Consultancy - Landscape Analysis of Non-Traditional Donors in West Africa

Consultancy – Landscape Analysis of Non-Traditional Donors in West Africa

Location: Home-based with virtual engagement + remote consultations with Burkina Faso, Liberia, Mali
Contract type: Short-term consultancy

Duration: ~10 weeks (January-March 2026)

Application deadline: no later than 4 January 2026, 11:30pm UTC+0

About WaterAid

WaterAid is an international non-profit organisation working to transform the lives of the most vulnerable by improving access to clean water, decent sanitation, and hygiene. In West Africa, WaterAid partners with governments, civil society, communities, and the private sector to deliver sustainable WASH services and strengthen systems for long-term impact.

As competition for traditional funding increases, WaterAid West Africa (WAWA) is seeking to diversify restricted income sources by deepening engagement with non-traditional donors, such as corporate and private foundations, CSR programmes, philanthropic institutions, high-net-worth individuals, impact investors, etc.

To support this strategic shift, WaterAid is recruiting a Consultant to conduct a comprehensive landscape analysis of non-traditional donors operating in West Africa.

Purpose of the Consultancy

The consultancy will generate a structured, evidence-based understanding of the non-traditional funding landscape in three priority countries—Burkina Faso, Liberia, and Mali—and at regional level. The analysis will strengthen WaterAid’s strategic fundraising, positioning, and engagement pathways. For further guidance on objectives, tasks and deliverables of the consultancy, check the Terms of Reference (ToR).

Key tasks:

• Landscape Review: Identify non‐traditional donors currently operating (or with potential to operate) in West Africa (regional + country levels).
• Segmentation & Tiering: Categorise donors into tiers (Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3) based on criteria such as size of funds available, strategic fit, likelihood of engagement, alignment with WaterAid’s profile, geographic reach, risk, etc.
• WaterAid Niche Map: For each donor (or donor tier) identify how WaterAid’s unique value proposition (WASH + Health + Climate + Systems strengthening in West Africa) aligns; determine potential entry points, engagement strategies, competitive advantages and required investment.
• Database Development: Create a living, searchable database of donor contacts, addresses, funding streams, thematic priorities, previous grants, application cycles, key decision-makers, preferred regions, reporting requirements, etc. The database will be a structured Excel sheets format.
• Engagement Preparation: Based on the above, propose a prioritised list of donors for WAWA and each CP, with recommended next steps (pre-positioning, concept development, relationship building).
• Internal Capacity & Awareness: Recommend processes, tools or training needed to keep the donor database updated, ensure country programmes can use it, and integrate the mapping into fundraising workflows.

Deliverables

• Deliverable 1: Inception Report (within 2 weeks) - methodology, timeline, draft criteria for donor tiers, stakeholder mapping plan.
• Deliverable 2: Draft Funding Landscape Report - summary of non‐traditional donors (regional & country) identified, segmentation/tiering table, alignment analysis, identification of funding windows, application cycles, and co-funding expectations
• Deliverable 3: Donor Database (Excel/CRM-compatible) - full list of donors with key fields (name, type, country/region, thematic focus, fund size, contact details, previous grants, application timeframe, notes on WaterAid fit) and filterable by country, theme, tier.
• Deliverable 4: Final Report - includes refined landscape, tiered donor list, WaterAid niche map, prioritised engagement strategy, recommendations and next steps for each country programme and the region. Annexes must include at a minimum the final tools, the transcript and written summary of the key informant interviews.
• Deliverable 5: Presentation & Workshop Materials - a PowerPoint deck and a virtual workshop to share findings with CDs, BD managers, regional team, PFP and other relevant WA Members; includes guidance on how to use the database.

Consultant Profile

WaterAid seeks a consultant with:

Essential Qualifications

• At least eight (8) years in business development, grants management.

• Proven expertise in donor mapping and landscape analysis, fundraising strategy.
• Strong understanding of West Africa’s funding environment, particularly non-traditional donors as described in the ToR.
• Experience designing donor databases, segmentation frameworks, and/or strategic engagement plans.
• Excellent analytical, synthesis and report-writing skills.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct ethical due diligence and risk analysis for partnerships.
• Ability to coordinate remotely with diverse stakeholders across countries.

Desirable

• Prior experience with WaterAid or similar international NGOs.
• Knowledge of WASH, health systems strengthening and climate-resilience programming.
• French and English proficiency.

For detailed ToRs, click here

Timeline & Level of Effort

The assignment spans 10 weeks (January-March 2026), with key milestones aligned with inception, draft and final reporting deadlines.

How to Apply

Interested consultants should submit:

1.      Technical proposal (a maximum of 6 pages) describing:

• Understanding of the assignment
• Proposed methodology and work plan

2.      Financial proposal (in GBP and local currency of the applicant), inclusive of all costs

3.      A 2-page CV, highlighting relevant experience

4.      Two samples of similar work (e.g., donor mappings, landscape analyses, strategic fundraising studies)

Applications should be submitted to the email address infowaro@wateraid.org no later than 4 January 2026, 11:30pm UTC+0 with the subject line: “Consultancy – Non-Traditional Donor – WaterAid West Africa”.

Please note that only applications submitted to the email infowaro@wateraid.org will be accepted

Desired start date of the consultancy: 19 January 2026

Safeguarding & Ethical Standards

WaterAid is committed to the highest standards of safeguarding, integrity and ethical conduct. The selected consultant will be required to comply with:

• WaterAid’s Global Code of Conduct
• Safeguarding Policy
• Ethical Partnership Policy
• Data Protection & GDPR standards

Our People Promise

We will work with passion and focus to make sure everyone everywhere has clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene. WaterAid is a place of purpose – where people have a real commitment and shared responsibility for the impact we have. We are a global community with diverse backgrounds and perspectives, motivated by inspiring, stimulating work. We are determined to be a place where people feel safe and able to contribute their voice and truly live our values.

Equal Opportunities

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, beliefs, customs, traditions, ways of life and status. This includes, but is not limited to, race, ethnicity, caste, colour, gender, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, disability status, neurodiversity, age, marital and family status, sexual orientation and gender identity, health status, place of residence, economic and social situation.

Safeguarding

We are committed to protecting everyone we come into contact with. We have a zero- tolerance approach to abuse of power, privilege or trust across our global work, and to any form of inappropriate behaviour, discrimination, abuse, bullying, harassment, or exploitation. Safeguarding the people and communities we work with, our staff, volunteers and anyone working on our behalf is our top priority, and we take our responsibilities extremely seriously. All offers of employment are subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks (which can include counterterrorism, safeguarding and criminal records checks).

Together, we’ll change the world through water.

Join us and be part of the change!