Background:

Creative Associates International is a dynamic, fast-growing global development firm that specializes in education, economic growth, governance, and post-crisis stabilization. Based in Chevy Chase, MD (metro DC area) Creative has a field presence in more than 25 countries with a strong client portfolio that includes the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department, among others. Since its founding in 1977, Creative has earned a solid reputation among its clients and is well-regarded by competitors and partners alike.

Creative is soliciting offers for technical expertise in accordance with the Scope of Work below and Creative’s Renewable Consultant Agreement Terms and Conditions available here. Creative intends to award one or more Renewable Consultant Agreement(s) (RCA(s)) under which work may be negotiated and awarded as fixed price or level of effort performance-based activities. Creative reserves the right to make multiple awards or no award as a result of this solicitation.

Summary: 

The proposed SOW outlines a request consultant to USAID-funded program in Nigeria. The proposed consultant will support the preparation and proposal development of the upcoming FCDO Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria (SPRiNG) opportunity that is expected to be released in March 2023.

RFQ closing date: 3/7/2023 at 4PM EST (applications reviewed on a rolling basis)

Estimated period of performance: March 8, 2023 – March 7, 2024

Estimated Level of Effort: not to exceed 150 days of LOE

Reporting: The consultant will report to the designated Corporate Monitor.

Travel Anticipated? No.

If yes, travel to Danger Pay locations anticipated? N/A

Tasks To Be Performed:

1. Meet with the CIT Director of Business Development (BD) and Strategy, or other assigned person, as needed, to discuss pipeline and consultancy activities; 
2. Participate in CIT BD planning and prioritization of bids, as well as overall BD strategy for FCDO market, as requested,
3. Participate in proposal team meetings as requested and necessary. This may include regular meetings with the capture team, strategy/design sessions, VP Capture check-ins, partner meetings, stakeholder meetings, etc.;  
4. Regularly communicate with assigned teams through phone, teams, email, and in-person meetings, as needed and requested; 
5. Develop capture plans, debriefs, org charts, results frameworks, and written technical pieces of a proposal both during capture and when it is live; 
6. When an assigned proposal is live, work with the proposal team write a technical narrative or section(s) thereof, participate in color reviews, and work with the team to incorporate feedback throughout the entire process; 
7. Serve as Subject Matter Expert (SME) on bids providing guidance on technical approaches, innovations, and good practices to meet client expectations
8. Other similar tasks to be mutually agreed between Creative and the Consultant.

Results and/or Deliverables:

Consultant may be responsible for:

• Written analysis of reviews of solicitation or pre-solicitation documents and terms of reference
• Competitiveness analysis and recommendations for positioning on FCDO bids
• Inputs into capture trip plan (list of stakeholders, questions, and schedule), participation in debrief discussions and provision of design ideas following the capture trip,
• Written input for design sessions, including a pink team for overall strategy and approach decision within first week of solicitation release
• Detailed input and guidance to the Proposal Manager (PM) on partnering strategy and final partner decisions,
• Consistent guidance to the PM on managing an FCDO bid to be fully responsive to the solicitation,
• Reviews ensuring the integration of feedback and capture materials, particularly related to FCDO compliance, into proposal draft; research to fill gaps conducted, as needed,
• Recommended approaches and activities for the technical narrative, as requested by the Technical Lead Writer (TLW) Written feedback and recommendations for improvements on proposals when serving as a color reviewers or coach, to ensure proposal quality,
• Expert guidance on how to build Creative’s engagement in the FCDO market and tailoring our systems and policies to prepare winning FCDO proposals; as requested.

Other Matters N/A

An overarching Renewable Consultant Agreement will be issued based on the capabilities and qualifications listed below as well as those listed in the individual’s submitted CV.

General Capabilities

Consultant will be expected to have the skills, qualifications, experience, education and general expertise necessary to provide support for Communities in Transition Division business development strategy, and capture and proposal efforts.

Required Qualifications

1. Five years of experience writing successful proposals to FCDO 
2. Familiarity with FCDO requirements for proposal compliance and responsiveness   
3. Familiarity with UK policy documents related to transition programming and fragile states; able to incorporate policy adherence in proposal components
4. Strong technical writing, editing, capture, and/or design skills 
5. Ability to synthesize large amounts of information into concise narratives 
6. Knowledge of competitive proposal processes; knowledge of and ability to guide the development of a competitive proposal across various roles
7. Strong organizational management skills, including the ability to prioritize tasks, adhere to tight deadlines, and respond with flexibility in a fast-paced environment. 

Work Assignment:

Consultants with the requisite qualifications will be given a renewable consulting agreement under which specific work assignments will be ordered on an ad hoc basis, subject to consultant’s availability.  Consultants may be required to compete against other similarly qualified consultants, though generally work will be assigned and negotiated directly with the consultant.

Additional information:

Please click on the links to download the Terms and Conditions, Annex A (Reps, Certs and Consents form) and W-8; W-9; and Vendor Information form, as applicable. The forms are provided for your information at this stage in the solicitation process. Completed forms will be required only if you have been selected for the consulting opportunity. However, you may complete, sign, and submit the forms as part of your response to this request.

If a budget is required for Other Direct Costs, including travel, a budget template can be downloaded here.

Selection will be made on the basis of technical capability and overall best value. Modifications to this solicitation, including closing date extensions, will be posted on the Creative website. Please check the website for updates.