Consultant Terms of Reference

Title:  BPRM Grant Writer

Dates : February 10th to March 31st, 2023

Location : Kampala Uganda

Grant/Fund Code:  HQ10500

Contractor will be based in Uganda and will provide consulting services during the period of February 10 through 31st March, 2023.

1. ALIGHT Uganda

ALIGHT (formerly American Refugee Committee) is a long-standing humanitarian response partner, with an approach in doing the doable, bringing a comprehensive approach to every challenge, and developing bold solutions that make lasting change possible. ALIGHT has been operational in Uganda since 1994. At present, ALIGHT’s operation in Uganda serves refugees and host communities in three different Operational Regions (South West, Mid-West, Bidi Bidi) in and around six refugee settlements (Kyangwali, Nakivale, Oruchinga, Rwamwanja, Kyaka II and Bidi Bidi).

ALIGHT is delivering interventions to: prevent and respond to gender-based violence (GBV), enhance child protection (CP), strengthen community-based protection (CBP), provide legal assistance, provide mental health and psychosocial services to survivors of trauma, strengthen resilience and self-reliance in livelihoods through market driven agriculture, business, VSLA and cash-based interventions. ALIGHT supports Education, WASH and clean energy in some settlements. ALIGHT’s current major donors are UNHCR and BPRM; with additional private donors.

2. Background on the consultancy

Alight Uganda is in it’s third year of implementing a three-year multi-sectoral project funded by BPRM which ends in August 2023. The annual call for proposals from BPRM is expected to be released in February, with deadline sometime in March or April. Alight plans to submit a proposal for an additional 3 years to build on the existing project and partners (currently Alight has one INGO subgrantee and two service agreements with an INGO and private company) and increasing self-reliance of refugees and host communities across Uganda. Submitting a high quality, competitive proposal is a high priority for Alight Uganda, and will require the support of an individual with proven success applying for and winning funding from BPRM.

3. Purpose and Objectives and Activities

The primary purpose for the consultancy is to lead the preparation and submission of Alight Uganda’s three-year application for BPRM’s annual call for proposals (expected release in February and deadline in April 2023). This includes a thorough review of the NOFO and requirements for the application, coordination with Alight staff to compile the required materials and in person collaboration sessions to ensure Alight submits a high-quality proposal that is in line with donor priorities and expectations.

Objective 1:  Ensure the proposal team has a clear understanding of the priorities and requirements communicated through the BPRM NOFO and any accompanying guidance documents.

Activities:

1. Review NOFO and all accompanying documents
2. Present all the information to the Proposal team and engage in a discussion to develop a plan for addressing each requirement/priority.
3. Put together a workplan with timelines for the proposal process.

Objective 2:  Lead and manage a highly collaborative proposal development process to ensure mutually agreed timelines are respected and all elements completed.

Activities:

1. Manage the workplan and check in regularly with relevant staff
2. Work closely with the technical design team to ensure the proposed framework and priorities are presented in a way that speaks to BPRM’s priorities and requirements.
3. Work closely with all departments (including Programs, Finance, Logistics and HR) to ensure all elements of the proposal are in alignment (ie. Budget aligns with proposed activities, indicator targets etc)

Objective 3:  Final application documents are complete and visually captivating. including visual representations and design concepts to communicate the project design developed by the proposal team.

Activities

1. Use design and formatting to highlight key information in the proposal
2. Create visual representations of text that help communicate project flow and integration
3. Final review to ensure formatting matches the required formatting specified by BPRM and send final documents to Global Support Coordinator for submission before the deadline.
4. Conduct a post submission debrief with staff to discuss key observations, challenges and successes of the proposal process and recommendations for future submissions.

4. Deliverables

The expected deliverables for this consultancy are as follows:

Deliverable

Completion Date

Proposal development workplan

February 22, 2023

All application documents finalized and sent to Alight for submission.

March 22, 2023

Post Submission Report

March 31, 2023

5. Timeline for the consultancy

The Business Development Consultant will be expected to complete the work described above in a over a period of  2 months.

6. Skills and experience required for the consultancy

The BPRM Grant Writer Consultant should have:

• Strong written communication skills including visual design elements and formatting.
• Experience leading proposal process for BPRM funding opportunities and demonstrated success for fully funded projects.
• Sound knowledge of the humanitarian and development context and actors in Uganda and within East Africa.
• Either based in Uganda, or have the ability to travel to Uganda for part of the assignment.
• Experience designing and managing proposal development tools (workplan, calendar etc).
• Ability to work with diverse team and create a feeling of collaboration and inclusion throughout the proposal process.
• Familiarity with NGO and CSOs operation contexts and roles.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to dialogue with diverse stakeholders to create consensus around issues and capable of working in multi-cultural environments.
• Effective time management and organizational skills to ensure qualitative outputs under strict deadlines.

7. Submission guidance:

Interested consultants can submit their proposals demonstrating their ability to deliver on this assignment based on their qualifications and experience. Applications should include:

• a CV
• A short proposal outlining the work to be delivered and a financial proposal
• two examples of written work (preferably BPRM proposal or similar)
• two references