Job Description

Job Purpose

– The Business Development & Project Planning Expert is responsible for identifying, evaluating, structuring, and planning strategic business and investment opportunities across the Group and converting them into well-defined, commercially viable, financially sound, and implementation-ready projects. The position will support the Corporate PMO in the development of project concepts, feasibility studies, business cases, investment proposals, financial models, project implementation strategies, budgets, schedules, and management decision papers.

Job opportunities at The Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA), Ethiopia
12 minutes ago

Key Responsibilities

Business Development & Opportunity Identification

Identify and assess new business, investment, expansion, diversification, and strategic partnership opportunities aligned with the Group’s strategy.
Conduct preliminary market, industry, competitor, customer, supplier, and investment opportunity assessments. ▪ Develop and maintain a pipeline of potential strategic projects and investment opportunities.
Evaluate business opportunities based on commercial attractiveness, strategic fit, investment requirements, risks, returns, and implementation feasibility.
Support the development of new business concepts and investment propositions. ▪ Coordinate with business units to identify opportunities for expansion, optimization, integration, and value creation.
Prepare preliminary opportunity assessments and recommendations for management consideration.
Support strategic partnership, joint venture, technology transfer, and investment opportunity assessments where required.

Project Concept Development & Planning

Translate approved business opportunities into structured project concepts.
Develop project concept notes, project charters, preliminary scopes, objectives, deliverables, assumptions, and implementation approaches.
Define project requirements, major work packages, milestones, dependencies, resources, and critical success factors.
Develop high-level project implementation strategies and roadmaps. ▪ Prepare preliminary project schedules and implementation plans.
Establish project planning assumptions, constraints, risks, and dependencies.
Ensure project concepts are sufficiently developed before progressing through the CPMO Stage Gate process.

Feasibility Study & Business Case Development

Coordinate and/or prepare pre-feasibility and feasibility studies for strategic projects. ▪ Conduct commercial, technical, operational, financial, and economic assessments.
Develop comprehensive business cases for proposed projects.
Assess project alternatives and recommend the most viable option.
Develop project investment requirements, operating assumptions, revenue projections, operating costs, and cash-flow requirements.
Conduct sensitivity and scenario analysis. ▪ Assess key project risks and their potential impact on project viability.
Coordinate with technical, finance, procurement, legal, commercial, and operational teams to ensure completeness of feasibility studies.
Review consultant-prepared feasibility studies and provide technical/business comments and recommendations.

Financial & Investment Analysis

Develop and/or review project financial models.
Prepare CAPEX and OPEX estimates in coordination with relevant technical and finance teams.
Analyze project profitability, cash flow, payback period, NPV, IRR, ROI, and other relevant investment indicators.
Assess financing requirements and potential financing structures.
Support preparation of bankable project proposals for commercial banks, development finance institutions, investors, and strategic partners.
Evaluate project financing assumptions, debt/equity structures, repayment capacity, and financial sensitivities.
Identify financial gaps and recommend appropriate financing strategies. ▪ Support management in investment decision-making through robust financial and commercial analysis.

Project Budgeting & Cost Planning

Develop preliminary and detailed project budgets in coordination with project teams.
Establish cost structures and cost breakdowns for proposed projects.
Review project cost estimates, quotations, supplier proposals, and major cost assumptions.
Conduct cost benchmarking and reasonableness assessments where applicable. ▪ Establish project cost baselines and planning assumptions.
Identify major cost drivers and opportunities for cost optimization. ▪ Support value engineering and cost optimization initiatives during project development.
Ensure alignment between project scope, budget, schedule, and expected business benefits.

Project Scheduling & Implementation Planning

Develop integrated project implementation schedules covering major project phases.
Establish milestones, critical activities, dependencies, and project completion targets.
Develop Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) for major projects.
Support development of resource-loaded schedules where appropriate.
Identify critical path activities and potential schedule risks. ▪ Develop project mobilization and implementation strategies.
Support project teams in establishing realistic baseline schedules.
Monitor planning assumptions and recommend corrective actions when project plans deviate from approved objectives.

CPMO Stage-Gate & Project Governance Support

Support the CPMO in applying the Group’s Project Governance Framework and Stage-Gate process.
Prepare project documentation required for concept approval, feasibility approval, investment approval, implementation approval, and project closure.
Ensure projects meet required documentation and decision criteria before progressing to the next stage.
Maintain a structured pipeline of projects at different development stages.
Support project prioritization based on strategic importance, financial attractiveness, risk, urgency, and resource requirements.
Prepare management dashboards and reports on project development status. ▪ Identify projects that require escalation, additional analysis, restructuring, or management intervention.

Market Research & Commercial Analysis

Conduct market research and industry analysis for proposed projects.
Assess market demand, supply, pricing, competitors, customer segments, and market trends.
Develop market sizing and demand forecasts.
Evaluate commercial assumptions used in project feasibility studies.
Identify market risks and opportunities affecting project viability.
Support development of commercial strategies, pricing assumptions, sales projections, and go to-market approaches.

Stakeholder & Cross-Functional Coordination

Coordinate with Group business units, Finance, Procurement/Supply Chain, Engineering, Construction, Legal, HR, Operations, and other relevant functions.
Coordinate external consultants, technical experts, financial advisors, suppliers, investors, banks, and other stakeholders as assigned.
Facilitate project development workshops and planning sessions.
Ensure timely collection, validation, and consolidation of information required for project development.
Maintain clear communication and documentation throughout the project development cycle. J. Management Reporting & Decision Support
Prepare executive-level project proposals, investment papers, business cases, presentations, and decision memos.
Provide management with concise analysis of project opportunities, risks, costs, returns, and implementation requirements.
Prepare periodic reports on the strategic project pipeline. ▪ Develop project development dashboards and KPIs.
Highlight critical decisions, risks, assumptions, gaps, and required management actions.
Support the CPMO in preparing materials for Executive Management and Board-level reviews.

Key Deliverables

The position will be expected to produce or coordinate the following:

Business Opportunity Assessment Reports
Project Concept Notes
Project Charters
Pre-Feasibility Studies
Feasibility Study Review Reports
Bankable Business Cases
Project Financial Models
CAPEX/OPEX Estimates
Investment Appraisal Reports
Project Implementation Plans
Project Master Schedules
Work Breakdown Structures (WBS)
Project Risk Assessments
Investment & Financing Proposals
Project Stage-Gate Documentation
Strategic Project Pipeline Reports
Executive Management Presentations
Project Development Dashboards
Project Cost and Schedule Analysis
Recommendations for project approval, modification, prioritization, or rejection

Qualification and Skills:

Education:

Minimum: Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Economics, Finance, Project Management, Engineering, or a related field.
Preferred: Master’s Degree in Business Administration, Project Management, Finance, Economics, Engineering Management, or a related discipline.

Professional Certifications

Relevant professional certification is an advantage but not mandatory where equivalent practical experience is demonstrated.

Required Experience

Minimum 8 years of relevant professional experience, preferably in business development, investment analysis, project development & appraisal, project planning, feasibility studies, consulting, project finance, or corporate planning.
Demonstrated experience in developing or evaluating investment/business projects.
Experience preparing bankable business cases and financial models. ▪ Experience in project planning, budgeting, scheduling, and implementation strategy.
Experience coordinating multidisciplinary teams is highly desirable. ▪ Experience working with banks, DFIs, investors, consultants, or major suppliers is an advantage.
Experience in an integrated industrial, agricultural, construction, manufacturing, real estate, infrastructure, or other capital-intensive projects is highly desirable.

Technical Competencies & Software Skills

The candidate should demonstrate strong practical capability in:
Business development
Investment analysis
Project development & appraisal
Feasibility study preparation and review
Business case development
Financial modeling
Project finance
CAPEX/OPEX planning
Project budgeting
Project scheduling
WBS development
Risk analysis
Market analysis
Cost-benefit analysis
Scenario and sensitivity analysis
Project governance
Stage-Gate processes
Management reporting
Strategic planning

Skills:-

Strategic thinking and commercial acumen
Strong analytical and problem-solving capability
Excellent financial and numerical skills
Strong project planning capability
Business-oriented mindset
Attention to detail and accuracy
Strong report-writing capability
Excellent communication and presentation skills
Stakeholder management skills
Negotiation and influencing skills
Ability to work across multiple business units
Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities
Strong follow-up and accountability
Ability to challenge assumptions constructively
Ability to work independently with limited supervision
High integrity and professional judgment
Results-oriented approach

Required Skills

Project management
Project planning
Good project management knowledge.
Attention to detail and strong administrative skills.
Construction project management
Ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines
Development Studies, Project Management, Economics, Business Administration,
Project Costing

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