REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)
Business Development and Proposal Development Consultant Roster
Issue Date: June 8, 2026
Proposal Due Date: June 22, 2026
1. Background
IREX (International Research & Exchanges Board) seeks to establish a roster of qualified individual consultants and/or firms to provide business development and proposal development support across a range of technical and operational areas.
This RFP is intended to support surge and ongoing proposal needs across IREX’s portfolio. Offerors may submit qualifications for one or multiple functional areas. IREX anticipates making multiple contracts and establishing a pre-qualified pool of consultants.
2. Scope of Work
Consultants will provide support across the full proposal lifecycle, including capture, design, drafting, costing, and submission. Specific assignments will be issued on a task-order or call-down basis.
Core responsibilities may include:
- Supporting proposal development processes from pre-positioning through submission
- Producing high-quality, donor-compliant deliverables aligned with solicitation requirements
- Participating in proposal design workshops, review cycles, and coordination processes
- Collaborating with internal staff, partners, and subject matter experts
- Delivering work under compressed timelines with strong quality control
* this is a remote (work from home) position.
3. Areas of Expertise
Offerors may apply to one or more of the following categories:
A. Technical Writing / Proposal Writing
- Draft technical narratives, including approach, implementation, and management sections
- Translate design inputs into clear, compelling proposal language
- Ensure responsiveness to solicitation requirements and evaluation criteria
- Support concept notes, executive summaries, and narrative revisions
B. Proposal Management
- Lead proposal planning, timelines, and deliverable tracking
- Coordinate inputs from internal teams, partners, and consultants
- Ensure compliance with donor requirements (formatting, page limits, submission)
- Facilitate review processes and decision points, ensuring a competitive and compliant bid
C. Cost and Pricing
- Develop detailed budgets and cost narratives
- Ensure accuracy, competitiveness, and compliance with donor regulations
- Align technical design with cost assumptions
- Conduct cost realism checks and budget validation
D. Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL/MERL)
- Design results frameworks, indicators, and learning approaches
- Integrate MEL into proposal design and technical approaches
- Develop MEL plans aligned with donor expectations
- Support adaptive management and evidence-based programming frameworks
E. Proposal Coordination
- Manage document control, formatting, and version management
- Coordinate annexes, attachments, and submission materials
- Manage logistical and administrative support for proposal teams including meeting scheduling and notetaking
- Support copyediting, formatting, and final packaging
- Ensure submission readiness and compliance checklists
F. Technical Subject Matter Expertise
- Provide sectoral expertise
- Contribute to program design, theory of change, and technical approaches
- Draft or review specialized sections of proposals
- Ensure approaches reflect current best practice and evidence
G. Recruitment
- Recruit qualified key staff for proposal teams
H. Graphic Design
- create graphic elements for proposal including coversheets and visual elements
I. Copy Editing
- Copyedit proposal narratives
Donor Expertise
Offerors should highlight experience working with donors, including (but not limited to):
- Bilateral donors:
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)
- Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)
- European and multilateral institutions:
- European Union (EU) institutions and instruments
- KfW Development Bank
- Other European bilateral agencies
- Development banks and multilateral financing institutions:
- World Bank Group
- Regional development banks (e.g., EBRD, ADB, AfDB, IDB)
- USG: e.g. DOS, MCC, DOL
- Philanthropy:
- Company-sponsored foundations
- Family Foundations
- Independent Foundations
- Philanthropic Collaboratives
Relevant experience may include:
- Leading or contributing to successful proposals for these donors
- Demonstrating understanding of donor-specific requirements, formats, and evaluation criteria
- Experience with procurement modalities (e.g., framework agreements, tenders, competitive dialogue)
- Familiarity with priority technical sectors and thematic requirements
4. Qualifications
Applicants should demonstrate:
- Proven experience in one or more functional areas listed above
- Strong track record supporting proposals for major donors
- Ability to work independently and as part of fast-paced, distributed teams
- High attention to detail and ability to meet tight deadlines
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
Minimum Qualifications:
Offerors must demonstrate:
- At least 10 years of proposal experience for technical writers and proposal managers;
- Experience across a variety of donors
- Ability to meet compressed deadlines and participate in rapid review cycles;
- Professional English writing/editing proficiency (other languages will be an advantage).
5. Proposal Submission Requirements
Interested offerors must submit one document that includes:
- 1-2 page CV (or firm profile, resumes of key personnel)
- 3-5 bullets highlighting most significant areas above (e.g. technical writing, proposal coordination, etc.)
- Donor experience
- Proposed Daily Rate in US Dollars; Can provide different rates for different areas of expertise (e.g. one daily rate for technical writing and another rate for copy editing)
- Optional writing sample for technical writer applications
- Optional graphic samples for graphic design
6. Evaluation Criteria
Proposals will be evaluated based on:
- Relevant experience and qualifications (50%) – demonstrated experience in the requested functional area(s).
- Demonstrated experience with priority donors (25%) – documented familiarity with requirements and formats with relevant donors.
- Cost competitiveness and value (25%) – reasonableness of proposed daily rate in relation to experience, specialization, and expected deliverables.
7. Terms and Conditions
- Inclusion in the roster does not guarantee work
- Assignments will be issued on an as-needed basis
- Consultants may be engaged under time-and-materials, fixed-price or Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) arrangements
- All services will be subject to IREX contractual terms and procurement policies
IREX may, at its discretion, select multiple offerors and accept proposals for one or more functional areas. IREX reserves the right to enter into multiple contracts or to make no awards as a result of this RFP. Inclusion in the roster does not guarantee any minimum quantity of work.
Submission Instructions
Proposals must be submitted electronically through RPF announcement and link on IREX’s website
Deadline: June 22nd 2026 11:59PM EDT
