Catholic Relief Services (CRS) works worldwide to provide life-saving relief in response to emergencies and to address issues of chronic poverty and injustice through innovative and sustainable development programs. CRS is a major implementing partner for malaria and health services globally. CRS is looking to build its consultancy roster for malaria technical proposal writing. Specifically, the consultant(s) will serve as the lead writer during a proposal application.
I. Objectives
The consultancy’s primary objectives are to:
1. Produce a high-quality final draft technical narrative and contribute to the preparation of the annexes of a given malaria opportunity. “Final draft” refers to a draft requiring no substantive changes or edits and needing only copy-editing to be ready to submit to the Global Fund, USAID PMI, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and other donors as identified.
2. Develop pre-solicitation and/or concept notes related to specific malaria opportunities.
3. Ensure the technical narrative is compliant with the donor’s solicitation and strategy.
4. Contribute to ensuring that the technical narrative meets CRS’ quality standards as documented in CRS’ Technical Application Guidance, project management standards and editorial style guide.
II. Main Activities
The main activities for this consultancy will likely include the following:
1. Identify potential win themes for CRS.
2. Conduct desk reviews, literature reviews, and background research.
3. Participate in design workshop
4. Write first, subsequent, and final drafts of technical narrative and any technical annexes, per assigned sections and requirements in the proposal development checklist.
5. Review and incorporate comments from technical reviews on each draft.
6. Compile all sections into one coherent final draft with a consistent style and voice, in compliance with the requirements of the solicitation.
III. Deliverables
The below list of deliverables will inform the consultant’s specific scope of work and be tailored based on a specific opportunity. The below list are illustrative deliverables that could be included in a scope of work:
1. Participate in Technical Design Workshop
2. Write first, subsequent, and final drafts of the technical narrative, incorporating reviewer feedback
3. Write technical annexes as required by the solicitation
IV. Timeframe and Locations
The time frame and locations for consultancy(ies) will be determined based on the specific opportunities as they are released by the donor or based on specific requests by a country program, region, or HQ. The initial deployment is expected to occur for a 1-month period sometime within June ~ July 2022. The consultant may be asked to work remotely or on-site, based on the CRS requestor’s needs. Airfare, accommodation, and per diems within the country of service will be paid for based on CRS per-diem and accommodation rates. As described in section VI below, for international travel that may be required for the consultancy, the consultant will be required to hold medical insurance and medical evacuation insurance valid for the country and duration of travel. In order to meet this requirement, if the consultant needs to purchase medical insurance and medical evacuation insurance, the consultant will be fully responsible for the cost of these insurances. For the avoidance of doubt, CRS will not reimburse the consultant for the cost of medical insurance or medical evacuation insurance.
V. Payment
Payment will correspond to a per daily rate for number of days worked. The number of authorized days will be specified per assignment. After consultancy completion, the consultant will invoice based on incurred billable days for work completed. Payments will be processed after completion of the following four action steps:
1. Submission of deliverable/s from consultant
2. Submission of invoice/s from consultant
3. Approval of deliverable/s by CRS
4. Approval of invoice/s by CRS
VI. Travel and Insurance Requirements
If international travel is planned, prior to obtaining airline tickets, the identified consultant will provide medical insurance and medical evacuation insurance valid for the country and duration of travel.
VII. Profile of the Consultant
Agency-wide Competencies for all CRS staff and consultants: These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member and consultant to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.
• Serves with Integrity
• Models Stewardship
• Cultivates Constructive Relationships
• Promotes Learning
Knowledge Skills and Abilities:
Desired knowledge, skills, and abilities may vary by assignment, but in general the following attributes are desired:
• Extensive experience in writing and developing malaria-related proposals
• Experience contributing to successful high-value proposals for relevant malaria donors
• Excellent English writing skills
• Understanding of malaria control and elimination efforts
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Proven ability to work effectively as part of a multidisciplinary and multicultural team
• Excellent organizational and planning skills
• Understanding of CRS programming approaches and partnership principles, a plus
• French professional proficiency, a plus
VIII. Application Requirements
Applicants must submit the following:
1. Cover letter
2. Compensation rate per day
3. Resume/ CV
4. Three professional references, with the following details about the references: (a) name, (b) position, (c) company, (d) phone number, (e) email address, and (f) city, state, country
IX. Proposal Deadline
All proposals must be received by Bryan James at bryan.james@crs.org no later than May 13, 2022 [11:59 PM EST for electronic submission]. The solicitation name “US4451: Malaria Technical Writer” must be included in the subject line.
X. Q&A Opportunity
Prospective bidders may submit any clarification questions to Bryan James at bryan.james@crs.org, by May 6, 2022. Responses will be provided to any known prospective bidders on May 10, 2022.
CRS staff, alongside our partners and the people we serve, work daily to bring our mission and guiding principles to life. We share our stories of hope, compassion and solidarity to inspire others to join us in creating a more just and prosperous world for all.
