Description

Background:

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. 

Decreases in humanitarian funding overall from both US and European institutional donors will not respond to the needs, which are bound to increase due to climate change.  The frequency and impact of climate-related disasters is likely to increase in the years to come, leading to further displacements and negative impacts on both households and small businesses. Many climate hazards are predictable – they do not have to be treated as surprises. We do need to find ways to protect the populations we are working with against those shocks – not only to respond to their immediate needs and help them rebuild after a disaster hits, but also to protect the economic gains our programs have contributed to. 

It is in this context that Mercy Corps is currently re-evaluating its strategy and exploring how it can better leverage the insurance sector to 1. Improve impact in our support to climate-affected populations; and 2. Expand our programmatic approach into disaster risk finance. 

Mercy Corps is not starting from zero, but rather seeks to build on its experience and a series of initiatives that have, over the years, contributed to generating a strong body of knowledge.  Our experience ranges from establishing MiCRO in Latin America, a micro-insurance company providing insurance policies against earthquakes to the most vulnerable, to working with local insurance companies such as Takaful in Kenya to test remote-sensing insurance for pastoralist populations, or providing equity to Pula Insurance through Mercy Corps Ventures.  While these experiences have been successful overall, it is now time to not only bring all of our experiences under one roof but also develop a strong value proposition for Mercy Corps in the disaster risk management and insurance space. 

Purpose / Project Description:

Mercy Corps is seeking support from insurance experts to define our value proposition and partnership models for advancing inclusive insurance.  Mercy Corps’ positioning will need to be built on our current experience; and considered at three levels – at the macro level, working with national governments and insurance partners to pool funds and protect a large segment of the population; at the meso level to protect aggregators such as agribusinesses and financial institutions who can then provide coverage to their members/clients; and at the micro level, working with small businesses, smallholder farmers and individuals to facilitate access to insurance. It also includes taking stock of Mercy Corps’ experience with different models such as anticipatory action models, parametric/index-based insurance and/or traditional indemnity insurance, and bundling insurance with other financial services.  

Mercy Corps is already working with a student team from George Washington University to map the weather-related insurance sector, identify areas of opportunity, and compile lessons learned from the broader insurance sector in that region.  Mercy Corps is seeking a consultant to complement this work and develop a strategic roadmap that will include:

• A framework and theory of change based on a comprehensive SWOT analysis and strong understanding of the current trends in inclusive insurance, underlining how Mercy Corps can respond to the challenges currently faced by private insurance corporations in expanding their offering/client base and how much of the gaps left by the loss of funding in emergency response insurance can fill.  This framework will clearly define the connection points between anticipatory action, private insurance, and macro schemes such as ARC Replica.

•  Recommendations on investable and scalable models; 

•  A clear, actionable blueprint for engaging with new insurance partners 

Consultant Activities:

The consultant will:

•  Identify the areas of opportunity for Mercy Corps at the macro, meso and micro levels

•  Develop a clear value proposition for Mercy Corps, including programming areas and messaging

•  Develop a donor engagement plan, including the identification of priority donors who have aligned priorities and those donors to engage with within a longer-term horizon 

Consultant Deliverables:

The Consultant will create:

1. Value Proposition and Recommended Modalities Presentation outlining Mercy Corps programming priorities in the weather risk insurance sector

2. Complementary Donor Research information to be added to Mercy Corps’ and the students’ team own donor research.

3. A Strategic Written Report & Presentation to summarize the findings/analysis of Mercy Corps' value proposition, programmatic areas, detailed explanations of the proposed modalities, and how best to sell them to new donors/insurance corporations.

Timeframe / Schedule: 

The consultancy is expected to start in January 2026 and end no later than April 2026 – for a maximum of 20 days during that time period. 

The Consultant will report to:

•  Sr Director Economic Opportunities

•  Sr Advisor, Financial Inclusion

The Consultant will work closely with:

•  Institutional Donor Engagement

•  Philanthropic Growth and Engagement

•  Director ZCRA project

Required Experience & Skills:

•  Demonstrated experience in private insurance sector, including strong understanding of current industry trends and challenges

•  Solid experience in financial services/insurance strategy development and positioning 

•  In depth knowledge of weather-based insurance models – indemnity and parametric - in developing countries

•  Proven ability to analyze complex programmatic work and translate it into clear, compelling investment propositions and partnership models 

•  Excellent communication and facilitation skills, with the ability to engage senior leaders 

Desired Experience

•  Knowledge of INGOs, including humanitarian assistance and resilience programming

•  Good understanding of the ARC Replica and other disaster risk financing in fragile contexts

Team Engagement and Effectiveness 

Achieving our mission starts with how we build our team and collaborate. By bringing together individuals with a variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives, we strengthen our ability to solve complex challenges and drive innovation. We foster a culture of trust and respect, where every team member is valued for their contributions, empowered to reach their full potential, and motivated to do their best work.

We recognize that building a strong and effective team is an ongoing process, and we remain committed to learning, improving, and growing together.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected under applicable law.

Safeguarding & Ethics
Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.