Haiti Proposal Writing Specialist (consultant) At Habitat for Humanity

We are in search of a consultant for the following role to support the Habitat for Humanity Haiti 2021 Earthquake Response and Recovery:

Period of Performance:

This Specialist is anticipated to operate on a three-month retainer with an option to extend if needed as funding opportunities are identified. The Specialist would be activated for specific proposals and count the days of work dedicated to the proposals against the estimated number of monthly total hours.

Context:

On August 14th, 2021, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck 78 miles west of Port-au-Prince. As of Aug 24th, around 52,900 homes have been destroyed and 77,000 have sustained damages, leaving thousands homeless, generating pressing humanitarian needs for the impacted populations. The security crisis and social unrest have occurred since June in the country, generating a significant number of internally displaced people. The COVID-19 pandemic, together with the governance crisis and now the earthquake, have created a complex humanitarian crisis in the country. Habitat for Humanity Haiti has an operational office in Les Cayes and presence in both Les Cayes and Jeremie and has been implementing projects in the affected areas for the past four years. This positions Habitat for Humanity Haiti as a reliable partner to work with other organizations and allows us to commit to support communities in their recovery from this devastating earthquake.

Considering this situation, Habitat for Humanity Haiti (HFHH) has issued an urgent preliminary appeal in the amount of US $11,313,245 in flexible funds to provide a comprehensive response to Haiti’s south peninsula needs. In the same way, in the following weeks, HFHH will have a more complete context and shelter needs assessment information that will allow to further refine the approach of the specific interventions that must be carried out to assist the families in rebuilding their lives, as well as the accompanying costs for specific deliverables. Given the multidimensional nature of the needs and vulnerabilities of the households affected by the earthquake of August 14, 2021, HFHH plans to partner with others to undertake a multisectoral program that aims at simultaneously addressing the vital and urgent needs of families while planning to support them in their pathways to permanent housing.

Habitat for Humanity Haiti has been responding to the urgent humanitarian needs of disaster-affected populations since 2010 and has since served over 70,000 families through a variety of shelter-related interventions. HFHH has also been working with USAID, European Commission, universities, microfinance institutions and the government of Haiti through long-term partnerships to address the key factors of housing vulnerabilities in the country, including poor quality materials, limited access to housing finance, lack of security tenure for low-income families, and limited state supervision and regulations in the construction sector.
This person must be fluent in both English and French to support the development of earthquake response/ recovery project proposals in the $500,000+ range for Foundations, Organizations and Institutional (FOI) donors. The Specialist will have support from the Habitat for Humanity International Global FOI manager for Latin America and the Caribbean and work in coordination with the entire Global FOI team.

Scope of Work:

Situation Awareness
a) Familiarize yourself with existing Habitat for Humanity programming in Haiti in humanitarian shelter and settlements and Habitat’s Earthquake Preliminary Response Strategy to produce high quality concept papers and proposals.
b) Familiarize yourself with Habitat’s Pathway to Permanence Strategy.
c) Write concise pieces for proposals that communicate the humanitarian situation and the areas of attention for Habitat for Humanity Haiti and fit with both Habitat for Humanity Haiti’s Preliminary Response Strategy and relevant national and cluster emergency strategies and priorities
d) For proposals written in a consortium, understand the pieces that other partners bring to the table and the particular role(s) that Habitat would be playing.
Donor and Sector Awareness
a) Be familiar with the requirements and formats of different donors with respect to sectors, priorities (evaluation criteria), guidelines, and what budget lines are fundable and what are not.
b) Know the time frame and submission deadlines for the relevant donors, whether the mechanism is a formal request for proposals or invitation to submit.
c) Identify strategies for multiple funding sources of the emergency response strategy.
d) In coordination with the HFH Haiti and LAC AO, maintain contact with the Habitat FOI staff member that is coordinating proposal submission to the donor.
Proposal Design and Writing
a) Work closely with the Disaster Response Deployed Team Leader, Head of Programs, Assessment Co-coordinator, and SMEs to develop concept papers based on the emergency assessment outcomes, donor interest and emergency response strategy.
b) Work closely with the HFH Haiti finance team to ensure that budgets comply with its requirements.
c) Identify information gaps blocking proposal completion and secure the necessary information to complete.
d) Ensure deployed team members and HFHI/HFHH staff are fully aware of what information is needed.
Rapidly revise, update, and expand concept papers into full project proposals as recommended by donors.
a) Develop project proposals in such a way as to ensure harmonization across projects and sectors to produce a cohesive, credible, and coordinated program according to agreed program strategy.
b) Ensure that all project proposals adhere to Humanitarian Accountability Framework, MEAL and Safeguarding standards and Sphere/CORE Humanitarian Standards and consider the safety and security context in country.
c) Provide FOI focal point, HFH Haiti National Director, and DR3 Sr Director with final drafts of proposals for review, and subsequent submission.

Qualifications:

-Fluency in English and French is required.
-Experience and proven success in writing/ winning proposals greater than $500,000 for key FOI (Foundations, Organizations, Institutions) donors, particularly with USAID and EU/ ECHO.
-Experience/ background in Humanitarian Shelter and Settlements programming is a plus.

Selection Process and Evaluation Criteria:

Applicants will be expected to submit a cover letter which includes their expected daily rate, and a copy of their CV. Supplemental material is welcome but not required.
Selection Criteria will include:
-Understanding of the assignment and the business need.
-Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
-Ability to facilitate collaborative processes remotely.