Consultant- Investment Memorandum Writer

Job Description

Request for Proposals

Recruitment of a Consultant – Investment Memorandum Writer for the Community-Led Forest Economy for the Congo Basin (CLFE-CB)

Summary of procurement

The World Resources Institute (WRI) is seeking to award a fixed-price contract for a consultant (an individual or a team) to lead the development of an investment memorandum (memo) for its new campaign on Community-Led Forest Economies in the Congo Basin (CLFE-CB). The consultant will work closely with the WRI team to create a compelling, bankable memo that aligns with IP&LC’s priorities while strategically positioning WRI and partners as the most suitable potential implementers. This role will focus on facilitating deep dive conversations with key WRI experts in the Congo Basin and beyond, crafting different versions of a memo, and conducting a donor analysis to identify relevant entry points and approaches for enabling investment. The ideal candidate will have extensive expertise in strategic thinking, fundraising campaign including donor engagement and proposal writing, and programme development. A good understanding of tropical forestry, including community-led management approaches, forest and land-use governance, sustainable forest management solutions, and creating enabling conditions for local actors— including economic empowerment and stakeholder cooperation—will be essential for this assignment. Previous experience in all or a few Congo Basin countries would be a plus.

About WRI

The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global research organization that drives human society to live in ways that protect Earth's environment and its ability to meet the needs and aspirations of current and future generations. WRI—a trusted partner for change—provides the research, coalitions, and global reach needed to make meaningful progress. We aim to transform the human systems driving unsustainable production and consumption, including food, land and water, energy, and cities, as well as the economic, financial, and governance systems supporting them. We focus on transitions in key countries, where we test, evaluate, and scale successful strategies and lessons learned, alongside global initiatives. Through established and new partnerships with governments, businesses, non-profits, and other stakeholders, we bring together the essential change-makers to create lasting impact. Founded in 1982, WRI has nearly 1,800 staff around the world, with country offices in Brazil, China, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Mexico and the United States and regional offices in Africa and Europe.

WRI Africa works on four main pillars with target impacts on people, nature and climate: Thriving Resilient Cities, Food, Land and Water, Sustainable Energy Transition and Access, Climate, Economics and Finance. More information on WRI can be found here.

In the Congo Basin, WRI has been leading the collaborative development and use of FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) geospatial data to inform land-use planning and management for over 20 years. More recently, our work has expended to champion community-led forest economies (CLFE) that are grounded on a power shift towards stronger IP&LC agency over their customary lands, improved wellbeing through the development of key forest-related sectors led by IPs&LCs, and greater forest integrity owing to improved forest monitoring, protection and restoration interventions.

Scope of Work and Deliverables

The CLFE-CB programme is in its early stages. However, it builds on several years of engagement within the Congo Basin as well as some Global dialogues with partners from across tropical forest landscapes. It is now ready to incubate and scale up, with a fundraising target of $100 million through a maximum of 5 donors and investors.

The Consultant will be responsible for leading and supporting the development of an investment memo that transform the CLFE-CB programme from a experts’ concept note into an attractive and marketable document that aligns with donors’ and investors’ priorities. Note: the consultant will receive this concept note at the beginning of the assignment.

The main tasks for this consultancy include:

1. Review of the programme’s concept note and relevant materials

Working with WRI Team, the Consultant will:

- Undertake a comprehensive review of the CLFE concept note and relevant materials with emphasis to the consistency and feasibility of the proposed work pillars, alignment with current WRI’s portfolio in the region, benchmarking with similar organizations, and responsiveness to needs and opportunities within the targeted countries.

- Review the programme’s anticipated structure and systems.

- Review and characterize the pipeline of potential donors and investors proposed by WRI’s

team.

2. Prepare the investment memorandum for the CLFE-CB’s programme

- Propose an outline for the investment memo that includes, but is not limited to, an executive summary, purpose of the memo, problem, solution (the CLFE-CB as a product, strategy or programme), description of the market (donor and government ecosystems) opportunity, competition, development status of our solution, possible engagement approaches, metrics of success, team (current and needed), financials, risks and mitigation, exit strategies, and appendices.

- Through an extensive consultation with WRI Team, craft the design for the incubation and scale up of the CLFE-CB programme that aligns with WRI’s portfolio, unique positioning vis-à-vis other players, and key priorities of countries and donors. This is about making the CLFE-CB a marketable solution (product, strategy or programme).

- Complete the investment memo based on the approved outline.

3. Prepare and support the implementation of a fundraising plan

- Propose a full five-year funding model that taps into both traditional (grants, donations, contracts) and innovative finance mechanisms (blended finance, carbon and biodiversity finance).

- Provide realistic financing targets for both the incubation and scale up phases – our current estimates (to be adjusted) range between $10 million and $150 million.

- Provide a solid analysis of at least 10 non-conventional (not the classic bilateral or multilateral WRI funders) donors and investors with interest in and capabilities for funding up to or beyond the financing targets.

- Shortlist potential donors and investors and, identify entry points and/or establish initial contacts.

- Design an investment tour/roadshow plan mixing various approaches for engaging the targeted donors and investors, as well as any relevant technical partners.

Deliverables and deadlines

The contract will run for 6 months from the start date. The consultant will be required to produce the following deliverables:

Tasks

Deliverables

Estimated deadlines

1.

Review of the programme’s concept note and relevant materials

-Inception report

-Review report with feedback on all items listed under Task 1

-Initial characterization of donor & investor pipeline

4 weeks from contract signing

Around 20 days

2. Prepare the investment memorandum for the CLFE- CB’s programme

- Outline for the investment memo including light-touch description of key sections

- Approved “Solution” as well as its development approach – incubation and scale up

- Approved investment memo + slides for donor engagement

5 months from contract signing

Around 30 days

3.

Prepare and support the implementation of a fundraising plan

- Validated five-year funding model

- Data-informed financing targets

- Roadshow plan with key milestones and target donors & investors.

6 months from contract signing

Around 20 days

Consultant Qualifications

 A minimum of 8 years demonstrated experience in designing strategic documents and investment memos for large-scale, multi-country programmes, ideally for a broad range of donors and investors, from bilateral/multilateral donors to philanthropies and the private sector.

 Proven experience working on forestry and deforestation issues, especially in Africa and the Congo Basin context.

 Strong understanding of the landscape of donors & investors at the intersection between nature, climate and wellbeing, especially their willingness and approach for programme co- ideation and co-creation.

 Demonstrated ability to facilitate multi-stakeholder processes and incorporate diverse viewpoints into a cohesive strategy.

 Excellent communication and writing skills, with fluency in English and French preferred.

 Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage deadlines and deliver high- quality outputs under pressure.

Budget

The contract value will be determined based on the consultant’s proposal, but it should not exceed

$30,000 USD. Payment will be made in line with the agreed deliverables and timelines.

• Pricing should be valid for sixty (60) days.
• A proposed budget with a breakdown of costs sufficient to assess reasonableness.
• Please also include a payment schedule associating amounts with work milestones.
• Provide pricing for all applicable costs associated with this solicitation. An estimate of the number of days required to carry out the activities is to be provided by the consultant in the proposal and must be reflected in the estimate. However, once the budget has been validated,

the payment of the service will be conditional on the delivery of the deliverables and not on the number of days actually worked. All expenses (equipment, materials, supplies, consumables, insurance, travel expenses, etc.) necessary for the performance of the proposal should be reflected in the budget.

Timeline

Please submit your proposal by May 20, 2025. The top candidate will be selected and informed by May 30, 2025. The assignment is aimed to start by 15 June 2025.

The Consultant should propose a regular check-in with the project team to help guide the project. The Consultant is responsible for driving the agenda of these check-ins and key follow-up.

Guidelines for proposal submission

Deadline for Questions

All questions about this RFP must be received via email to the contact below.

Name: Teodyl Nkuintchua

Title: Congo Basin Strategy and Engagement Leader,

WRI Africa Email: [email protected]

Name: Stephen Mwirigi

Title: Director for Development,

WRI Africa Email: [email protected]

Answers to the questions will be shared will all parties who have asked questions or otherwise expressed interest.

Format of Proposals

Interested consultants should submit the following documents:

1. Statement of Interest (1-2 pages) detailing relevant experience and how the proposed individual meets the qualifications.

2. A resume highlighting experience in designing investment memos, supporting fundraising process, forestry, and Congo Basin development.

3. An outline of the proposed method of working, including key milestones and delivery

4. A detailed breakdown of costs, including a payment schedule based on deliverables.

5. At least two references.

Selection process

No proposal development costs shall be charged to WRI / all expenses are to be borne by the bidders. WRI may award the bidder offering best value without discussion. However, WRI reserves the right to seek bidder clarifications and to negotiate with those bidders deemed to be within a competitive range. WRI may, at its discretion and without explanation to the prospective consultants, choose to discontinue this RFP without obligation to such prospective consultants or make multiple awards under this RFP.

Evaluation and Selection Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based on the technical capacity of the consultant, the extent to which the consultant’s proposal fulfills WRI’s stated requirements, Experience with similar projects and overall cost and value for money.

The following elements will be the primary considerations in evaluating all proposals submitted in response to this RFP:

Criteria

Max. Score

Demonstrated understanding of the assignment with clear approach to the implement the activities and timely meet the objectives of the assignments defined in the Terms of

Reference

30

Overall technical capacity of the consultant

15

Experience with similar projects – successful investment memos

20

Understanding of community-led forest management in the Congo Basin

20

Budget (clarity and distribution)

15

TOTAL

100

The bidder offering the best overall value based on the above criteria will be selected. For this procurement. WRI reserves the right to select, or not select, a consultant for any reason.