Call for Proposal Development Consultants (Junior, Mid-Level, Senior)

The Organization

Search for Common Ground (Search) is an international non-profit organization that promotes peaceful resolution of conflict. With headquarters in Washington, DC and a European office in Brussels, Belgium, Search’s mission is to transform how individuals, organizations, and governments deal with conflict—away from adversarial approaches and towards cooperative solutions. Search seeks to help conflicting parties understand their differences and act on their commonalities. With a total of approximately 800 staff worldwide, Search implements projects from 50 offices in 30 countries, including in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States.

Summary of Position

Search is establishing a roster of vetted Proposal Development Consultants and is seeking consultants with different experience levels (junior, mid-level, senior) to provide short-term proposal development services. Search works with a variety of donors around the world, ranging from governments such as the US and UK to multilateral bodies such as the EU and UN to foundations and corporations. While we have internal program development staff, we also use proposal development consultants at times to fill gaps in availability/capacity/expertise.

This solicitation is to identify individuals to be added to the pre-vetted roster, from which program development staff can identify and rapidly hire consultants to respond to a specific program development opportunity. Being included on this roster does not guarantee funding or a consultancy with Search, but it will place those consultants in the roster from which Search will draw as needed. The Proposal Developer’s main responsibility is to lead individual proposal development and writing processes for Search for Common Ground. Proposal Developers will work as part of the Global Affairs and Partnerships team in supporting Search’s regional program development staff around the world, and will be based remotely.

General requirements

• Consultants are individuals who are not Search employees
• Consultants are available to be engaged on an “as-needed basis” to perform specific tasks within a specific duration and deliverables

Proposal Developer’s responsibilities

• Perform in-depth research and literature review
• Participate in or lead capture, design, and/or partnerships meetings
• Write drafts and final version of a proposal
• Coordinate with the Country Office, Regional Team, and Global Affairs and Partnerships to develop and fine-tune the content of the proposal, including some or all attachments and/or required documentation
• Ensure compliance of the proposal to donor standards and requirements
• Specific consultancies may require travel to a Search for Common Ground Country Office (this will be made clear if/when Search reaches out to individuals on the roster about opportunities)

Minimum Qualifications (junior, mid-level, senior)

Essential

• Bachelor’s degree in international relations, development, conflict resolution, nonprofit management, or other relevant field
• Proven experience leading successful proposals for development and/or foreign policy donors in Europe and the US, multilateral, foreign government, corporations and/or foundations
• Strong knowledge of donor rules, regulations, and templates
• Able to handle multiple tasks simultaneously and meet tight deadlines while coordinating proposal processes
• Excellent written communication skills, ability to write clear, structured, articulate, and persuasive proposals
• Native-speaker level fluency in English
• Highly organized with excellent attention to detail
• Knowledge of peacebuilding and conflict transformation programming
• Computer literacy proficiency, including solid working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Google applications (Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Hangouts) and Internet research skills

Desirable

• Experience leading successful proposals focused on peacebuilding and/or conflict issues for development and/or foreign policy donors (governments, multilateral institutions, corporations, and foundations)
• Experience developing proposal partnerships/consortia
• Familiarity with Search for Common Ground programming and systems
• Familiarity with international development priorities
• Ability to travel to support proposal design
• Native-speaker level fluency in French and/or Arabic may be desirable for some donors

Specific requirements for a senior-level proposal developer

• Over 10 years of experience writing winning proposals and leading capture, design, and oversight of a proposal process
• A clear track record of winning complex projects with over $5 million awards

Specific requirements for a mid-level proposal developer

• 5-10 years of experience writing winning proposals and leading capture, design, and oversight of a proposal process
• A clear track record of winning complex projects with over $1 million awards

Specific requirements for a junior-level proposal developer

• 2-5 years of experience writing winning proposals
• A clear track record of winning smaller projects with of $250,000+ awards