Consultancy to Develop a Proposal for the DANIDA Business Partnerships Program

The consultant will lead the development and writing of the business case and full proposal for submission to the DANIDA Business Partnerships program. The consultant will work closely with the IRC Uganda Proposal Leadership Team, relevant technical units, finance staff, prospective business partners, and other consortium members to ensure that the proposal is technically sound, commercially credible, financially realistic, and responsive to the donor’s requirements.

The assignment will include reviewing program guidelines and eligibility requirements, analyzing the proposed business opportunity, consolidating relevant contextual and market evidence, facilitating consultations with key stakeholders, and translating the agreed partnership concept into a compelling business case and proposal.

IRC Uganda will provide the consultant with relevant background information, available research, preliminary project design documents, and access to technical and financial colleagues and prospective partners, as appropriate. The consultant will facilitate the integration of these inputs into a coherent proposal package and ensure that all required documents are prepared to the agreed standard and within the stipulated timeframe.

Key Responsibilities and Tasks

The consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

Review of Program Requirements and Background Documentation

• Review the DANIDA Business Partnerships call for applications, program guidelines, eligibility criteria, assessment and evaluation criteria, proposal templates, and all relevant submission requirements.
• Review existing project concepts, contextual analyses, market assessments, partner information, and other background documents provided by IRC Uganda.
• Identify information gaps, evidence requirements, and areas requiring further analysis to inform the business case and proposal development.
• Develop an agreed work plan and proposal development timeline in consultation with the IRC bid lead.

Business Case Development

• Work with IRC Uganda and prospective partners to refine the proposed business concept and establish a clear commercial rationale.
• Analyze the relevant market opportunities, including demand, target customers, value proposition, competitive positioning, market access, and potential for growth, drawing on available evidence and additional research where necessary.
• Articulate the proposed business model, revenue-generation mechanisms, operational arrangements, and pathway to commercial viability and financial sustainability.
• Assess the respective roles, contributions, incentives, and comparative advantages of the participating partners.
• Demonstrate how the proposed partnership will address relevant local development challenges while creating a commercially viable business venture.
• Identify and analyze key commercial, operational, financial, social, environmental, and partnership risks, together with appropriate mitigation measures.
• Develop a clear rationale for the proposed partnership, demonstrating the added value of collaboration between private sector and non-commercial actors.

Proposal Design and Development

• Participate in virtual or in-person design workshops and consultations with IRC Uganda, prospective business partners, technical teams, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Translate the agreed business concept and project design into a clear, evidence-based, and compelling proposal that responds directly to DANIDA’s requirements and evaluation criteria.
• Develop the proposal narrative, ensuring a strong articulation of the problem statement, business opportunity, partnership rationale, intervention logic, target groups, expected results, implementation approach, and sustainability strategy.
• Ensure that the proposal clearly demonstrates expected development outcomes, particularly inclusive and decent job creation, increased and sustainable incomes, and benefits for underserved populations.
• Integrate relevant social inclusion, gender equality, environmental sustainability, climate considerations, and responsible business conduct measures, as appropriate to the proposed venture and program requirements.
• Develop or refine the results framework or log frame, including the theory of change, outcomes, outputs, indicators, baselines where available, targets, and means of verification.
• Ensure that the proposed implementation arrangements, governance structure, partner roles, risk management measures, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning approach are clearly articulated.

Budget Development and Financial Alignment

• Work closely with IRC Uganda’s finance team and relevant business partners to inform the development and review of the project budget.
• Ensure consistency between the business case, proposed activities, implementation plan, results framework, and budget.
• Review the financial assumptions underpinning the business case, including projected costs, revenue streams, resource contributions, and the proposed pathway to commercial sustainability, using information provided or validated by the relevant partners.
• Ensure that the proposal budget and any required financial annexes comply with DANIDA’s applicable guidelines, templates, and eligibility requirements.
• Flag financial assumptions, resource gaps, and budgetary risks requiring further validation by IRC Uganda or the participating business partners.

Drafting, Review, and Quality Assurance

• Prepare and submit the first draft of the business case and proposal, based on the agreed project design and inputs from IRC Uganda and the participating partners.
• Facilitate and coordinate the incorporation of feedback from the IRC Proposal Leadership Team, technical advisers, finance staff, and consortium members.
• Prepare a revised draft that addresses consolidated feedback and strengthens the proposal’s technical quality, commercial credibility, development rationale, and overall competitiveness.
• Conduct a comprehensive quality assurance review to ensure consistency across the business case, proposal narrative, results framework, budget, risk analysis, and supporting annexes.
• Verify that the proposal addresses all applicable donor requirements and evaluation criteria and that claims, assumptions, targets, and expected results are supported by available evidence.
• Finalize the proposal package and all required annexes for submission to IRC Uganda for final review and approval.

Coordination and Communication

• Maintain regular communication with the IRC bid lead and designated focal points throughout the assignment.
• Coordinate with relevant IRC Uganda technical units, finance staff, prospective business partners, and consortium members to obtain and consolidate required inputs.
• Provide regular progress updates, flag emerging challenges, and propose solutions to keep the assignment on schedule.
• Maintain an organized record of key assumptions, outstanding information requirements, stakeholder feedback, and decisions relevant to the proposal development process.

The consultant is expected to deliver the following outputs:

• Inception report and work plan: An agreed work plan outlining the methodology, key activities, consultation requirements, information gaps, and delivery schedule.
• Business case: A comprehensive business case demonstrating the market opportunity, business model, commercial viability, partnership rationale, financial assumptions, development benefits, sustainability, and key risks of the proposed venture.
• First draft proposal package: A complete first draft of the proposal, including the narrative, results framework or log frame, implementation arrangements, risk analysis, and other required annexes.
• Revised proposal package: A revised draft incorporating consolidated feedback from IRC Uganda, technical teams, finance staff, and relevant partners.
• Final submission-ready package: A quality-assured business case and complete proposal package, including all required annexes and supporting documents, submitted to IRC Uganda for final approval and onward submission to DANIDA.

INDICATIVE TIMEFRAME and DELIVERABLES

The consultancy will begin immediately, with an estimated duration of up to 8 days. The proposal team and relevant stakeholders will review and finalise the following task breakdown with the consultant.

The Bid Writer will work for a maximum of 8 days as per below:

Pre-reading of call documents, past proposals, and IRC strategy documents. Preparation of templates and initial framing. Introductory calls with IRC Key Stakeholders.

Participate in co-creation/design activities with IRC teams and partners. Jointly refine and validate the Theory of Change, log-frame, Business case targeting strategy, implementation modalities.

Incorporate consolidated feedback from IRC country office, technical teams, partners, and HQ. Refine business case and technical narrative, strengthen coherence, and ensure consistency across all sections (technical, budget, and log-frame), including attending all technical design workshops.

Incorporate feedback from all internal reviews, technical and editorial quality check, ensuring compliance with donor requirements, IRC standards, and internal approval requirements.

Finalise and package the complete submission-ready proposal incorporating all feedback. Ensure technical accuracy, formatting consistency, and full readiness for official submission.

Required qualifications and Experience

The consultant should demonstrate the following qualifications and experience:

• A degree in business administration, economics, development studies, finance, international development, or a related field. A postgraduate qualification will be an advantage.
• Demonstrated experience in developing high-quality business cases, investment proposals, private sector partnership proposals, or complex donor-funded project proposals.
• Strong understanding of market-based development, inclusive business models, private sector engagement, and commercially viable approaches to development.
• Proven experience in proposal development for institutional donors, with experience working on DANIDA-funded programs or business partnership mechanisms considered an advantage.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze market opportunities, business models, financial assumptions, partnership structures, and commercial sustainability.
• Experience developing results frameworks, theories of change, risk analyses, implementation plans, and project budgets in collaboration with technical and finance teams.
• Excellent analytical, research, writing, editing, and stakeholder coordination skills.
• Ability to synthesize complex information from diverse stakeholders into clear, compelling, evidence-based business cases and proposals.
• Familiarity with the Ugandan private sector and local economic and development context will be a strong advantage.
• Ability to work independently, manage competing input, meet tight deadlines, and deliver high-quality outputs within an agreed timeframe.

NB: This advert will close on 23-Oct-26 and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct . Our Standards are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding , Conflicts of Interest, Fiscal Integrity, and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC is committed to take all necessary preventive measures and create an environment where people feel safe, and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm occurs. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients.

Professional Standards: All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct . Our Standards are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding , Conflicts of Interest, Fiscal Integrity, and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC is committed to take all necessary preventive measures and create an environment where people feel safe, and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm occurs.

IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients.

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