Call for proposal writing and fundraising consultant

About the Netherlands Refugee Foundation 

The Netherlands Refugee Foundation (Stichting Vluchteling) is an emergency relief organization that supports partner organizations globally to assist displaced populations. In case of acute need, the Netherlands Refugee Foundation provides funding to international and national partners in order to provide direct assistance, such as shelter, medical care, clean drinking water and sanitation. In the Netherlands, the Refugee Foundation provides information to the Dutch public about the situation of refugees and internally displaced as well as about emergency aid in general. 

In recent years, following its commitments on advancing localization, the Netherlands Refugee Foundation has been growing its direct funding and organizational capacity strengthening support to over 50 local and national partners in over 20 countries. 

Read more on https://www.vluchteling.nl/en 

Background 

The Netherlands Refugee Foundation is implementing its ASPIRE program: “Advancing Sustainable Partnerships to Improve Resilience & Empowerment” which aims to advance the leadership of in-country partners in Iraq, Lebanon, and Türkiye, through equitable, multi-annual partnerships that focus on the priorities and aspirations of these organizations by integrating streams of organizational capacity strengthening and direct funding. ASPIRE has the following two objectives: 1) Protection of refugees and internally displaced persons by in-country partners, and 2) Access to improved services, facilities and information systems for displaced persons and host communities. The program is being implemented in the three countries simultaneously during a period of five years with two cohorts of partners to be selected. ASPIRE is targeting organizations often excluded from international funding streams due to lack of access to the standard INGO funding channels, their size precluding them from INGO or donor awareness, and/or the age of the organization and potential lack of a long enough track record for many INGO or donor eligibility requirements. 

ASPIRE is funded through the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as part of the “Migration & Displacement 2023-2028 subsidy framework”. Please find more information about ASPIRE and the framework of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on https://www.vluchteling.nl/en/about-us/collaborations/aspire 

Key Responsibilities and Deliverables 

A. Proposal co-development: 

1. Work closely with the grassroots organization to co-design and assist in developing a three-year protection project proposal in Arabic, ensuring alignment with SV priorities, the needs of affected populations and protection standards. It should be noted that SV expects a three-year narrative proposal and logical framework, and a detailed budget for year 1 of the project. The aforementioned documents will be co-develped using SV’s template. In addition, the grassroots organization has already made substantial strides in developing their proposal, budget and logical framework. Therefore, SV expects that the consultant will only be asked to refine the proposal to a standard that meets SV’s requirements.  
2. Ensure that the proposal integrates key protection principles, including gender sensitivity, survivor-centered approach, and conflict-sensitive programming. 
3. Ensure the proposal maintains the organization’s initial ideas and is clear, concise, and consistent. The logframe should remain simple with smart indicators, that would help the organization track progress and generate learnings. 

B. Provision of fundraising training: 

1. Conduct on-site, interactive and tailored training (using a mix of Arabic and English) for the organization’s staff following the approval and contracting of the project with SV. 
2. Ensure that relevant staff members have a strong understanding of needs-based project design, proposal implementation, donor compliance, reporting requirements, and protection programming. 
3. Co-develop with the organization an SOP of applying to grants, that includes tools to streamline the process, distribution of roles and responsibilities, checklists, etc. 
4. Ensure relevant staff members have a strong basic understanding of donor jargon: “participatory”, “needs based”, “assessment”, “consultation”, “coordination body”, “focus group discussion” etc. 

Consultant Profile and Qualifications 

• A minimum of 7 years of experience in proposal writing and fundraising within the humanitarian and development sectors. 
• Strong expertise in protection programming, case management, Emergency Cash Assistance (ECA), including child protection, gender-based violence (GBV), and psychosocial support approaches. 
• Demonstrated success in developing winning proposals for international donors and humanitarian agencies. 
• Experience working with grassroots organizations and strengthening their fundraising and project cycle management capacities. 
• Fluent in Arabic and English (both written and spoken) 
• Having a track record in fundraising training, with experience in delivering capacity-strengthening sessions. 
• Willing and able to travel to Akkar, Lebanon for in-person of both the co-development of the proposal and training to the grassroots organization.