 2026 or upon agreement as Business Development Advisor (80-100%)

Tasks

• Monitor the global acquisition pipeline and provide strategic advice to the Regions.
• Assess financial and legal risks of pipeline projects, including financial viability.
• Advise to bid managers on requirements of key donors and overall bid strategy.
• Review and advice on financial offers and budget adjustments.
• Review and advice on donor and partner contracts according to legal and organizational criteria.
• Coordination of inputs from the various departments of the Global Office (e.g. Finance, Compliance, Operations, Executive Board) and the global team of thematic experts.
• As specialist for Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC, organize global exchanges on lessons learnt, and coach team members on SDC rules and regulations.
• Lead internal projects for the further development of tools relevant for Swisscontact’s business development (e.g. processes, guidelines, AI applications).

Requirements

• Master’s Degree in relevant fields (e.g. economics, business administration, political sciences, international management, law).
• Minimum 7 years of professional experience in project acquisition and applying to public tenders in the context of international development cooperation.
• Minimum 5 years of working with Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and other bilateral or private sector donors funding development cooperation projects. Experience with EU and SIDA is an advantage.
• Proven experience with budget and contract reviews and optimization.
• Excellent language skills in English (C1) and good language skills in French (B2) and/or Spanish (B2).
• Skilful use of Excel and good knowledge of the Microsoft 365 applications.
• Ability to prioritize under high workload/time pressure, to deliver qualitatively and quantitatively good results and to alternate between different tasks.
• Ability to work independently, very high reliability as well as performance and result orientation.
• Willingness, pleasure and ability to work in the team and with changing team constellations.
• Professional and goal-oriented communication skills in a multicultural context and with different target groups.

Swisscontact offers attractive working conditions in an international and multicultural context. We see our work as a joint effort in an agile organizational culture: mutual respect, trust and teamwork.

We look forward to receiving your online application with the following documents in English: letter of motivation, curriculum vitae, diplomas and references. Please apply exclusively via the online application portal. For further information please visit www.swisscontact.org.