Consultant - Business Development and Writing Support - Remote with travel

Description

Background:

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.

Purpose / Project Description:

Mercy Corps is looking for consulting services for a period of two months to support business development and writing support for West Africa, with particular focus on Senegal and Benin, but flexibility to support other business development opportunities in West Africa that may arise during this period. In Senegal and Benin, Mercy Corps has a small energy portfolio in both countries, and in the future would like to expand programming - in line with Mercy Corps’ global Pathway to Possibilities strategy - which focuses on food security, water security, economic opportunities and peace and good governance.

The consultant's primary focus will be on program development including: 1) tracking the pipeline of potential new business opportunities for Senegal and Benin; 2) leading and supporting program development for Senegal and Benin (or other W. Africa countries as needed); 3) helping to enhance the overall state of practice vis-à-vis proposal processes within the region; 4) finally, the consultant will provide a succinct summary of suggested potential partnerships for Mercy Corps to further pursue and recommended areas of focus.

Consultant Activities:

The Consultant will:

• Develop a pipeline of potential new business opportunities for Senegal and Benin, building off available intel from the Mercy Corps teams in both countries, RPT, SIP, and regional NI.
• Lead program development and writing of concept notes, which can be used for prepositioning and discussions with key institutional donors.
• Conduct a stakeholder landscape mapping of international and local organizations working in Senegal and Benin of potential future partnership options.
• Conduct initial meetings with stakeholders of interest to obtain additional information relevant to pre-positioning and stakeholder mapping.
• Provide a summary document with suggestions and recommendations on potential funding options to further explore and recommend areas of focus for Mercy Corps in Senegal and Benin.
• Participate in regular check-ins with the Mercy Corps team.

Consultant Deliverables:

The Consultant will:

• Develop a detailed pipeline matrix of new business opportunities for Senegal and Benin. This includes documenting notes from any stakeholder meetings or conversations.
• Develop an annotated bibliography of relevant contextual analyses, assessment reports, and other secondary data sources for Senegal and Benin.
• Development of concept notes, with focus around youth development, youth employment, economic development, water security and energy/climate change.
• Develop a stakeholder mapping matrix with summary notes on information pertaining to each stakeholder, including contact details, overview of experience and work, geographic coverage, and other relevant information. This includes documenting notes from any stakeholder meetings or conversations.
• Summary document with specific suggestions on potential funding and partnerships to be further explored by Mercy Corps and any other relevant recommendations around areas of focus, things to pay attention to or look into further detail as relevant to program design, risks, staffing, partnerships and positioning for opportunities.

Timeframe / Schedule:

2 months (October / November 2023)

The Consultant will report to:

DRD West Africa

The Consultant will work closely with:

Mercy Corps team members in Senegal and Benin, Regional Program Team, TSU and New Initiatives

Required Experience & Skills:

• 5-7 years experience in program design and proposal development in a wide variety of sectors and geographic locations.
• At least 2-3 years experience in field-based program and staff management, with regional knowledge of West Africa.
• Preferable experience with emergency as well as development proposal writing
• Masters degree preferred; International Development or Business Science preferred.
• Proven ability to work productively with a wide variety of stakeholders to run both participatory process and also meet tight deadlines with an emphasis on producing quality products.
• Experience with a wide range of donors including USAID and European institutional donors. Familiarity with other donors, including corporate donors, a plus.
• Experience developing and strong understanding of budget and cost proposal submissions, and personnel and staffing requirements for USAID, AFD, EU (ECHO and DEVCO) and other institutional donor proposals.
• Strong representation and relationship-building skills including professional representation (e.g. donors, partner agencies, host governments, etc.)
• Strong negotiation skills and experience developing multiple-partnership arrangements for proposal development.
• Ability to lead teams, handle negotiations and facilitate planning processes.
• Ability to work effectively under tight deadlines and in sparse working environments.
• Exceptional written and interpersonal communication skills are an absolute must.
• Excellent written English and French.

Diversity, Equity & InclusionAchieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment OpportunityWe are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & EthicsMercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our stakeholders and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.