Business Development Advisor

Purpose of the consultancy

The purpose of the proposed assignment is to provide critical, short-term support in coordination of in-country donor engagement and opportunity identification efforts, as well as bid coordination support enabling the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) country program to respond with timely and high-quality bids as opportunities are identified. The proposed assignment will also feed into the Strategy Action Plan 100 (SAP100) strategy development process by providing timely inputs on donor mapping and strategy.

The proposed assignment will start ASAP for a period lasting six months, with approximately one month of remote preparatory work followed by five months of in-country support (splitting time between Goma, Kinshasa, and field sites as needed). The consultant will additionally liaise with HQ-based business development (BD) and grants support staff on triangulating donor intelligence and development of specific BD opportunities.

Deliverables:

Donor mapping and identification (remote preliminary work)

• Review and updating of DRC donor mapping documents
• Identify key donor contacts, gather intel, and facilitate donor meetings to feed into donor mapping

Key deliverables:

oUpdated donor mapping documents

oInputs on donor strategies and priorities to SAP100 documents

Donor engagement

• Establish a clear and fit-for-purpose system for coordinating and tracking all meetings, calls, and exchanges between IRC and donors at country level about strategy and funding prospects
• Establish a fit-for-purpose system for internal information sharing ahead of donor meetings (factsheets, talking points) and after meetings (notes and action points)
• Where gaps exist in key materials needed for donor engagement (factsheets, etc.), produce or update these
• Key donors for engagement: U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Agence française de développment (AFD), Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) (plus any key donors identified through abovementioned donor mapping)

Key deliverables:

oSystem established for coordination of in-country donor engagement efforts

oSystem established for internal sharing of donor meeting materials and meeting notes

oDonor engagement materials (factsheets, etc.) created / updated as needed

Opportunity identification

• Track new opportunities identified through abovementioned donor engagement efforts, as well as those identified at HQ level and shared by Awards Management Unit (AMU)
• Recommend and design improvements to the go/no-go decision-making process as needed

Key deliverables:

oAll opportunities identified communicated to all key internal stakeholders

oImprovements to the go/no-go decision-making process are identified and designed

Capture and bid development

• As specific opportunities are identified, coordinate the pre-positioning (capture) process, including facilitating technical brainstorming, competitive landscape analysis, partner mapping, teaming discussions, and design sessions
• As specific opportunities are identified, coordinate proposal development work, including: preparing timelines, ensuring the proposal team is informed of deadlines, advising and supporting on teaming, supporting recruitment (if needed), assisting in budget development, ensuring document completion, organizing meetings and compiling notes, compiling inputs from internal and external proposal team members, drafting non-technical proposal sections and annexes, translating proposal sections as needed (English/French), and proofreading proposal documents

Key opportunity currently known: Sida / Swedish embassy early recovery opportunity in Tanganyika

Key deliverables:

oHigh-quality, responsive bids to key specific business opportunities identified (approximately six) are provided to IRC staff for timely submission to donors

oA high-quality, responsive bid to the Swedish embassy is provided to IRC staff for timely submission to the donor