Job Title: Business Development Manager

Job type: Full-time employee

Location of Position: Brisbane/Melbourne/Canberra Australia

Reporting to: Co-CEO

Remuneration: $130,000-$139,000 + super

Citizenship: Right to work in Australia

Language Requirements: Fluent written and spoken English

Application Deadline: Nov 22, 2026

Application Instructions:

1. A cover letter is mandatory to be considered. Cover letters should effectively align your skills and experiences with the specific job responsibilities outlined in the position’s description, demonstrating your aptitude and enthusiasm for the role, and current availability.
2. Click the “Apply now” link to upload your cover letter and CV (Curriculum Vitae).
3. Only successful candidates will be contacted. No phone calls please.

Alinea is an international development consultancy providing technical and management expertise that helps people improve their lives. We work with governments, investors, companies, and communities to create lasting change. Over 38 years, Alinea has successfully delivered more than 1000 projects worldwide. alineainternational.com

Alinea International does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment and hiring process. All offers of employment or job opportunities with Alinea International that include any form of a request for payment of fees or collect information on bank accounts are fraudulent. Any requests for such payment or information should be refused and reported to your local law enforcement authorities for appropriate action and to Alinea International.

DEIAB Statement Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility and Belonging

At Alinea International we value diversity, equity, inclusivity, accessibility and belonging in everything we do. We are an equal prospect employer opposed to all forms of discrimination. We actively seek and encourage applications from people of diverse backgrounds recognizing that an inclusive workforce enriches our organization and achieves smarter, more innovative results.

Protection

Alinea is committed to the protection of children and vulnerable adults. Due to the nature of our work, all candidates will be subject to due diligence checks and extensive background checks where appropriate.

Project Description:

Alinea International has two distinct but connected business development streams: high-value, long-term projects and short-term consulting.

The Business Development

Manager is responsible for leading Alinea’s consulting business development function, with a focus on building and maintaining a strong consulting pipeline, coordinating high-quality proposal responses, supporting consultant utilisation, and helping the consulting team win meaningful, values-aligned work. Alinea’s consulting business delivers short-term advisory, research, evaluation, design, MEL, GEDSI, economics, climate, governance, humanitarian and international development services across Australia, Asia and the Pacific. Consulting opportunities are often smaller in value than major programs, but higher in volume, and require disciplined opportunity selection, fast mobilisation of teams, strong writing, close coordination and a practical, solutions-focused approach.

About the work:

This is both a leadership role and a doing role.

The Business Development

Manager will be expected to write, edit and strengthen proposal content, not simply coordinate inputs from others. They will create momentum, solve problems, and help make the consulting business development process work smoothly for consultants, clients and internal teams. The role is accountable for ensuring that consultants are well supported and are not left carrying the burden of proposal development, and that Alinea’s consulting proposals are clear, compelling, compliant and submitted on time. Nubmer of proposals submitted per week can range between 1 and 5.

The Business Development Manager will work as part of one integrated Alinea BD team, alongside the Co-CEO responsible for Business Development, and 2 BD Coordinators, one focussed on project BD and one focussed on Consulting BD. While each Coordinator will have a primary focus area,



both coordinators will be expected to support each other and provide cover when needed, particularly during leave, surge periods or major deadlines.

The Role:

Tasks and Responsibilities:

1. Consulting Business Development Leadership and Pipeline Management

- Lead the consulting business development function, ensuring Alinea has a clear, current and well-prioritised pipeline of consulting opportunities.
- Identify, track and assess consulting opportunities across DFAT, other bilateral and multilateral donors, Australian Government departments, universities, NGOs, regional organisations, managing contractors and other institutional clients.
- Lead opportunity qualification and bid/no-bid processes for consulting opportunities, ensuring decisions are timely, commercially sound and aligned with Alinea’s strategy, values, technical capability and consultant availability.
- Maintain oversight of the consulting BD pipeline, including upcoming opportunities, live bids, submitted proposals, outcomes, follow-up actions and lessons learned.
- Provide clear advice to the Executive on pipeline priorities, risks, resourcing pressures and opportunities requiring senior engagement.
- Help translate Alinea’s consulting strategy into practical BD priorities, including target clients, technical areas, geographies, partners and consultant capability gaps.
- Build a rhythm of consulting BD meetings, pipeline reviews and follow-up processes that keeps the team focused, organised and accountable.

2. Proposal Leadership, Writing, Compliance and Bid Management

- Lead consulting proposal processes from opportunity assessment through to submission, ensuring proposals are well planned, well written, compliant and delivered on time.
- Take responsibility for driving proposal momentum, including setting timelines, allocating tasks, coordinating inputs, managing version control and ensuring deadlines are met.
- Analyse client requirements and ensure proposals respond directly to the scope, evaluation criteria, formatting requirements, pricing instructions, submission rules and contractual or eligibility requirements.
- Ensure bid compliance across all consulting submissions, including checking mandatory forms, response schedules, page limits, formatting requirements, insurance or corporate documentation, personnel requirements, declarations, conflict of interest requirements, pricing instructions and lodgement rules.
- Draft substantial sections of consulting proposals, including project understanding, methodology, management approach, personnel summaries, capability statements, past performance, value for money, GEDSI, MEL, risk and innovation sections – for review by technical experts.
- Work with consultants and technical leads to translate technical ideas into clear, persuasive and client-focused proposal content.
- Ensure consultants are supported through the proposal process and are not unnecessarily carrying administrative, formatting, compliance or general writing tasks that sit within the BD function.
- Coordinate pricing inputs with technical staff and the CFO, ensuring budgets are realistic, competitive and aligned with Alinea’s commercial expectations.
- Ensure final submissions are polished, qualified and compliant with client requirements.

3. Consulting Team Coordination and Performance

- Help make the consulting BD function work smoothly, efficiently and positively for Alinea’s consultants and internal teams.
- Coordinate internal consultants, external associates and partner organisations to form strong, credible and available proposal teams.
- Work proactively with consulting leads to understand consultant skills, availability, utilisation pressures, business development priorities and emerging areas of demand.
- Support a positive,



can-do and commercially aware consulting culture, where BD is seen as a shared responsibility with the consulting team, but is actively led and enabled by the BD function.
- Help ensure consulting opportunities are pursued with appropriate urgency, quality and discipline.

4. Management of the BD Coordinator – Consulting

- Directly manage, support and develop the Business Development Coordinator – Consulting.
- Oversee the Coordinator’s contribution to opportunity tracking, proposal administration, document preparation, consultant coordination, CV management, compliance checks and drafting.
- Provide practical supervision during busy proposal periods, including helping the Coordinator manage workload, deadlines and competing priorities.

5. Client, Partner and Consultant Engagement

- Liaise with clients about consulting opportunities where appropriate, including clarifying requirements, confirming submission details, following up on opportunities and supporting professional communication.
- Maintain records of client, partner and consultant engagement to support continuity and future opportunity development.

6. Knowledge Management and Continuous Improvement

- Lead the development and maintenance of high-quality consulting BD resources, including templates, boilerplate text, CVs, case studies, project summaries, capability statements and past performance examples.
- Ensure Alinea has a well-organised, accessible and up-to-date library of consulting proposal content and supporting materials.
- Improve consulting BD systems and processes so they are practical, effective and fit for a high-volume consulting environment.
- For strategic opportunities, lead post-bid reviews and ensure lessons learned are captured and used to improve future submissions.
- Track proposal outcomes, win rates, client feedback and other BD performance indicators to inform decision-making and continuous improvement.

Required Qualifications:

Key Requirements

- Demonstrated experience in business development, proposal management, consulting practice support, or a related role.
- Strong understanding of consulting business development, including the need to balance quality, speed, commercial judgement and consultant utilisation.
- Excellent written communication skills, with demonstrated ability to write persuasive, structured and client-focused proposal content.
- Strong coordination and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple deadlines, contributors and submissions at once.
- Demonstrated ability to lead proposal processes and bring structure, pace and quality to complex or time-sensitive bids.
- Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively with consultants, senior leaders, clients, partners and early-career staff.
- Ability to manage and develop an early-career team member.
- Sound commercial judgement, including ability to assess opportunity fit, competitiveness, value, margin, team availability and strategic relevance.
- High attention to detail and commitment to producing polished, compliant and professional submissions.
- A proactive, practical and can-do approach, with the ability to lean in, solve problems and create momentum.
- Ability to work collaboratively as part of one integrated BD team across consulting and high-value project streams.
- Commitment to Alinea’s values, including quality, inclusion, respectful partnerships, ethical business practice and sustainable development impact.

Desirable Experience Candidates who can demonstrate one or more of the following will be well regarded:

- Experience managing a high-volume proposal pipeline.
- Experience working in or supporting a consulting practice, including consultant utilisation, client responsiveness, proposal quality or practice coordination.
- Experience working with DFAT, other bilateral or multilateral donors, Australian Government departments, universities, NGOs or managing contractors.
- Experience developing BD systems, templates, collateral, capability statements or knowledge libraries.
- Understanding of procurement processes, including RFTs, RFQs, EOIs, panels and standing offer arrangements.

📌 Business Development Manager – Brisbane/Melbourne/Canberra Australia
🏢 Alinea International
📍 Australia