Business Development Officer Full Time

Executive Summary
A Business Development Officer (BDO) in a public–private organization working on law, policy, and technology research should be designed as a strategic partnerships and resource mobilization role, not merely a sales role. Evidence from the OECD’s guidance on public-private partnership (PPP) governance, the World Bank’s partnership framework, UNESCO’s partnership model, and recent business development job descriptions in policy, workforce, and think-tank settings shows that the role must combine stakeholder management, funding strategy, proposal development, research-market intelligence, legal/compliance awareness, and cross-sector relationship building.
For a law-policy-technology research institution, the BDO should therefore be responsible for: identifying collaboration and revenue opportunities; developing partnerships with government, industry, academia, donors, and civil society; converting research strengths into funded programs, advisory engagements, and strategic alliances; and ensuring these engagements align with public value, transparency, and ethical governance. This aligns with OECD principles that stress clear institutional roles, stakeholder engagement, value-for-money, and budget transparency, and with the World Bank/UNESCO emphasis on collaboration as a mechanism to mobilize resources, shape policy, share knowledge, and create innovation.

Position Definition-

• Position Title: Business Development Officer
• Function: Strategic Partnerships, Resource Mobilization, and Institutional Growth
• Role Level & Reporting: Mid-senior to senior professional role, depending on revenue responsibility and external representation mandate. The Business Development Officer should ideally report to the Director/Head of Strategy, Partnerships, Corporate Affairs, or Executive Director/CEO, depending on organizational size and maturity. The role should work closely with research leads, legal counsel, finance, procurement, communications, and program management teams because effective public-private business development depends on clear institutional roles, accountability, and coordinated decision-making.
• Role Purpose: The Business Development Officer will lead the identification, development, and conversion of opportunities that strengthen the organization’s research impact, revenue base, and strategic partnerships across the fields of law, public policy, and technology. The role will support institutional growth by building collaborations with government agencies, private sector entities, multilateral organizations, philanthropies, academic institutions, and civil society actors, while ensuring that all engagements align with the organization’s mission, governance obligations, and public-interest mandate.

Criticality of the Role in a Law–Policy–Technology Research Organization-
Organizations operating at the intersection of law, policy, and technology often work in environments where funding, regulation, ethics, innovation, and public accountability are tightly connected. OECD guidance notes that public-private initiatives require clear mandates, legal and regulatory clarity, procurement integrity, and strong institutional capacity; the World Bank similarly frames partnerships as vehicles for knowledge generation, policy shaping, and resource mobilization; and UNESCO explicitly describes partnerships as a way to change policies, mobilize resources, share knowledge, and create innovation.
Accordingly, the BDO should not be treated as a conventional sales executive. Instead, the role should be positioned as an institutional architect of partnerships, able to translate research strengths into funded projects, advisory mandates, collaborative platforms, strategic alliances, and thought-leadership opportunities. Real-world policy and development roles also show that the officer must be comfortable with proposal development, donor pipelines, stakeholder briefings, bid/no-bid assessments, contract support, and high-level external engagement.

Recommended Detailed Job Description-
A. Role Summary
The Business Development Officer is responsible for driving sustainable institutional growth through partnership development, opportunity identification, proposal design, stakeholder engagement, and strategic revenue generation. The position serves as a bridge between the organization’s research teams and external partners, ensuring that the institution’s expertise in law, policy, and technology is translated into funded programs, collaborative initiatives, policy advisory services, events, and innovation platforms.
B. Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Identify and evaluate new business opportunities, including grants, commissioned research, policy advisory engagements, capacity-building assignments, consortium bids, sponsorships, and strategic alliances.
• Develop and implement an annual business development strategy aligned with the organization’s thematic priorities in law, policy, and technology.
• Conduct market and ecosystem intelligence to track funding trends, policy windows, technology shifts, donor priorities, and competitor activity.

2. Partnership Development and External Relations

• Build and maintain trusted relationships with government ministries, regulators, public bodies, private companies, industry associations, think tanks, universities, foundations, and multilateral agencies.
• Serve as a liaison for high-value partnerships and collaboration discussions, including MoUs, joint programs, co-funded research, and convenings.
• Represent the organization in policy forums, donor meetings, roundtables, conferences, and stakeholder consultations.

3. Proposal Development and Resource Mobilization

• Lead or coordinate the preparation of concept notes, expressions of interest, grant proposals, partnership proposals, technical bids, and pitch presentations.
• Work with research, finance, legal, and program teams to develop technically strong, financially sound, and compliant submissions.
• Maintain a robust pipeline of prospects and manage the lifecycle from identification and qualification to cultivation, solicitation, negotiation, and stewardship.

4. Law, Policy, and Technology Portfolio Development

• Translate the organization’s expertise into externally relevant offerings such as policy research programs, legal/regulatory analysis, technology governance studies, responsible innovation frameworks, capacity-building modules, and convening platforms.
• Support the design of multi-stakeholder initiatives on topics such as digital governance, data policy, AI policy, intellectual property, cybersecurity regulation, public technology adoption, and innovation governance, where legally grounded and policy-sensitive collaboration is essential.
• Ensure that proposed engagements are consistent with public-interest values, research ethics, institutional mission, and the organization’s governance framework.

5. Government and Public-Sector Engagement

• Track relevant public-sector schemes, government missions, procurement opportunities, and institutional partnerships in areas linked to law, policy, and technology.
• Support engagement with public authorities on policy briefs, consultation responses, pilot collaborations, and public-interest innovation programs.
• Help align proposals and partnerships with applicable public governance principles, including transparency, affordability, accountability, and stakeholder consultation.

6. Contracting, Compliance, and Institutional Coordination

• Support negotiation and review of contracts, grant agreements, partnership agreements, and MoUs in coordination with legal and finance teams.
• Maintain records of leads, proposals, agreements, reporting obligations, and pipeline performance through CRM or institutional tracking systems.
• Coordinate internal debriefs, lessons learned, and partner feedback to improve future bids and partnerships.

7. Communications and Thought Leadership Support

• Collaborate with research and communications teams to prepare capability statements, partnership decks, donor briefs, event concepts, and dissemination plans.
• Position the organization’s work for visibility with funders, policymakers, industry, and knowledge networks through targeted outreach and stakeholder communication.

C. Core Competencies

• Strategic vision and opportunity assessment: ability to identify where research strengths meet market, policy, and funding demand.
• Partnership and stakeholder management: ability to cultivate trust across public, private, academic, and civil society actors.
• Proposal and grant development: ability to convert opportunities into persuasive, compliant submissions.
• Legal and governance literacy: understanding of contracts, institutional accountability, transparency, and public governance principles.
• Research and analytical capability: ability to synthesize complex policy, legal, market, and technology information into actionable business strategy.
• Communication and influence: capacity to brief senior leaders, negotiate with partners, and present the organization credibly in high-level forums.
• Cross-functional coordination: ability to work with researchers, finance, legal, communications, and leadership teams under deadline pressure.
• Relational and organizational competence: PPP and cross-sector research emphasizes that success depends not only on technical skills but also on organizational and behavioral capabilities.