Consultancy to Develop a Proposal for the DANIDA Business Partnerships Program

The consultant will develop a high-quality, competitive, and submission-ready business case and proposal for the DANIDA Business Partnerships program. The role involves working closely with IRC Uganda, prospective business partners, and consortium members to translate the partnership concept into a coherent and competitive proposal.

Responsibilities

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Requirements

• 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.

Skills

• Business Case Development
• Investment Proposal Writing
• Private Sector Partnership Proposals
• Donor-Funded Project Proposals
• Market-Based Development
• Inclusive Business Models
• Private Sector Engagement
• Commercial Viability Analysis
• Proposal Development for Institutional Donors
• DANIDA Program Experience
• Market Opportunity Assessment
• Business Model Analysis
• Financial Assumptions Analysis
• Partnership Structures Analysis
• Commercial Sustainability Analysis
• Results Frameworks
• Theory of Change
• Risk Analysis
• Implementation Planning
• Project Budgeting
• Analytical Research
• Proposal Writing
• Stakeholder Coordination

Languages

English