1. Background of Assignment

• Instiglio’s Development of the IRWSF and Outcome-Based Grants Management Practice

Since January 2024, and with support from funding partners, Instiglio has been working with the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) to identify barriers and explore innovative financing mechanisms that can strengthen the effectiveness and sustainability of rural safe water services. Through this engagement, Instiglio identified systemic challenges constraining the performance of the rural safe water sub-sector and, together with MWE, co-developed the preliminary concept for the Integrated Rural Water and Sanitation Facility (IRWSF).

The IRWSF is envisioned as a purpose-built, transparent, and ring-fenced pooled financing facility embedded within the MWE. It is designed to mobilize, pool, and deploy financial resources in a coordinated and results-oriented manner to address persistent financing and delivery challenges across Uganda’s water and environment sector—particularly in rural areas where gaps remain most significant. The facility will consolidate contributions from government, development partners, philanthropies, and the private sector. Foreign funds will be held in a dedicated account at the Bank of Uganda, while domestic resources will flow through the consolidated treasury account. This structure supports financial integrity, alignment with national public finance systems, and greater efficiency in the disbursement of sector funds. During the test phase, the IRWSF will be hosted by Instiglio while transition arrangements toward full MWE ownership are co-developed, using practical learning during the pilot period to refine the model.

The IRWSF will channel financing toward interventions that advance rural water supply, sanitation and hygiene improvement, water quality assurance, climate adaptation, environmental protection, and water resource management, as described in its operational documents and performance-based contracts with Local Governments and Area Service Providers (ASPs). Its design integrates blended and results-based financing approaches to ensure that resources flow to high-impact, cost-effective interventions that contribute directly to Uganda’s Draft National Water Policy (2023), the National Development Plan IV (NDP IV), and the Uganda Vision 2040. By prioritizing rural communities, the facility aims to correct historical underinvestment, strengthen resilience, and improve equity in access to safe water and sanitation services.

• Instiglio’s Development of the IRWSF and Outcome-Based Grants Management Practice

As the IRWSF moves from concept to pilot implementation, it requires fit-for-purpose grants management systems that can support pooled fund receipt, compliant and traceable disbursement, partner due diligence, performance

verification, audit readiness, and donor reporting. During the pilot phase, Instiglio will support the facility’s operation and serve an interim grants management function. To ensure the IRWSF is set up with robust governance, controls, and operating procedures—and that it can credibly manage multi-source funding and performance-based disbursement—a senior grants/fund management consultant is required to guide the design and establishment of the grants management service, including the tools, templates, workflows, and assurance mechanisms necessary for a pilot-sized facility serving select regions in Uganda.

2. Objectives of the Assignment

The overall objective of this assignment is to provide technical leadership and advisory support to establish a grants management service that enables effective and accountable operation of the IRWSF pilot, consistent with industry best practice and appropriate Ugandan public financial management requirements.

Specific objectives include:

• Define Instiglio’s grants and fund management approach and systems for the IRWSF, including governance, operating model, financial management arrangements, and performance-aligned disbursement protocols.
• Develop robust risk management and compliance systems, including an initial financial and operational risk register and recommended mitigation measures.
• Develop a Grants Management Manual and supporting toolkits that codify processes, responsibilities, and decision-making procedures for IRWSF implementation.
• Provide structured guidance and practical accompaniment to enable the Instiglio team to apply the grants management system during the IRWSF pilot.
• Produce recommendations and considerations to support replication and scaling of comparable fund/grants management services for future facilities beyond the IRWSF.

3. Scope of Work

The overall objective of this assignment is to provide technical leadership and advisory support to establish a grants management service that enables effective and accountable operation of the IRWSF pilot, consistent with industry best practice and appropriate Ugandan public financial management requirements.

3.1 IRWSF Fund and Financial Architecture Design

• • Design a fund flow model that clearly maps sources of funds, holding arrangements, internal controls, disbursement steps, and reporting lines across the full lifecycle of funds.
  • Define a financial control architecture tailored to pooled funds and performance-based disbursement, including segregation of duties, approval thresholds, and documentation standards.
  • Establish performance and outcome sensitive disbursement logic, including pre-conditions, milestones, verification requirements, and exception handling (e.g., holdbacks, remedial actions, termination triggers).
  • Develop compliance, assurance, and audit readiness frameworks, including minimum documentation requirements, audit trails, and evidence standards.
  • Define risk escalation protocols and decision rights (including thresholds for escalation, responsible roles, and timelines).
  • Propose performance-aligned financial reporting requirements for different audiences (e.g., internal management, donors, government counterparts), including reporting cadence and content.

3.2 Outcome-Based Grants Management and Partner Contracting Support

• • Provide technical input into the operationalization of the outcome-based grants management approach, ensuring grants processes are compatible with performance-based contracting and verification.
  • Review technical materials and partner engagement packages (e.g., ASP/NGO selection criteria, due diligence checklists, partner onboarding requirements) to ensure alignment with grants management requirements.
  • Review and strengthen partner contract/grant agreement structures, ensuring appropriate clauses on performance, disbursement conditions, reporting, audit rights, safeguarding, fraud and corruption, dispute resolution, and termination.
  • Define governance structures, reporting lines, and decision-making processes for grant approvals, contract amendments, extensions, and enforcement.
  • Support the integration of learning and adaptive management into grants operations (e.g., structured reviews, decision logs, learning loops between performance evidence and grant adjustments).

3.3 Fit-for-purpose Operating Model and Functional Role Structure

• • Propose a practical operating model for a pilot-sized facility hosted within Instiglio, including role descriptions, minimum staffing/effort assumptions, and oversight arrangements.
  • Outline key tools and templates required for day-to-day operations, such as:
    • partner due diligence tools
    • grant agreement templates and annexes
    • disbursement request and approval forms
    • verification and payment calculation templates
    • reporting templates (financial and performance)
    • document management protocols and checklists
    • audit trail and compliance trackers
  • Recommend phased sequencing for rollout of grants management functions (e.g., minimum viable set-up for pilot launch vs. enhancements after early implementation learning).
  • Recommend longer-term growth options for expanding the grants management service in scale and complexity as resource mobilization increases.

3.3.1 Grants Management Systems and Tools (Software/Platforms)

• • Build an understanding of Instiglio’s existing finance systems to understand how these can most effectively be leveraged for grant management. This should include a gap analysis of what functionality does not currently exist which needs to be developed.
  • Assess what additional systems and / or digital tools are required to operationalize IRWSF grants management end-to-end, including partner onboarding, due diligence, contracting, disbursement workflows, document management, performance evidence tracking, reporting, and audit trails.
  • Define functional and non-functional requirements for a fit-for-purpose grants management system for the pilot phase (e.g., role-based access and approvals, workflow configuration, audit logs, reporting exports/dashboards, data protection, and version control).
  • Identify and shortlist practical and cost-effective options, which may include off-the-shelf grants management software, configurable workflow tools, and/or lightweight solutions appropriate for a pilot facility, with clear pros/cons and suitability to Instiglio’s operating context and the IRWSF’s performance-based model.
  • Recommend a preferred option (or phased approach) and propose an implementation roadmap covering configuration, governance of system administration, user training, document/data migration (where relevant), and ongoing maintenance.
  • Provide indicative cost ranges and procurement considerations (licensing, setup, support, and change management), with attention to scalability as the facility grows.

3.4 Strategic Guidance to the Internal Support Team

• • Provide iterative quality assurance and technical review of grants management documents, ensuring coherence across financial, legal, operational, and performance components.
  • Provide guidance on workflows for contracting, documentation, tracking, and reporting that minimize friction while maintaining strong control and assurance.
  • Facilitate working sessions with internal teams to validate processes, assign responsibilities, and finalize operating procedures.
  • Provide practical recommendations to strengthen coordination between finance, program delivery, verification/MEL, and partner management functions.

3.5 Sustainability of the IRWSF

• • Provide recommendations on how the IRWSF grants management set-up can support eventual transition to government hosting/ownership, including which functions, systems, and documents should be designed for portability and institutionalization.
  • Identify sustainability risks (financial, operational, governance) and propose mitigation strategies for the pilot period and initial scale-up pathway.

3.6 Budget Framework for IWRSF Grant Making

• • Develop a pilot-size budget framework for grants operations and grant-making, including cost categories, assumptions, and indicative ranges relevant to the IRWSF pilot.
  • Recommend approaches for budgeting and tracking:
    • operational/management costs versus grant disbursements
    • verification and monitoring costs
    • audit and assurance costs
    • contingency and risk provisions
  • Propose a structure suitable for multi-donor reporting and internal decision-making.

The consultant will be expected to work closely with the Instiglio team to understand IRWSF operational requirements, validate assumptions, and ensure recommendations remain implementable within a pilot setting beginning in select regions of Uganda.

4. Deliverables

• Deliverables and timeline will be finalized during an inception discussion and are expected to include:
• Inception note (brief) outlining workplan, key assumptions, and information needs.
• Monthly progress updates summarizing activities completed, emerging risks/issues, and next steps.
• Initial outline recommendations for fund structure, processes, roles/responsibilities, and core grants management workflows, to inform Instiglio’s approach before full drafting.
• Fund flow and controls package, including a fund flow diagram, approval matrix, and control framework.
• Risk register (initial) capturing key operational/financial/compliance risks, with proposed mitigations and escalation triggers.
• Systems/Tools Options Memo including requirements, shortlisted software/tool options, recommendation, indicative costs, and an implementation plan suitable for a pilot-sized facility.
• Grants management toolkit (templates and checklists) suitable for piloting (minimum viable set plus recommended enhancements).
• Final Grants Management Manual consolidating the operating model, governance, procedures, roles/responsibilities, and supporting tools for IRWSF implementation.
• Scaling considerations brief outlining key lessons, prerequisites, and options for adapting the grants management approach for future funds/facilities.

5. Required Qualifications & Expertise

5.1 Impact- and Grant-Fund Management Expertise

• • Demonstrated experience designing and/or managing donor-funded grant facilities, pooled funds, or similar financing mechanisms.
  • Strong knowledge of financial controls, fund flow design, compliance systems, and assurance mechanisms aligned with international best practice.
  • Proven experience designing risk management processes, due diligence systems, and audit approaches for donor-funded programs and/or multi-partner facilities.
  • Familiarity with multi-donor reporting expectations and funder compliance requirements.

5.2 Programme and RBF/Outcome-Based Contracting Expertise

• • Experience with Results-Based Financing, outcomes-based grants, impact-linked finance, or performance-based contracting.
  • Ability to translate outcome frameworks and verification requirements into feasible disbursement and reporting systems.
  • Strong stakeholder coordination skills, including experience working across government, funders, and implementing partners.

5.3 Strategic Advisory and Delivery Skills

• • Ability to produce high-quality strategic and technical documents with clear operational detail.
  • Strong analytical ability, structured problem-solving, and excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  • Ability to work independently, manage ambiguity, and deliver within tight timeframes.

6. Payment

• Payment Structure: Payments will be made based on the successful completion and approval of agreed deliverable milestones by the Instiglio Project Manager.
• Milestone Definition: Each milestone should correspond to a specific deliverable outlined in section 4 above and agreed upon at contract signing.
• Budget Proposal: Consultants are required to propose a detailed budget, including costs associated with each milestone, as part of their submission.

7. Reporting and Coordination

• The consultant will report to an Instiglio designated project manager.
• The consultant will coordinate closely with IRWSF design, MEL/verification, fund architecture, and operations/finance teams.
• Participation in selected priority stakeholder sessions may be required (as requested by Instiglio).

8. Ethical Requirements

• Compliance with Instiglio professional conduct and safeguarding standards.
• Confidentiality and data protection, including appropriate handling of sensitive partner and donor information.
• Disclosure of any actual or perceived conflicts of interest.

9. Proposal Submission

Interested candidates should submit:

• A brief technical proposal outlining the proposed approach and relevant experience.
• A financial proposal stating the total budget and proposed milestone payment breakdown.
• CV/resume and at least one relevant work sample (e.g., fund manual, grant operations toolkit, compliance framework, or similar).