Pact is an international nonprofit that works in nearly 40 countries building solutions for human development that are evidence-based, data-driven and owned by the communities we serve. Founded in 1971, Pact works with partners to build resilience, improve accountability, and strengthen knowledge and skills for sustainable social impact.

Private Sector Engagement (PSE) – Pact’s Private Sector Engagement (PSE) team leads and supports the development of partnerships with private sector entities, including corporations and foundations. PSE works with technical leads and country office staff across Pact to develop and shepherd project opportunities and design from positioning to successful project implementation. The PSE team also provides innovative private sector engagement technical assistance to our projects and partners. The PSE team is part of a larger Business Development team and collaborates with business development colleagues focused on work with public sector funders.

The Senior Director, Private Sector Engagement, plays a leadership role in working with the private sector to identify, develop, and secure opportunities for Pact. This includes building Pact’s nascent consulting practice. The incumbent will lead on developing new partnerships and expanding existing ones. They will regularly attend external events to make connections and represent Pact’s work. Pact has a growing consulting business, which works closely with corporate entities to audit supply chains, build sustainability programs, enhance renewable energy, and work with local leaders to build programs that improve livelihoods. Pact also provides strategic consulting services to local organizations, primarily in Africa, to help them achieve impact and create long-term business value.

The ideal candidate will come with a robust network of relationships in the private sector to inform their nuanced understanding of international client and industry trends and the competitive landscape. They will bring positive energy, resilience, detail orientation, and a self-driven attitude to this dynamic work environment. The Senior Director will supervise three staff members and report to the Senior Vice President of Business Development. Together with the Senior Directors of Public Sector Business Development and Pricing & Costing, they will form the Business Development leadership team.

New business: Working with colleagues across the organization, cultivate, solicit, and steward support from corporations and foundations to meet annual sign-on targets. This includes articulating Pact’s value proposition and programs, researching and listening to corporation and foundation needs, aligning our offerings, and submitting high quality, compliant, on-time concept notes and proposals. The incumbent will transition small-scale or one-off relationships into larger, more impactful global alliances. They will oversee a due diligence process for new funders. They will quality assure the opportunity development process for all private sector engagement bids. They will personally manage large, strategic new business opportunities.

Consulting practice: Together with the Senior Vice President of Business Development and Programs Department colleagues, build Pact’s nascent consulting practice. This will include packaging and pricing consulting products and developing a go-to-market strategy. It will also include identifying and understanding organizational hurdles to growing the consulting practice and making recommendations to the Senior Vice President for resolution. The incumbent will play a key role in marketing consulting products and closing deals with private sector entities.

Thought leadership and technical assistance: Serve as an in-house expert on PSE, providing guidance and advice to technical teams during project development and implementation to assure that Pact is adhering to industry best practices and innovating where possible. The incumbent will be a PSE thought leader within Pact, making use of existing internal communications and representing Pact at industry events and conferences.

Team leadership: Manage, mentor, and motivate a team of three business development professionals, ensuring their ongoing professional growth and development; steward the unit’s operating budget.

Other responsibilities: Engage collaboratively across departments to support on-going organizational improvement initiatives, organizing communities of practice and training opportunities, and inculcating the ethos that new business is everyone’s business. Most importantly, the incumbent will model Pact’s values of Respect, Integrity, and Inclusion.

All other duties as assigned.

• Bachelor’s Degree and 13 years of experience or Master’s Degree and 11 years of experience
• 6 years of management experience.
• Established record of winning new work from private sector entities
• Understanding of current funder and industry trends for private sector engagement and the overall competitive landscape
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English, including an ability to effectively present complex ideas to diverse audiences
• Extensive, established network of professional relationships in the private sector
• Strong negotiation skills

• Ability to be based out of Pact’s Washington DC office
• Prior experience working in the private sector
• Experience living or working outside of the United States
• Business proficiency in Spanish or French