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Technical Writer

Pact Washington, DC
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Job description

At the heart of Pact is the promise of a better tomorrow. A nonprofit international development organization founded in 1971, Pact works on the ground in nearly 40 countries to improve the lives of those who are challenged by poverty and marginalization. We serve these communities because we envision a world where everyone owns their future. To do this, we build systemic solutions in partnership with local organizations, businesses, and governments that create sustainable and resilient communities where those we serve are heard, capable, and vibrant. Pact is a recognized global leader in international development. Our staff have a range of expertise in areas including public health, capacity development, governance and civil society, natural resource management, poverty, fragile states, monitoring and evaluation, small-scale and artisanal mining, microfinance and more. This expertise is combined in Pact’s unique integrated approach, which focuses on systemic changes needed to improve people’s lives.

Department

Programs - Pact strives for a world where all people are heard, capable, and vibrant. The Programs Team helps realize this objective by bridging program management, technical support, and business development, enabling Pact to achieve its global strategy. We ensure program excellence through continuous learning, monitoring and evaluation and provide organizational and industry-wide thought leadership by leveraging a complementary set of cross-functional, multi-disciplinary skills, expertise, and experiences. The Programs team: influences progressive change through the development and implementation of global and regional strategies and business plans; supports advancement of innovative solutions; pursues new business opportunities; and drives effective internal and external engagement to maximize Pact’s impact across the globe. Across all aspects of its role, the Programs Department adheres to and promotes a culture of inclusion, accountability, and respect.

Position Overview

Technical Writers work with technical and country staff on proposals to public and private sector funders, primarily to US Government agencies. This position serves as lead writer for proposals in Pact’s governance and CD&I teams, in a wide range of country contexts. The Technical Writer will be responsible for developing responsive cross-sectoral proposals that are compliant with donor requirements, working with the Integrated Communications team to make narratives visually compelling. Technical Writers also support the development of materials for prepositioning, such as capacity statements, and contribute to thought leadership materials that influence stakeholders in the various technical areas. While reporting to the Governance Director, the Technical Writer is also a member of the cross-technical TWE team and takes part in TWE meetings and initiatives. This includes contributing to resource materials and trainings for the TWE team-led Technical Writing Community of Practice (TWCOP).

Key Responsibilities

  • Serve as lead writer for donor-funded proposals, mainly in the technical areas of governance and CD&I, in accordance with Pact and donor requirements.
  • Contribute to technical design sessions on proposal strategy, proactively facilitate development of win themes, and participate in discussions with potential partners.
  • Develop technical narratives by collecting and integrating contributions of technical sections from the organization’s technical specialists, partners, and consultants.
  • Participate in technical reviews and revise narrative sections according to the proposal calendar, based on written comments and feedback during review meetings.
  • Ensure responsiveness of technical documents and materials, in alignment with the compliance matrix, and technical proposal quality in line with the cost proposal.
  • Participate in TWCOP meetings and contribute technical writing best practices to TWCOP trainings and resources.
  • Contribute to setting best practices for proposal writing processes, standards, and templates.
  • Edit proposal technical and budget narratives, project reports, and other project documents as needed and as time and workload permit.
  • Provide technical assistance to ongoing projects as needed, support country staff to write small proposals, and mentor staff in proposal writing.
  • Uphold Pact’s core competencies of respect, inclusion, and integrity by helping to build an environment of accountability and learning, keeping work commitments and respecting colleagues’ time, listening to country team voices, and participating in performance reviews.

Basic Requirements

  • BA in international affairs, international development, communications, or similar field.
  • At least seven years of experience developing and writing successful proposals of more than US$2 million in international development or related field.
  • Familiarity with development topics, particularly governance, peacebuilding, community engagement, capacity development, innovation and economic strengthening.
  • Ability to collaborate with country office staff, work with a team under time pressure, and balance an occasionally heavy workload when faced with multiple proposals.
  • Ability to follow funding document instructions to organize and develop technical narratives, capacity statements, and draft project management sections.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Word, and familiarity with Excel, Outlook, OneDrive, and Teams.
  • Willingness to travel 20-40% time.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Master’s degree in development or a related field plus five years of experience.
  • Understanding of the international development landscape, including funders, implementing partners, and US Government structures.
  • Complementary experience with public funders such as US Government agencies, the UK FCDO, the EU, Global Affairs Canada, and private sector foundations.
  • Familiarity with development topics such as health, sustainable markets, artisanal mining, natural resource management, renewable energy, gender, or youth empowerment.
  • Experience in developing prepositioning documents, such as blog posts on technical topics.
  • Experience participating in and contributing to technical communities of practice.
  • Proficiency in a foreign language, preferably Spanish or French.

Pact is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in its selection and employment practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, citizenship status, genetic information, matriculation, family responsibilities, personal appearance, credit information, tobacco use (except in the workplace), membership in an employee organization, or other protected classifications or non-merit factors.

Salary range Not specified
Date posted 9th July 2021
Commitment Full-Time
Place of work Washington, DC
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