1. INSTITUTIONAL INFORMATION
Habitat for Humanity is an international non-profit organization with a global presence and a proven track record in providing housing solutions, community development, and strengthening local capacities. In the Northern Triangle, Habitat implements comprehensive programs that address access to adequate housing, climate resilience, social inclusion, access to basic services, public policy advocacy, and the sustainable improvement of livelihoods.
Vision : A world where everyone has a suitable place to live.
Mission: Habitat for Humanity calls people to build homes, communities and hope and thus show God’s love in action.
Mission Principles :
- Demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ.
- Focus on housing.
- Advocate for adequate housing.
- Promote dignity and hope.
- Supporting transformative and sustainable community development.
The Collaborative Technical Unit (CTU) is mandated to serve as a subregional technical hub in the Northern Triangle. Its role is to actively contribute to resource mobilization, as well as to increasing and diversifying sources of institutional funding, through the development of robust program agendas, high-value technical proposals, and a coherent positioning with donors, foundations, financial institutions, and other key stakeholders. The CTU also coordinates internal and external technical capacities, develops strategic program frameworks, supports institutional positioning with donors and strategic partners, and assists the national offices in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador in structuring larger-scale, higher-quality, and more impactful programs and projects. This consultancy falls directly within this subregional mandate.
2. CONTEXT AND JUSTIFICATION
The economic empowerment of vulnerable families is a critical component for ensuring the sustainability of housing solutions and the well-being of households and communities. Institutional experience demonstrates that access to adequate housing, without complementary strategies that contribute to improving family incomes from within the home (productive housing), such as income generation, decent employment, entrepreneurship, or financial inclusion, limits households’ capacity to maintain, improve, and benefit from these solutions.
In this context, Habitat seeks to structure economic empowerment as a new subregional programmatic area, aligned and integrated with housing, climate resilience, youth, and gender equity. Currently, efforts in this area vary across countries and projects. The lack of a common framework limits institutional positioning, the scalability of interventions, and the ability to attract strategic funding. Furthermore, strengthening economic empowerment is recognized as a key element in addressing structural causes that directly contribute to the growing housing deficit, such as income instability, irregular migration, gaps in access to education and health, unplanned urbanization, and limited influence of public policies related to housing and territorial development. This consultancy responds to the need for a clear vision, common methodologies, and a coherent programmatic portfolio at the subregional level to address these challenges systemically.
3. GENERAL OBJECTIVE OF THE CONSULTANCY
Design and co-build a Programmatic Action Framework Design for Housing and Productive Homes, as a vehicle for the Economic Empowerment of Habitat for Humanity in the Northern Triangle (Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador).
The framework must be fully aligned with the institutional strategy, explicitly integrated with the housing sector, and conceived as a practical tool to guide the formulation of programs, projects, operational methodologies, and capacity-building processes at the regional and national levels, contributing to addressing structural factors that affect the housing deficit and the socioeconomic vulnerability of households.
4. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
a) Critically analyze the current state of economic empowerment initiatives linked to Housing and Community Development within Habitat in the three countries, identifying strengths, gaps and opportunities for improvement.
b) Define a common conceptual and programmatic framework that establishes principles, approaches and expected results in economic empowerment.
c) Develop clear, replicable operational methodologies adaptable to different national contexts.
d) Design strategic project profiles that can be used for positioning and mobilizing resources.
e) Strengthen the technical capacities of national teams for the implementation of the programmatic framework.
5. SCOPE OF THE CONSULTANCY
The consultancy will be developed in five clearly differentiated, interrelated and sequential phases, aimed at ensuring not only the production of high-quality technical inputs, but also their institutional appropriation at the regional and national level.
Phase 1. Document review, internal interviews and institutional diagnosis
This phase will aim to generate an understanding of Habitat for Humanity’s institutional, programmatic, and operational context regarding economic empowerment and its link to housing. The consultant will conduct a comprehensive review of institutional strategic documents, existing programmatic frameworks, ongoing or recently completed projects, lessons learned, and relevant evaluations in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. They will also conduct semi-structured interviews with key staff from the UTC, Area Office (AO), and country offices, including programmatic, technical, and leadership teams, to identify current practices, approaches used, existing capacities, technical gaps, and opportunities for convergence between housing and economic empowerment. The diagnostic assessment will include a comparative analysis of the programmatic strengths, technical capacities, existing strategic alliances, and comparative advantages of each country in the Northern Triangle and the subregion, and will serve as the basis for designing the subregional programmatic framework.
Phase 2. Design of the programmatic action framework and theories of change
Based on the findings of Phase 1, the consultant will lead the design process for the Regional Programmatic Framework for Economic Empowerment. This phase will include defining the conceptual approach, guiding principles, expected outcomes, and strategic lines of intervention, ensuring explicit integration with the housing sector and other relevant programmatic areas such as climate resilience, youth, and gender equity. The consultant will develop one or more theories of change that clearly reflect how economic empowerment interventions contribute to sustainable outcomes in households and communities. The process will be participatory, incorporating feedback mechanisms with the UTC, OA, and country teams to ensure institutional coherence and operational feasibility.
Phase 3. Development of methodologies and operational tools
In this phase, the consultant will translate the programmatic framework into concrete operational methodologies that can be implemented by the teams in the three countries. This includes developing approaches, models, and practical tools related to, for example, income generation, employment, entrepreneurship, market access, financial services, strengthening productive capacities, and other economic empowerment mechanisms relevant to UN-Habitat’s mandate. The methodologies must be clear, replicable, adaptable to different territorial contexts, and aligned with existing institutional capacities. The deliverables of this phase are expected to go beyond conceptual guidelines and offer practical tools for daily use by the technical teams.
Phase 4. Development of project profiles and positioning guidelines
This phase will focus on strengthening institutional positioning and resource mobilization capacity. The consultant will develop strategic economic empowerment project profiles, with a regional focus and the potential for adaptation at the national level, reflecting the defined programmatic framework. Each profile must include clear objectives, intervention approach, target population, expected results, main components, and a preliminary cost rationale. Additionally, the consultant will propose positioning guidelines to guide the UTC and country teams on how to present and articulate economic empowerment to donors, strategic partners, and other key stakeholders, ensuring narrative and programmatic coherence.
Phase 5. Validation, training and institutional appropriation
The final phase will focus on ensuring the effective adoption of the programmatic framework and the developed tools. The consultant will facilitate validation processes with the UTC and the national offices, incorporating final feedback into the deliverables. The consultant will also design and deliver training sessions for the technical teams in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. These five-day, in-person training sessions will be held in each country and will focus on strengthening the understanding and practical application of the programmatic framework, methodologies, and project profiles. Habitat for Humanity will cover meal expenses during the workshops. The consultant will be responsible for their own travel, accommodation, and meal expenses. The objective of this phase is to build capacity that will enable the national teams to implement, adapt, and scale economic empowerment as a cross-cutting programmatic focus in their respective contexts.
6. EXPECTED PRODUCTS
The consultancy deliverables must reflect a high level of technical expertise and practical applicability. At a minimum, the following are expected: (i) a detailed work plan; (ii) a documented regional diagnosis; (iii) the Regional Programmatic Framework for Action; (iv) integrated theories of change for housing and economic empowerment; (v) documented operational methodologies; (vi) at least one subregional project profile and two national project profiles; (vii) training materials and records of the training processes; and (viii) a consolidated final report that systematizes lessons learned and recommendations.
7. METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH
The consultant must apply a participatory approach, based on principles of inclusive economic development and market systems. Priority will be given to co-creation with institutional teams, hands-on learning, contextual adaptation, and the generation of tools that can be used beyond the consultancy period. Exclusively theoretical or academic approaches are not expected.
8. CONSULTANT PROFILE
A consultant or consulting firm with proven senior experience in economic empowerment, livelihoods, or inclusive economic development is required, who meets at least the following criteria:
- Demonstrated technical experience in the design, implementation and/or evaluation of programs for economic empowerment, livelihoods, employment, entrepreneurship, financial inclusion or inclusive economic development, preferably in contexts of urban and/or rural poverty.
- Experience working with international non-governmental organizations, cooperation agencies, foundations, development finance institutions or other multilateral actors, particularly in program design processes, portfolio structuring and formulation of financing proposals.
- Solid knowledge of the Northern Triangle context, including socio-economic dynamics, structural challenges, institutional frameworks, and public-private partnership opportunities relevant to economic empowerment.
- Proven ability to lead programmatic change processes and institutional strengthening, including the development of action frameworks, theories of change, operational methodologies and practical implementation tools.
- Strong facilitation and collaborative work skills, with experience in leading workshops, participatory processes and co-creation spaces with technical and leadership teams at the national and regional level.
- Experience in training and knowledge transfer processes, with the ability to develop training materials and facilitate face-to-face and/or virtual training aimed at the institutional appropriation of programmatic approaches.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills in Spanish; proficiency in English will be considered an added value.
- Ability to plan, manage time and meet deadlines, with experience working autonomously and in coordination with multiple teams and institutional levels.
9. MANAGEMENT AND COORDINATION
The consultancy will be led and supervised by UTC, in close coordination with the national offices in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Clear mechanisms for technical validation, regular follow-up meetings, and defined responsibilities will be established to ensure regional coherence and institutional ownership.
10. DURATION
The estimated duration of the consultancy will be four calendar months from the date of contract signing. The schedule should detail monthly milestones, expected deliverables, and validation points.
11. EVALUATION CRITERIA
Proposals will be evaluated based on technical quality, methodological rigor, relevant experience, understanding of the institutional context, and proposed added value. Only proposals demonstrating a clear understanding of the strategic role of consulting will be considered.
12. CONSULTANCY LOCATION AND WORK MODALITY
The consultant or consulting firm may be based in any of the three programmatic countries where Habitat for Humanity has a presence within the framework of this consultancy: Honduras, Guatemala or El Salvador.
Regardless of the home country, the consultant must be available to travel within the subregion, as required by the consultancy and particularly for in-person activities, including validation workshops and training processes in each country. The work will combine virtual and in-person activities, as established in the approved work plan.
The geographical location of the consultant in any of the three countries will not be an exclusion or evaluation criterion, provided that the timely delivery of the products, effective coordination with the UTC and the national offices, and the satisfactory execution of the face-to-face activities foreseen in the Terms of Reference are guaranteed.
13. FORMAT FOR SUBMITTING OFFERS
Interested individuals or firms must submit a technical proposal and an economic proposal, which must be sent separately and clearly identified.
The technical proposal must include, at a minimum:
– Cover letter from the consultant or consulting firm, indicating their interest and availability to carry out the consultancy.
– Description of the proposed methodological approach for the development of the consultancy, including an understanding of the objective, scope and expected results.
– Proposed work plan detailing phases, activities, schedule, products and main validation milestones.
– Profile of the main consultant and, if applicable, of the proposed work team, including resumes that demonstrate relevant experience.
– Examples or references of similar work done, preferably related to economic empowerment, program development or institutional strengthening.
The financial proposal must be submitted separately and include:
- Total consultancy budget, expressed in local currency and US dollars.
- Breakdown of costs by product and/or phase of the consultancy, including professional fees and costs associated with travel, per diem and logistics.
- Express indication that the proposed amount includes all taxes, fiscal charges and costs necessary for the proper execution of the consultancy.
Proposals must be submitted no later than April 16, 2026, in digital format, as PDF files, to the following email address:
- Honduras: marvin.romero@habitathn.org
- El Salvador: Gburgos@habitatelsalvador.org.sv
- Guatemala: gcaceres@habitatguate.org
Proposals received after the deadline or that do not meet the requirements set out in these Terms of Reference will not be considered.
Habitat for Humanity reserves the right to request clarifications or additional information during the evaluation process, without this implying any modification of the proposal submitted.
14. BUDGET AND PAYMENT METHOD
The financial proposal must be presented in a breakdown by product and/or phase of the consultancy. The total amount must include all professional fees, as well as any associated costs necessary for the execution of the consultancy, including travel, per diem, logistics, materials, taxes, and any other expenses related to the fulfillment of the deliverables established in these Terms of Reference.
Payments will be made upon delivery and formal approval of the products established in the consultancy, according to the following reference scheme:
- First payment (20%): upon delivery and approval of the detailed work plan and the consultancy methodology.
- Second payment (20%): upon delivery and approval of the institutional diagnosis and comparative analysis of programmatic strengths in the countries of the subregion (Phase 1).
- Third payment (25%): upon delivery and approval of the subregional Programmatic Action Framework (Phase 2).
- Fourth payment (25%): upon delivery and approval of the operational methodologies and project profiles developed (Phases 3 and 4).
- Final payment (10%): upon delivery of the final consultancy report, including the results of the validation process and the training carried out in the countries (Phase 5).
The approval of each product will be the responsibility of UTC, in coordination with the national offices of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.
15. INSTITUTIONAL VALUES AND SAFEGUARDS
The consultancy must strictly align with Habitat for Humanity’s institutional values, including safeguarding policies, a do-no-harm approach, gender equity, social inclusion, and respect for human rights.
How to apply
TDR_Economic_Empowerment_Habitat_FT Final.docx
Send proposal to: marvin.romero@habitathn.org