Consultancy for Strengthening Partnerships and Fundraising for WWF Mozambique

Description

• To strengthen WWF Mozambique’s partnerships and fundraising capacity by improving donor intelligence, developing strategic proposals, and enhancing systems for resource mobilization, partnership engagement, and donor stewardship
• Specific Objectives:
• To identify and cultivate strategic partnerships across government, civil society, private sector, and the WWF Network
• To strengthen WWF-MCO’s resource mobilization processes, including donor pipeline management and targeted funding strategies
• To lead and/or support the development of high-quality concept notes and full proposals aligned with donor and WWF standards
• To improve donor stewardship, compliance, and reporting quality, contributing to long-term donor trust and retention
• Scope of work: The consultant will work closely with the Resource Acquisition Focal Point, Conservation Programme teams, Communications, Finance, MEL, Risks management, and Safeguards units to strengthen WWF-MCO’s capacity in strategic partnerships and resource mobilization. While the consultant will provide technical leadership in several workstreams, tasks will be undertaken in close coordination with internal teams and external partners to ensure alignment with WWF standards and donor expectations
• Partnerships development: The consultant will lead the process of mapping and prioritizing strategic partners across government institutions, civil society organizations, academic institutions, foundations, and the private sector. This will involve identifying areas of strategic alignment, potential partnership models, and opportunities for co-creation and joint programming. The consultant will prepare partnership scoping notes, contribute to due diligence processes, and support assessing needs for MoUs or collaboration frameworks where required
• Additionally, the consultant will strengthen WWF-MCO’s engagement with WWF National Offices (WWF-US, WWF-DE, WWF-SE, WWF-NL, WWF-UK, WWF-NO, WWF-EPO, among others) by preparing briefs, coordinating communication, and helping cultivate joint fundraising or programme development opportunities. Where relevant, the consultant will contribute to the design and facilitation of co-creation discussions or workshops for emerging multi-partner initiatives
• Resource Mobilization and Fundraising: The consultant will support WWF-MCO in strengthening its resource acquisition systems by conducting donor mapping and maintaining an up-to-date overview of national, regional, and global funding sources. This includes preparing donor intelligence briefs, analyzing trends and strategic funding windows, and updating the donor pipeline on a monthly basis. A core component of the consultancy will involve supporting the development of competitive concept notes and proposals. This will include drafting selected narrative components, coordinating technical inputs from programme teams, ensuring coherence with WWF’s Theory of Change, MEL frameworks, safeguards (ESSF), and risk management requirements, and supporting the Finance team in consolidating proposal budgets. The consultant will also help identify and match strategic opportunities with WWF-MCO priorities to ensure proposals respond to both internal strategies and donor interests
• Knowledge Management and Communication: The consultant will contribute to strengthening WWF-MCO’s internal knowledge management for partnerships and resource mobilization. This will include developing or refining donor-facing communication materials, such as partner briefs, pitch decks, and selected success stories, to enhance visibility and strengthen fundraising messaging. The consultant will deliver at least one internal training session aimed at building staff capacity in partnership development, donor engagement, or proposal writing. Throughout the consultancy, the consultant will prepare periodic summaries of progress, challenges, risks, and recommendations, culminating in a quarterly progress note for senior management

Methodology

• The consultant is expected to employ a combination of approaches, including consultations with WWF staff and partners, desk review and mixed-methods analysis for donor intelligence and partnership mapping, and iterative proposal development using WWF’s established templates and processes. Findings and draft products will be validated with programme managers and senior leadership to ensure alignment with organisational priorities. Access to WWF-MCO internal documents, donor files, and relevant tools will be granted upon signature of the contract. The consultant may refine the methodology during the inception phase, provided it remains aligned with the objectives and deliverables of the assignment

Duties

• By the end of the 6-months of the contract, the Partnerships and fundraising specialist is expected to have:
• Inception Report including proposed methodology, timeline, and work plan (within 2 weeks of contract start)
• Updated donor pipelines are submitted every month
• Strategic partnerships map and engagement plan
• 4 to 6 high-quality concept notes and/or full proposals developed and submitted during the consultancy period.
• Two donor intelligence briefs summarizing trends, opportunities, and risks
• Set of donor-ready communication materials, including a pitch deck and partner briefs
• One training session delivered to WWF staff on resource mobilization or partnership development
• Quarterly progress summary highlighting achievements and recommendations
• Final consultancy report covering all outputs, lessons learned, and recommendations
• All deliverables shall be submitted in English, using WWF formats where applicable

Requisites

• At least a master’s degree in environmental sciences, Business Administration, Development Studies, International Relations, Environmental Management, natural resources management or a related field
• Minimum 7 years’ experience in fundraising, resource mobilization, donor relations, partnership management, or programme development preferably in international NGOs, conservation, or development sectors
• Proven track record of successfully securing multi-year, multi-million-dollar funding from diverse sources, including public sector, private sector, foundations, and international donors (e.g. EU, BMZ, GEF/GCF, Norad, foundations, etc.)
• Strong experience developing complex proposals with multiple partners
• Experience in building and managing strategic partnerships at national, regional, and international levels
• Experience designing and implementing innovative fundraising models and cost-recovery mechanisms
• Other skills and competencies:
• Strong proposal development, writing, budget planning, and financial management skills
• Excellent relationship management and stakeholder engagement skills, with demonstrated donor stewardship experience
• Strong communication, negotiation, and presentation skills
• Ability to work collaboratively across teams and coordinate multi-stakeholder initiatives
• Analytical and strategic thinking, with a results-oriented approach
• Fluency in English and Portuguese. Knowledge of additional languages is an advantage
• High competence in proposal and report writing and ability to understand complex donor requirements

Notes

• Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted
• WWF Mozambique (MCO) has been a key conservation actor in the country since the early 2000s, contributing to the establishment of conservation areas, empowering local communities to engage in sustainable resource governance, and informing national environmental policy. Over the past two decades, WWF-MCO has played a central role in advancing sustainable resource management and biodiversity protection across the country. Under the Office Strategic Plan (2026–2030), WWF Mozambique aims to ensure sound management and responsible stewardship of the country’s biodiversity for present and future generations. A critical pillar of this strategy is resource acquisition, with the goal of achieving long-term financial sustainability through diversified income sources, robust donor partnerships, and innovative financing mechanisms. To support this, WWF Mozambique seeks to hire a Partnerships and Fundraising Specialist to lead implementation of key actions under the resource acquisition pillar.
• WWF-MCO’s conservation programme aligns with WWF’s Global Goals and Roadmap 2030, and Mozambique’s national development and environmental management priorities. The strategy seeks to deliver measurable 2030 outcomes in marine and terrestrial ecosystem protection, community governance, restoration, law enforcement, sustainable livelihoods, climate resilience, clean energy access, and effective policy and advocacy. Over recent years, WWF-MCO has significantly expanded its portfolio through major donor-funded initiatives, including donors like AFD, BMZ, EU, Norad, SIDA, World Bank, Biofund, Proazul amongst others. WWF-MCO also works closely with WWF National Offices (WWF-United States, WWF-Germany, WWF-Netherlands, WWF-Sweeden, WWF-United Kingdom, WWF-Norway) on joint fundraising and programme development. At the same time, the donor landscape is shifting. Traditional development partners are restructuring their bilateral priorities, such as Sweden’s recent phase-out of bilateral cooperation, while global financing is increasingly directed toward climate adaptation, biodiversity finance, community resilience, and innovative mechanisms such as carbon and blended finance. Accessing these opportunities requires stronger donor intelligence, more strategic partnership engagement, and high-quality proposal development capacity
• Despite strong technical expertise across programmes, resource mobilisation needs have grown substantially, requiring more dedicated attention and coordination. Developing competitive proposals increasingly involves multiple teams and external partners, while donor expectations around compliance, reporting, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL), and safeguards continue to evolve
• To remain competitive and sustain programming at scale, WWF-MCO aims to further enhance its capacity to systematically identify funding opportunities, nurture strategic partnerships, develop high-quality proposals, and ensure consistent donor stewardship

Duration and Timing

• The consultancy will run for 6 months, with an estimated effort of 12 working days per month. A detailed work plan with timelines will be agreed upon during the inception phase. The consultant is expected to have regular follow up meetings with WWF team – frequency and duration of those meetings can be proposed by the consultant

Logistical Support and Other Information

• WWF-MCO will provide:
• Access to internal documents, strategic plans, donor files, and templates
• Coordination with internal teams and support in scheduling meetings with stakeholders
• Access to meeting room if relevant and agreed in advance
• Oversight and technical guidance The consultant shall be responsible for:
• Their own workspace and equipment
• Communication costs
• Any travel, unless pre-approved by WWF and reimbursed according to policy

Assignment Workstation

• The consultant may work remotely, with availability for in-person meetings in Maputo office and occasional field missions if relevant and agreed in advance

Application

• Technical Application/Proposal
• Cover letter demonstrating understanding of the TORs and suitability
• Description of proposed methodology and approach
• At least three examples of relevant past work
• CV(s) of key personnel
• Financial Proposal - indicating detailed breakdown of costs for the different tasks and justifications and daily consultancy fees. All amounts must include applicable taxes; if the consultant is not registered for tax purposes in Mozambique, a 20% withholding tax will be applied. The financial proposal shall be submitted in a separate document from the technical proposal in USD

Evaluation of Applications

• Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
• Criteria Weight
• Understanding and technical soundness of methodology 40%
• Relevant experience and expertise of consultant 30%
• Past performance on similar assignments 20%
• Financial offer 10%
• Applications must be submitted in English. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interviews and presentations
• We encourage women to apply