Call for Program Development Consultants

Technical and Donor Advisors, Proposal Writers, and Other Program Development Support

Who we are:

TechnoServe is a leader in harnessing the power of the private sector to help people lift themselves out of poverty. A nonprofit organization operating in 29 countries, we work with enterprising men and women in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses, and industries. By linking people to information, capital, and markets, we have helped millions to create lasting prosperity for their families and communities.

The Program Development (PD) team at TechnoServe leads new business and proposal development for bids that generate increased impact and revenue for TechnoServe from our diverse public funder base, including donors like the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), and others. We collaborate with our regional and country platforms and technical practice areas to design new and innovative projects to deliver on TechnoServe’s mission to use business solutions to help solve poverty.

The PD team regularly works with proposal consultants to fill proposal team member roles on high-priority bids. We are launching this call for consultants to develop a roster of technical and donor advisors, proposal writers, and other forms of PD support, including graphics designers, copy editors, and experts in monitoring and evaluation, that we can work with when proposal opportunities arise.

Who we are looking for:

The TechnoServe PD team is looking for Technical and Donor Advisors to provide strategic guidance on upcoming proposals with a high level of complexity and technical requirements from donors. Specifically, we are looking for specialists with a deep understanding of working with the USAID and the USDA. Potential focus areas include development of small and medium-size enterprises and a range of potential interventions in high-margin agricultural value chains, including coffee, cocoa, cashew, spices, and other opportunities with potential for value addition.

Responsibilities:

• Participation in kick-off and design sessions to provide guidance on the technical development of the proposal
• Available to provide feedback and guidance on questions from proposal team members related to our technical approach and donor expectations
• Provide written inputs on our technical approach
• Review initial and final drafts proposals to provide technical guidance on donor requirements.

We are also looking for Proposal Writers with experience serving as a lead technical writer in response to USAID, USDA, FCDO, BMGF, and others. The Proposal Writer will work closely with TechnoServe Proposal Managers and Technical Leads to design and develop technical program narratives and other proposal sections as requested (executive summary, management plan, organization capacity, monitoring and evaluation plan, implementation plan, etc.). Proposal Writers will have demonstrated experience writing winning competitive proposals, will demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of public funder trends and priorities, and will have a strong background in economic development areas of agriculture, food processing, and/or entrepreneurship.

Responsibilities:

• Support the development of competitive technical applications in response to solicitations by contributing to the technical design
• Lead the drafting of key technical proposal sections, including following all internal review processes
• In collaboration with the Proposal Manager, identify and persuasively articulate win themes in the technical application
• Participate in bid team, partner, and stakeholder meetings as needed; conduct desk research as needed

We are also looking for additional proposal support services, including Monitoring, Evaluation, & Learning Writers, Graphic Designers, and Copy Editors. Proposal support consultants will have experience supporting large proposal efforts in their area of expertise.

Responsibilities:

• Support the development of competitive technical applications in response to solicitations by carrying out specific assignments related to consultants’ expertise (e.g. writing the MEL section, designing proposal graphics, or performing copy edits)
• Participate in bid team, partner, and stakeholder meetings as needed

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