Request for Proposals – Innovative Finance for Peace – Advisor at Interpeace

Request for Proposals

Innovative Finance for Peace – Advisor

About Interpeace

Interpeace is an international organization for peacebuilding. With over 25 years of experience, it has implemented a broad range of peacebuilding programmes in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Interpeace was officially recognized as an international entity by the Swiss Federal Council in 2018.

Interpeace tailors its approach to each society and ensures that its work is locally designed and driven. Through local partners and its own local teams, it jointly develops peacebuilding programmes based on extensive consultation and research. Interpeace helps establish processes of change that promote sustainable peace, social cohesion, and resilience. The organization’s work is designed to connect and promote understanding between local communities, civil society, governments, and the international community. Interpeace also assists the international community – especially the United Nations – to play a more effective role in peacebuilding, based on Interpeace’s expertise in field-based work at grassroots level. Interpeace achieves this primarily by contributing innovative thought leadership and fresh insights to contemporary peacebuilding policy. It also assists the international community through ‘peace responsiveness’ work, in which Interpeace provides advice and practical support to other international organizations (especially those in the security, development, and humanitarian aid sectors), enabling them to adapt their work systemically to simultaneously address conflict dynamics and strengthen peace dynamics. Interpeace is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has offices around the world.

Background

The need for new financing approaches for creating and sustaining peace is urgent. The number of conflicts is at an all-time high and global peacebuilding needs are greater than ever. Yet peacebuilding remains chronically underfunded and finance for peace is often inefficiently allocated. To address this challenge, Interpeace is working with various partners in the finance sector to develop new models, mechanisms and approaches that will incentivise both public and private investment in more peace responsive development action and peacebuilding.

Interpeace is seeking a consultant to help advance its new initiative/s on innovative finance for development and peacebuilding. Working with representatives of various partners from the finance sector, government donors and the peacebuilding sector, the consultant will develop a variety of research, communications material and proposal documents. S/he will also assist with partnership building across the finance and peacebuilding sectors. S/he will work with partners to develop technical knowledge and research on how to advance the broader market conditions for investment in peace and peace responsive development.

The consultant will work closely with the Interpeace President and under the direction of the Head of Research and Senior Peacebuilding Adviser. S/he will also work with partners from the finance sector that are advising Interpeace. The consultant will ideally have a combination of advanced practical knowledge and understanding of innovative finance for development, practical experience in the finance industry, as well as understanding of the international development and peacebuilding sectors. The initial envisaged term for the consultant is for six months, with the possibility for extension.

Annex 1 Terms of Reference

Subject: Innovative Finance for Peace – Advisor

Background

The need for new financing approaches for creating and sustaining peace is urgent. The number of conflicts is at an all-time high and global peacebuilding needs are greater than ever. Yet peacebuilding remains chronically underfunded and finance for peace is often inefficiently allocated. To address this challenge, Interpeace is working with various partners in the finance sector to develop new models, mechanisms and approaches that will incentivise both public and private investment in more peace responsive development action and peacebuilding.

Interpeace is seeking a consultant to help advance its new initiative/s on innovative finance for development and peacebuilding. Working with representatives of various partners from the finance sector, government donors and the peacebuilding sector, the consultant will develop a variety of research, communications material and proposal documents. S/he will also assist with partnership building across the finance and peacebuilding sectors. S/he will work with partners to develop technical knowledge and research on how to advance the broader market conditions for investment in peace and peace responsive development. The work will be for an initial phase of an estimated 60 days.

The consultant will work closely with the Interpeace President and under the direction of the Head of Research and Senior Peacebuilding Adviser. S/he will also work with partners from the finance sector that are advising Interpeace. The consultant will ideally have a combination of advanced practical knowledge and understanding of innovative finance for development, practical experience in the finance industry, as well as understanding of the international development and peacebuilding sectors. After the estimated 60 days of work in the initial phase, there will be the possibility for extension.

Reporting and Feedback

The consultant will report directly to the Interpeace Head of Research and Senior Peacebuilding Advisor and operate on a day-to-day basis through a working group consisting of the Interpeace President, The Vice President and external advisors to Interpeace. The consultant would ideally be located in Geneva.

Timeframe

Commence September; end January/February 2022. It is envisaged the 60 days could be completed at 60% over the course of five months with options for flexibility depending on workplan requirements.

Assignment and Objectives

The work will have several objectives in support of Interpeace’s agenda on innovative finance for peacebuilding and, in particular, its initiative on Finance for Peace. These include:

1. Work with partners and with Interpeace special advisors on financing for peace, to develop technical advice on blended finance options for peace. This may involve engaging with Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and donors, and provide advice on innovative options for blended structures.
2. Interpret and contribute to thematic research related to scoping market options for peace enhancing finance across different sectors in fragile and conflict affected settings.
3. Assist in development of communication materials relating to innovative peace-enhancing products, building on existing scoping research for different audiences including the finance sector, potential investors, philanthropic actors, government donors and the peacebuilding and development sector/s.
4. Contribute to resource mobilisation efforts by developing and refining proposal materials and presentations, and by accompanying Interpeace staff on stakeholder meetings ensuring appropriate follow-up.
5. Identify and support financial partnership building efforts with investors, DFIs, Government Donors and other SDG and sustainable investment communities.

Scope and outputs of the Assignment

The consultant will support the initiation phase of Interpeace’s work and be available for an approximate period of five months on a variable 60% to 100% (full-time) basis. S/he will report directly to the Head of Research and Senior Peacebuilding Advisor and coordinate an internal working group at Interpeace to advance this agenda of work. There will be multiple outputs from the work of the consultant including in particular, in approximate order of priority:

• Proposal development and Communications: leadership and technical advice/drafting for the preparation of pitch documents, proposals and other communication outputs to enable and advance the innovative finance for peace work of Interpeace.
• Research: Provide research and input on market potential of different potential thematic areas of investment for peace, reviewing development plans of multilateral agencies and developing countries, and contribute to parallel feasibility research being conducted on finance for peace vehicles.
• Partnership support: Work with the team to help build partnerships with key stakeholders including government donors, philanthropy, business and investment communities for innovative financial instruments.

Qualifications:

Candidates with the following qualifications are invited to apply:

• Experience in financial industry research (such as fixed income, asset management and sustainable investment sectors, including green, blue or social impact investments), or in a development bank, or significant experience in innovative finance or blended finance from a development or humanitarian perspective.
• Relevant networks in aforementioned sectors and ability to translate technical knowledge from these domains for different audiences, including to government and development and peacebuilding sectors.
• Active interest in development, peacebuilding, international relations and sustainable finance.