Consultants for Program Design and Proposal Writing At International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies

Organizational Context

The IFRC is headquartered in Geneva, with regional and country offices throughout the world. The IFRC is led by a Secretary General. The Geneva headquarters provides support to governance mechanisms; sets norms and standards; provides guidance to field offices; ensures consistency, coordination, and accountability for performance; facilitates knowledge sharing; promotes collaboration within and respect for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement; and expands engagement with partners. The headquarters is organized into four main divisions: (i) Global Relations, Humanitarian Diplomacy and Digitalization (GRHDD); (ii) Management Policy, Strategy and Corporate Services (MPSCS); (iii) National Society Development and Operations Coordination (NSDOC), and (iv) Office of the Secretary General (OSG).Belonging to the GRHDD Division, the Information Technology and Digitalization Department (DITD) coordinates and provides all information and communications technology services for the IFRC globally acting as “One IT” for “One Secretariat”. There’s a regional office of the secretariat in Kuala Lumpur, who hosts part of the DITD team who provides support to the 650 headcounts operating in the different offices of Asia Pacific.

Job Purpose

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Asia Pacific Office in Kuala Lumpur is seeking individual consultants for a roster that will be activated as services are required to write proposals, concept papers, and promotional documents. IFRC requires additional capacity in the areas of humanitarian assistance and longer-term development. This increase in demand can be due to sudden onset emergencies or unforeseen new funding opportunities. Tasks may be requested by the regional office or one of 13 IFRC country-based offices throughout the Asia Pacific Region. This announcement is issued solely for information and planning purposes. This request for information does not obligate IFRC to pay any cost incurred in the preparation and submission of responses.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

The organization will create a roster of qualified, pre-vetted individuals who can be called upon during busy times for the following work:

Organize and manage a team to produce a proposal to a donor
Write an entire proposal, concept paper, or parts thereof
Work with technical experts to produce documents describing the work of the organization within certain sectors
Research on funding opportunities

Work will often focus in response to specific resource mobilization opportunities within the specialties of the Red Cross Red Crescent including disaster response and recovery, health, climate adaptation, migration, and organization development. It will also target specific donors from large international government aid agencies, multi-lateral entities, and the private sector/ corporate philanthropic community; consultants chosen for specific assignments will have direct or associated experience with the donor.

IFRC seeks consultants with significant previous experience and technical capacity to design and write unsolicited proposals and concepts or responses to requests for proposals (RFPs) in the following areas:

Program sector experience:

Public health in various areas
Pandemic/epidemic preparedness
Community based health, care, and first aid
Psychosocial support
Water, sanitation, and hygiene
Climate change adaptation
Early warning and anticipatory action
Safety nets and shock responsive social protection
Nature based solutions
Migration
Disaster preparedness, response, and recovery
Organizational development
Human Resources Development Support

Donor specific experience:

Asian government donors
European Union development funding or ECHO
USAID BHA, other USAID
UN operational agencies
Multi-lateral development banks including ADB, AIIB, World Bank, or Islamic Development Bank
Philanthropic foundations
Private sector including corporates

Education

Required Information in Submission:

Resume/ curriculum vitae: Name of consultant, email address, address, regular physical location (to know time zone in event of remote work), if located in Malaysia statement of ability to legally work in the country, relevant education, employment, and consultant experience.

Experience

The following information is necessary for IFRC to determine capabilities and interests of qualified individuals. Interested parties who consider themselves eligible and qualified are invited to submit information supporting their experience, expertise, and capabilities as follows:

One-page capability statement describing your experience in program design and proposal development in the technical areas mentioned above. Details should be mentioned for which donor agencies you have specific experience, including detailed knowledge of policies, procedures, funding mechanisms, formats, and ways of working. Language skills should be noted specifically stating if applicant can prepare professional documentation in that language.
One-page that contains a list of up to five past or current proposals / concept papers / promotional documents that details an overview of the content, the total amount (in US Dollars equivalent) of the proposal, approximate number of pages, funding result (successful, unsuccessful, shortlisted, etc.).
Statement of daily compensation rate, with details of the past year assignments if applicable.
A writing sample of which you are the sole author.
A description of limitations or expectations of the consultation regarding time between requests for services and when one could start work.
References

Criteria for Evaluation of Submissions:

Depth of experience, including the number of years, in proposal or other technical document preparation
Relevance of professional writing experience to Red Cross Red Crescent programming
Demonstrated understanding of donors and success in proposal submissions
Demonstrated skill of writing and producing final, high quality documentation independently without administrative assistance
Overall experience in international humanitarian and development work, encompassing field level and other exposure
Professionalism of presentation
Other subjective factors determined by reviewers

Competencies, Values and Comments

Values: Respect for diversity; Integrity; Professionalism; Accountability.
Core competencies: Communication; Collaboration and teamwork; Judgement and decision making; National society and customer relations; Creativity and innovation; Building trust.

Deployment conditions and duration

It is anticipated consultants will be contracted on a results basis, or a “per day” basis. Terms of reference will be provided for each assignment. A retainer arrangement may be sought with some contractors depending on skills and demand. Some assignments may be conducted virtually; others may require travel and working on-site with Red Cross Red Crescent staff.

Reporting Lines

As consultants are recruited, they will report to either the Head of Unit, Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Unit or to the Head of Delegation of a country office. The reporting line will depend on the assignment.