Background
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world's largest humanitarian organization, with 192 member National Societies. As part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, our work is guided by seven fundamental principles; humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality.
Organizational Context
COVID-19 presents the possibility – and underscores the urgency – for change. We have the opportunity to transform how the public health and the humanitarian sectors coordinate, implement, monitor, and resource collaborative approaches to RCCE – to save lives and safeguard the health and safety of the most vulnerable.
The Collective Service is a collaborative partnership between the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organisation (WHO), with support from the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), and key stakeholders from the public health and humanitarian sectors. The three agencies have a long history of effective collaboration to bolster coordinated community-centred approaches across a broad range of emergencies, contexts, and geographies. The Collective Service aims to ensure that the strengths of each partner in RCCE are supported and leveraged to deliver the greatest impact, reduce duplication, and increase effectiveness of localised action.
Previous emergencies, and outbreak responses have garnered hard won lessons and spurred demand for expanding and refining collective approaches to risk communication and community engagement, in particular in humanitarian responses. The COVID-19 pandemic necessitates that these efforts be rapidly accelerated to scale in order to urgently respond to unprecedented challenges and growing demand for support. To meet this need, the ‘Collective Service’ was launched in June 2020, after being endorsed by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Principals in April 2020, and with initial financial support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The Collective Service aims to deliver, for the first time, the structures and mechanisms required for a coordinated community-centred approach that is embedded across public health, humanitarian, and development response efforts. This will ensure expert driven, collaborative, consistent and localised RCCE support reaches governments and partners involved in the national and community response to COVID-19 and beyond.
Over the past six months, with the support of the Gates Foundation and others, the Collective Service has built the structures and mechanisms required for a coordinated, community-centred approach that is embedded throughout the response and designed to be of practical, operational use for partners, supporting and enhancing their work and improving their results. Key partners are coming together globally, regionally, with significant focus in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESAR) and West and Central Africa (WCAR), and in country to strengthen existing coordination mechanisms or support new ones, improve practice, and integrate social, community and behavioural insights into decision-making.
Job Purpose
There is an urgent need to identify additional sources of funding to guarantee the continuation of current partnerships while sustaining the coordination of risk communication and community engagement partners working to stop the COVID-19 pandemic at global, regional, and country level. There is also a need to develop a unique fund-raising mechanism to enable collective service partners to raise funds for participation in the opportunities generated by the collective service and to develop common collective service RCCE products and tools. Also, strong advocacy across the sector, within agencies and with donors, will be required to help address the complex needs of RCCE in pandemic response and create a coalition of supporters which cuts across donor groups and geographies to ensure true sustainability for RCCE investments beyond the current pandemic.
The consultant will support with advancing the RCCE Collective Service convening power towards advocating for medium- and longer-term resource mobilization and advocacy objectives
Job Duties and Responsibilities
The consultant is expected to undertake the following tasks:
- Continue to refine and deepen donor mapping research, liaising with identified donor relations managers across the three co-lead agencies and GOARN to discuss strategy and entry points.
- Lead the planning, logistics, and implementation of leadership events/round table discussions with donors/partners, including preparations of workshops, and webinars etc; coordinate meetings, develop of advocacy material and messages and facilitate follow-up actions.
- Facilitate and manage bilateral outreach with prospective donors including preparation for and debrief from meetings (e.g., identifying relevant participants, drafting talking points and presentations, highlighting action items, curating assets to be shared, etc.)
- Revise and finalize the fundraising strategy.
- Develop and roll out an advocacy strategy and toolkit (messages and assets) for the RCCE Collective Service, in closed consultation with partners, building on the existing advocacy assets.
- Development of detailed fundraising proposals and concept notes tailored to donor requirements and strategic priority areas.
- Support with the development of regional/country level funding proposal template for the rolling out of the RCCE collective service.
- Support research on potential funding mechanisms to be employed by the three co-lead agencies.
- Develop and advise on the creation of a single funding portal to facilitate resource mobilization efforts, particularly with untapped donor stakeholder groups – high net worth individuals (HNWIs) and small/medium individual donors; corporate giving; membership-based organizations; donor-advised funds; etc.
- Advise on fundraising opportunities and actions
Support consultation for the establishment of the fundraising mechanism.
Education
Required
Master’s degree in relevant field, with at least 10 years of professional experience solid track record in partnerships and fundraising for humanitarian and/or public health needs.
Experience
Required
- Experience with managing and conducting multi-stakeholder fundraising processes consultations at different levels.
Preferred
- Experience with one the co-leading partners: IFRC, UNICEF or WHO.
Experience in an international organization or NGO.
Knowledge, skills and languages
Required
- Demonstrated ability to develop and negotiate funding agreements.
- Outstanding networking, representational, communication and negotiation skills contributing to a client-focused culture. An ability to be proactive and persuasive.
- Track record in producing high quality work within short deadlines and ability to make effective, timely decisions. High degree of discretion, tact and sensitivity in dealing with internal and external clients and stakeholders at all levels.
- Ability to get consensus and collaboration across many operational units; ability to explain complex concepts in layman's language; ability to generate enthusiasm; ability to communicate with all levels of management and staff.
- A systematic mindset and strong attention to detail.
- Analytical skills.
- Demonstrated excellent written and oral communication skills and the ability to convey information clearly and accurate
Time allocation:
Start date ASAP, latest beginning of March 2021, 6 months, around 120 working days.
How to apply:
Notes
- The consultant will be contracted by the IFRC and the standard contractual terms will apply.
- Agreed travel expenses will be reimbursed at a cost in accordance with the IFRC’s relevant regulations.
- Applications should include the following documents:
1. Curriculum Vitae
2. A cover letter summarizing your experience, suggested an approach to the work, your daily rate, and three professional references.
3. Daily rate in CHF
Interested candidates should send their CV, letter of interest, and daily consultancy rate in CHF (Swiss francs) to health.department@ifrc.org. Email subject: “ Advocacy and Fundraising - Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) Collective Service"