(Technical Proposal - Open PDF file)
(Financial Proposal - Password-Protected PDF file)
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
Short-Term Consultant: Specialist - Fund Operations, Risk Management & Oversight
1. Background
The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) is a global coalition committed to strengthening infrastructure resilience against climate and disaster risks. With 57 member countries and 12 partner organizations, it includes national governments, international bodies, and businesses collaborating to exchange knowledge, drive research, and invest in disaster-resilient infrastructure. Members gain access to global expertise, funding, technical support, research opportunities, innovative solutions, and international best practices.
Headquartered in New Delhi, India, CDRI’s Secretariat holds the status of an International Organization.
CDRI’s mission is, by 2050, to drive US$10 trillion of new and existing infrastructure investments and services to be resilient to natural hazards and climate change through enhanced capacity, informed policy, planning, and management, thereby improving environmental quality, livelihoods, and overall well-being for more than 3 billion people worldwide.
2. Objective of this assignment
CDRI established a multi-donor trust fund, the Infrastructure Resilience Accelerator Fund (IRAF), in November 2022, hosted by the United Nations Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (UN MPTFO) for a period of five years. As per the Terms of Reference of IRAF, the Fund will transition to the CDRI Secretariat in 2027. Considering the project cycle under IRAF, CDRI is required to establish and operationalise a CDRI-administered Trust Fund well ahead of the transfer date.
To support this transition, the Fund Management Unit (FMU) is responsible for supporting the implementation of the Fund mandate and the application of Fund policies across four core areas: programme design; programme implementation; Fund operations; and Fund portfolio oversight, monitoring and evaluation.
CDRI seeks to engage a Specialist – Fund Operations, Risk Management and Oversight to provide short-term technical and operational support to the Fund Management Unit, with a focus on operations, project management, risk analysis, due diligence, compliance, financial monitoring, reporting, and process development. The assignment is intended to support the design, build, and initial operationalisation of the CDRI-administered Fund
3. Scope of Work
The consultant is expected to work on-site and will work closely with the designated team from CDRI. In executing this assignment, the consultant will undertake the following indicative (but not limited to) tasks:
A. Fund Design and Transition Support
- Support implementation of the approved IRAF Fund transition strategy.
- Provide analytical and operational support in designing the CDRI Trust Fund architecture, governance arrangements, and management structures.
- Contribute to the drafting and finalisation of key strategic and operational documents, including Terms of Reference, governance rules and procedures, operational guidelines and templates, and Fund-related policies and frameworks.
- Support the development of systems, tools, templates, and workflows required to transition to a CDRI-administered Fund.
B. Fund Governance and Coordination
- Support the functioning of Fund governance and management structures through research, data compilation, analysis, and documentation of meetings and action points.
- Prepare background materials, briefing notes, presentations, and reporting packs for Fund-related meetings and decision-making processes.
- Support communication and reporting related to the Fund and its governance structures, including coordination with internal teams, donors, and implementing partners.
- Track and follow up on actions arising from governance and management meetings
C. Fund Operations and Programme Implementation
- Support the operationalisation of the Fund for programme and project implementation.
- Contribute to the development and refinement of grants documentation, Project Operations Manual, agreements with donors and implementing partners, and Fund tools, templates, and standard formats.
- Support implementation processes related to grants and projects, including due diligence, compliance checks, documentation review, and risk screening.
- Work closely with Operations and relevant internal teams on legal and administrative instruments necessary to receive donor funds and disburse resources for programme activities, ensuring appropriate safeguards.
- Support procurement processes for Fund-related activities, including coordination on contracting and monitoring delivery of services, as required.
D. Risk Management, Due Diligence and Fund Oversight
- Support the establishment and maintenance of a Fund Risk Register, including identification, assessment, monitoring, and mitigation of operational and programmatic risks.
- Conduct or support due diligence and appraisal of implementing entities, partners, and programme opportunities using relevant methodologies and tools.
- Track and analyse risks affecting implementation, compliance, delivery, and portfolio performance, and support timely mitigation actions.
- Contribute to Fund oversight processes, including risk reporting, issue escalation, and related oversight actions as required.
- Support internal and external audit processes and follow up on related recommendations.
E. Financial Monitoring, Reporting and Compliance
- Support Fund financial monitoring and reporting to CDRI management and donors.
- Assist in the review of budgets, expenditures, financial trends, and supporting documentation to ensure sound financial management.
- Contribute to budget tracking, work planning, and resource monitoring.
- Support preparation of financial analysis and reports for both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Support adherence to donor requirements and relevant CDRI policies, procedures, and compliance obligations.
F. Policies, Processes, Systems and Capacity Building
- Support the adaptation and development of CDRI policies, processes, procedures, and standard operating procedures for Fund administration and transition.
- Provide inputs to update and strengthen the Fund Manual of Operations and related guidance materials.
- Support the establishment and maintenance of secure information management and archiving systems for Fund-related records.
- Serve as a resource for Secretariat staff, grantees, and implementing organizations on Fund policies, templates, systems, and reporting requirements.
- Support alignment of internal procurement, HR, finance, and operational systems with donor and external compliance requirements.
- Design and organise training materials, briefing packages, and capacity-building support for programme teams, project teams, and relevant stakeholders.
Submission
Please share proposals in two separate PDF files:
a) Technical Proposal (Open PDF file) catering to, but not limited to, the following:
- Technical Summary Sheet: Use the template in Annexure I to state: (i) a brief understanding of the TOR and the IRAF transition context; (ii) your approach to fund operationalisation and transition support, risk management and due diligence, financial monitoring and compliance, and process and SOP development; (iii) relevant experience in fund management, programme operations, risk oversight, or development project administration (max 5 lines); (iv) availability for this consultancy.
- Curriculum Vitae (CV required): The detailed CV should clearly cover total years of experience, covering the criteria mentioned at Section 6 and highlight any experience with international or UN-system organisations.
Note: A CV without the Technical Summary Sheet will be non-responsive.
b) Financial Proposal (Password-Protected PDF File): Use the template in Annexure II to provide the monthly professional fee (INR), inclusive of GST and the 6-month total fees. This should also include the bank details for payment.
Notes:
- The Technical and Financial Proposals must be submitted as separate files, and no financial information should be disclosed in the Technical Proposal. Non-compliance will lead to disqualification.
- The Financial Proposal PDF must be password-protected. Under no circumstances should the password be shared at the time of submission. It will be requested separately after the RFP submission deadline has passed.(password requested only from technically qualified consultants).
Clarifications by Consultants
Any clarification/queries on the RFP document may be sent to the Procurement Unit of CDRI in writing by email to tender.projects@cdri.world
CDRI shall endeavour to respond to the queries raised or clarifications sought by the consultant. However, CDRI reserves the right not to respond to any query or provide any clarification in its sole discretion, and nothing in this clause shall be construed, taken, or read as compelling or requiring CDRI to respond to any query or to provide any clarification.
At any time prior to the proposal due date, CDRI may, for any reason, whether at its own initiative or in response to clarifications requested by the consultant(s), modify the RFP document by way of issue of Addendum/ Corrigendum/ Clarifications. Any Addendum/ Corrigendum/ Clarification thus issued shall be shared with all consultants by email and/or uploaded on the website of CDRI (https://cdri.world/work-with-us/#tenders) and shall be binding on the consultant and shall form part of the RFP document.
Other Terms & Conditions
- The proposals should be valid for 90 days after the final submission date.
- CDRI reserves the right to cancel this Request for Proposal before or after the receipt of proposals or after opening the proposal and call for fresh proposals. CDRI also has the right to reject any proposal without assigning any reason.
- Proposals incomplete in any respect will not be considered.
The consultants are requested to submit their proposal through email to tender.projects@cdri.world by 23:59 hrs (IST) on Tuesday, 30 June 2026. Responses received after the stipulated time or not in accordance will be summarily rejected.
For detailed information, please check the complete version of the RFP attached below