Title: Expert Consultant in Architecture and Generative AI – HAVA Project
Date: 11/09/2029
Project:
Reference: HULO-TDR-BAR-2026-001
This call for applications is open to all eligible consultants, in accordance with hulo’s procedures and principles.
Context of the consultancy:
The hulo Cooperative , created in June 2021, is the first European Cooperative Society (ECS) operating in the humanitarian sector. In December 2025, hulo has 16 member organizations: ACTED, Action Against Hunger (ACF), Bioport, the French Red Cross (CRF), Fleet Forum, Handicap International / Humanity & Inclusion (HI), International Federation of the Red Cross, International Rescue Committee (IRC), INTERSOS, Doctors of the World (MDM), Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), Oxfam Intermón, Plan International, Première Urgence International (PUI), Solidarités International (SI), and Welthungerhilfe (WHH).
Its goal is to increase the impact of humanitarian aid by strengthening ties and solidarity among humanitarian logistics actors and improving performance through the pooling of resources and expertise in logistics and supply chain management. Hulo’s “shared initiatives” are already underway in seven countries (Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lebanon, Jordan for the Syrian crisis, Colombia, and Chad). Field activities include pooled procurement, shared human resources, a web platform for resource sharing, and joint environmental initiatives. These initiatives save time and money, improve the quality of goods and services provided, and thus deliver more effective aid to those who need it most.
Hulo is currently developing its data ecosystem around Microsoft Fabric, with the goal of strengthening its capabilities in Data Science, Business Analytics, and Business Intelligence.
The rapid internal adoption of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools creates new opportunities for Hulo’s teams, but also risks, particularly regarding shadow AI.
Hulo therefore wants to study and prepare the implementation of HAVA (Hulo AI for Value-added Assistance), a secure and governed enterprise generative AI assistant.
The concept currently under consideration is based on a Hybrid Enterprise AI Assistant approach, combining open-source generative AI models with documents and security mechanisms controlled by Hulo.
The envisioned architecture relies in particular on:
Azure OpenAI Service
Microsoft Fabric
Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
Microsoft Sign In ID
Microsoft Purview
Microsoft Defender
Hulo’s databases and analytical models
The HAVA concept and its annexes constitute the first working kit which will serve as the basis for this consultancy.
General scope of work expected from the Consultant:
The main objective of this consultancy is to support Hulo in reviewing, validating, and finalizing the functional and technical specifications for the HAVA project.
The consultant will provide independent expertise in:
Generative AI
Large Language Models (LLM)
Architecture Cloud
Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
Data security
AI Governance
Microsoft Azure et Microsoft Fabric
The consultant will not be tasked with developing the entirety of HAVA during this mission.
The mission should enable hulo to have, after an estimated 20 days (To be confirmed in the proposal), a sufficiently complete and robust specification to allow the subsequent implementation of HAVA, internally and/or with the support of an external provider.
This consulting mission will be implemented in coordination with the Business Analytics & Research (BAR) department. A designated contact person will be assigned to each department to identify key issues and facilitate communication.
Priorities and deliverables:
Finalized HAVA specifications including :
- Situation analysis –
Context and challenges
Needs identified and prioritized by department
Technical and integration constraints
Analysis of the existing architecture, strengths, limitations and recommendations
Available data and their quality
Ethical, regulatory and governance requirements
Budget, planning and collaboration methods
2. Recommended solution
Perimeter –
Goals
Functional scope
Proposition –
Recommendation on AI models (Comparison and recommendation of models and model strategy)
Connections/links with other internal AI uses (e.g., specialized uses in certain departments)
Cost and resource model (Implementation costs, recurring costs and required resources)
Risk register (Technical, security, data, operational and adoption risks)
Security and governance specifications (Identity, access, confidentiality, secure RAG, logs, governance and guardrails)
RAG architecture (Document ingestion, metadata, web searches, embeddings)
3. Preparation for implementation
Deployment – Deliverables, schedule and responsibilities
Success criteria
Maintenance, support, and post-deployment reassessment
Qualifications and experience:
Minimum 3 years of experience in the fields of Data, AI or Cloud architecture;
Demonstrated experience in designing Enterprise Generative AI solutions;
Solid knowledge of LLM and RAG architectures;
Experience with the Microsoft Azure ecosystem;
Good knowledge of data security;
Experience in AI governance;
Experience in designing solutions using internal documents;
Ability to transform business needs into technical specifications;
Experience with humanitarian environments containing sensitive or confidential data.
Management and hierarchical structures
This consultant will report to the director of the “Business Analytics & Research” department and will work in conjunction with a Data Scientist.
Calendar
Mid-October – December 2026
How to apply
Application and contracting process:
The selected consultant will be contracted by Hulo for an estimated duration of 20 days , without any obligation to work full-time for Hulo during this period. They must highlight the key stages of the consultancy in their application (including AI training and support elements). The tasks described can be completed entirely remotely.
Hulo is seeking applications for the provision of the services described above. Interested consultants must submit their applications with detailed financial proposals (daily rate with descriptions of other costs, in addition to a total cost proposal), a proposal to meet the terms of reference, a schedule, and a CV detailing the skills and experience qualifying the candidate to provide the service detailed above.
Selection criteria:
Applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
Expertise Enterprise GenAI / LLM / RAG / Langchain, Langgraph, LangServe
Expertise Azure / Microsoft Fabric / architecture Cloud / Architecture / Orchestration IA
Security, GDPR and AI governance
Experience in designing specifications and ready-to-implement architectures
Understanding of business needs and ability to translate them into technical requirements
Communication, documentation and skills transfer
Closing date and contact information:
Interested consultants should submit their application before October 23, 2026, by sending an email to procurement@hulo.coop mentioning “HULO-TDR-BAR-2026-001”.
Offers received will be analyzed as they come in, and hulo reserves the right to withdraw the offer before the deadline if a consultant is identified before the deadline.
NB: The interest shown by a consultant does not imply any obligation on the part of Hulo for their inclusion in the final selection