International Rescue Committee

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.
Background and Rational of the DANIDA Business Partnership
The DANIDA Business Partnerships program supports commercial projects that combine a strong and viable business case with clear, measurable development outcomes. The program seeks to promote responsible and sustainable business ventures that generate inclusive employment and income opportunities, particularly for underserved and vulnerable populations, while contributing to broader market development and positive social and environmental outcomes in partner countries.
Business Partnerships recognize that addressing complex development challenges and unlocking inclusive economic opportunities often requires collaboration between private sector businesses and non-commercial actors. Through multi-actor partnerships, businesses can combine their commercial expertise, resources, and market access with the contextual knowledge, technical expertise, and development experience of non-commercial organizations. This approach supports the development of commercially viable and sustainable solutions that deliver tangible social development benefits, in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17 on partnerships for the goals.
The program places particular emphasis on business ventures that demonstrate a clear pathway to commercial viability while contributing to decent job creation, increased and sustainable incomes, and improved economic opportunities for local communities. Proposals are expected to demonstrate responsible business conduct, environmental sustainability, and social inclusion. Additional value is placed on initiatives that contribute to wider market development, climate action, and positive social or environmental change.
In Uganda, the DANIDA Business Partnerships program presents an opportunity for IRC Uganda to explore and develop innovative private sector partnerships that leverage IRC’s development expertise and contextual knowledge alongside the commercial capabilities of businesses. Such partnerships could help address relevant local development challenges while creating sustainable economic opportunities and delivering measurable development outcomes for underserved populations.
To capitalize on this opportunity, IRC Uganda seeks to engage a qualified consultant to develop a compelling, evidence-based, and commercially grounded business case and proposal for submission to the DANIDA Business Partnerships program. The assignment will involve working closely with IRC Uganda, prospective business partners, consortium members, and relevant technical and financial teams to translate the proposed partnership concept into a coherent, feasible, and competitive proposal that meets the program’s requirements.
Objectives of the Consultancy
The overall objective of the consultancy is to develop a high-quality, competitive, and submission-ready business case and proposal for the DANIDA Business Partnerships program, demonstrating a clear link between commercial viability, development impact, and the value of the proposed partnership.
The Specific Objectives Are To
<ul>
<li>Develop a robust business case that demonstrates the commercial rationale, market opportunity, financial viability, and sustainability of the proposed partnership.</li>
<li>Articulate the development rationale and expected impact of the proposed business venture, including its contribution to inclusive job creation, increased incomes, and wider social, economic, or environmental benefits.</li>
<li>Demonstrate the added value of the partnership between IRC Uganda, private sector actors, and other relevant stakeholders, including why a multi-actor approach is essential to achieving the proposed commercial and development objectives.</li>
<li>Ensure that the proposed intervention is aligned with DANIDA Business Partnerships requirements, relevant Danish strategic priorities in Uganda, IRC Uganda strategic Action Plan and applicable Sustainable Development Goals.</li>
<li>Develop a coherent and evidence-based proposal package, including the project narrative, results framework or log frame, implementation arrangements, risk analysis, sustainability considerations, and other required annexes.</li>
<li>Ensure alignment between the business case, technical design, results framework, implementation plan, and budget, with clear and measurable indicators for both commercial performance and development outcomes.</li>
</ul>
SCOPE OF WORK
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
<ul>
<li>Review the DANIDA Business Partnerships call for applications, program guidelines, eligibility criteria, assessment and evaluation criteria, proposal templates, and all relevant submission requirements.</li>
<li>Review existing project concepts, contextual analyses, market assessments, partner information, and other background documents provided by IRC Uganda.</li>
<li>Identify information gaps, evidence requirements, and areas requiring further analysis to inform the business case and proposal development.</li>
<li>Develop an agreed work plan and proposal development timeline in consultation with the IRC bid lead.</li>
</ul>
Business Case Development
<ul>
<li>Work with IRC Uganda and prospective partners to refine the proposed business concept and establish a clear commercial rationale.</li>
<li>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.</li>
<li>Articulate the proposed business model, revenue-generation mechanisms, operational arrangements, and pathway to commercial viability and financial sustainability.</li>
<li>Assess the respective roles, contributions, incentives, and comparative advantages of the participating partners.</li>
<li>Demonstrate how the proposed partnership will address relevant local development challenges while creating a commercially viable business venture.</li>
<li>Identify and analyze key commercial, operational, financial, social, environmental, and partnership risks, together with appropriate mitigation measures.</li>
<li>Develop a clear rationale for the proposed partnership, demonstrating the added value of collaboration between private sector and non-commercial actors.</li>
</ul>
Proposal Design and Development
<ul>
<li>Participate in virtual or in-person design workshops and consultations with IRC Uganda, prospective business partners, technical teams, and other relevant stakeholders.</li>
<li>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.</li>
<li>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.</li>
<li>Ensure that the proposal clearly demonstrates expected development outcomes, particularly inclusive and decent job creation, increased and sustainable incomes, and benefits for underserved populations.</li>
<li>Integrate relevant social inclusion, gender equality, environmental sustainability, climate considerations, and responsible business conduct measures, as appropriate to the proposed venture and program requirements.</li>
<li>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.</li>
<li>Ensure that the proposed implementation arrangements, governance structure, partner roles, risk management measures, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning approach are clearly articulated.</li>
</ul>
Budget Development and Financial Alignment
<ul>
<li>Work closely with IRC Uganda’s finance team and relevant business partners to inform the development and review of the project budget.</li>
<li>Ensure consistency between the business case, proposed activities, implementation plan, results framework, and budget.</li>
<li>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.</li>
<li>Ensure that the proposal budget and any required financial annexes comply with DANIDA’s applicable guidelines, templates, and eligibility requirements.</li>
<li>Flag financial assumptions, resource gaps, and budgetary risks requiring further validation by IRC Uganda or the participating business partners.</li>
</ul>
Drafting, Review, and Quality Assurance
<ul>
<li>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.</li>
<li>Facilitate and coordinate the incorporation of feedback from the IRC Proposal Leadership Team, technical advisers, finance staff, and consortium members.</li>
<li>Prepare a revised draft that addresses consolidated feedback and strengthens the proposal’s technical quality, commercial credibility, development rationale, and overall competitiveness.</li>
<li>Conduct a comprehensive quality assurance review to ensure consistency across the business case, proposal narrative, results framework, budget, risk analysis, and supporting annexes.</li>
<li>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.</li>
<li>Finalize the proposal package and all required annexes for submission to IRC Uganda for final review and approval.</li>
</ul>
Coordination and Communication
<ul>
<li>Maintain regular communication with the IRC bid lead and designated focal points throughout the assignment.</li>
<li>Coordinate with relevant IRC Uganda technical units, finance staff, prospective business partners, and consortium members to obtain and consolidate required inputs.</li>
<li>Provide regular progress updates, flag emerging challenges, and propose solutions to keep the assignment on schedule.</li>
<li>Maintain an organized record of key assumptions, outstanding information requirements, stakeholder feedback, and decisions relevant to the proposal development process.</li>
</ul>
EXPECTED DELIVERABLES
The Consultant Is Expected To Deliver The Following Outputs
<ul>
<li>Inception report and work plan: An agreed work plan outlining the methodology, key activities, consultation requirements, information gaps, and delivery schedule.</li>
<li>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.</li>
<li>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.</li>
<li>Revised proposal package: A revised draft incorporating consolidated feedback from IRC Uganda, technical teams, finance staff, and relevant partners.</li>
<li>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.</li>
</ul>
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:
<ul>
<li>Document Review, Preparation and initial needs analysis. (2 days)</li>
</ul>
Pre-reading of call documents, past proposals, and IRC strategy documents. Preparation of templates and initial framing. Introductory calls with IRC Key Stakeholders.
<ul>
<li>Co-Creation &amp; Design Workshop. (2 days)</li>
</ul>
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.
<ul>
<li>Drafts, Pink and Red reviews (Revision Cycles). (4 days)</li>
</ul>
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.
<ul>
<li>Final Gold Review Quality Assurance &amp; Pre-Submission Review. (1 days)</li>
</ul>
Incorporate feedback from all internal reviews, technical and editorial quality check, ensuring compliance with donor requirements, IRC standards, and internal approval requirements.
<ul>
<li>Final Submission Package (1 days)</li>
</ul>
Finalise and package the complete submission-ready proposal incorporating all feedback. Ensure technical accuracy, formatting consistency, and full readiness for official submission.
<ul>
<li>Maximum days for contract - 10 days</li>
</ul>
Required Qualifications And Experience
The consultant should demonstrate the following qualifications and experience:
<ul>
<li>A degree in business administration, economics, development studies, finance, international development, or a related field. A postgraduate qualification will be an advantage.</li>
<li>Demonstrated experience in developing high-quality business cases, investment proposals, private sector partnership proposals, or complex donor-funded project proposals.</li>
<li>Strong understanding of market-based development, inclusive business models, private sector engagement, and commercially viable approaches to development.</li>
<li>Proven experience in proposal development for institutional donors, with experience working on DANIDA-funded programs or business partnership mechanisms considered an advantage.</li>
<li>Demonstrated ability to analyze market opportunities, business models, financial assumptions, partnership structures, and commercial sustainability.</li>
<li>Experience developing results frameworks, theories of change, risk analyses, implementation plans, and project budgets in collaboration with technical and finance teams.</li>
<li>Excellent analytical, research, writing, editing, and stakeholder coordination skills.</li>
<li>Ability to synthesize complex information from diverse stakeholders into clear, compelling, evidence-based business cases and proposals.</li>
<li>Familiarity with the Ugandan private sector and local economic and development context will be a strong advantage.</li>
<li>Ability to work independently, manage competing input, meet tight deadlines, and deliver high-quality outputs within an agreed timeframe.</li>
</ul>
NB:
This advert will close on 23-Oct-26 and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
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.
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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Consultancy to Develop a Proposal for the DANIDA Business Partnerships Program

Consultancy to Develop a Proposal for the DANIDA Business Partnerships Program

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