ReliefWeb is an important tool for job hunting within the humanitarian community, with one million users accessing its Jobs section in 2021. According to ReliefWeb analytics, in 2022, job postings increased by 15% to 53,004. Although most postings target individual job seekers, we also receive requests to publish a tender.
Tenders, or requests for proposals, invite organizations, suppliers and/or service providers to compete for a project. However, not every tender is accepted for publication by our editorial team. This article will guide you through the process and address FAQs about our policy.
Does ReliefWeb publish tenders?
The short answer is: yes and no.
What we accept: invitations to individuals or a team of experts to provide their services. Such tenders should be aimed at a group or consortium of humanitarian professionals to provide their expertise.
However, ReliefWeb team does not accept invitations to provide goods or physical labour, such as:
- Tenders for physical goods
- Security bids
- Tenders for services that cannot be fulfilled by individuals (such as printing services)
- Tenders for infrastructure and/or physical labour
For example, you can submit a tender for project evaluation, external audit, feasibility study, or the provision of engineering supervision. However, if you need the supply of solar panels for a school, any type of physical goods, or workers for a construction site, ReliefWeb will not be able to publish your tender.
How to submit a tender on ReliefWeb
If your tender meets the editorial requirements, you can submit it through ReliefWeb’s website by logging into your account and filling out this simple form. More instructions on the submission process are here. All new organizations will undergo a brief verification process. When filling out the job form, remember to use a concise but effective title to grab users’ attention.
Common mistakes
The most common mistake is the length of the description. As long as you don’t simply insert a link to your tender or copy the complete description into the job form, its length is not an issue. What counts here is to communicate your needs to the right candidate.
What to do: write a good summary of your request. About 1-1,5 pages of Word text is usually sufficient. What not to do: insert a link to your tender webpage without further explanation. This will result in publication delays and your submission may be refused.
In order to expedite the review process, please don’t forget to check if the closing date selected is the same as provided in the job description, your how-to-apply instructions are clear and any external link is working. Our editors will thank you!
What should be included in a tender description on ReliefWeb?
The best way to attract a large number of qualified applicants is to provide concise and clear instructions on the assignment and the type of consultant/team you are looking for. This is what we recommend to include in a tender on ReliefWeb: Who you are and the projects you work on. Provide a brief overview of your organization to help users identify your flagship projects, field of work, and donors.
Objectives and Goals
Briefly provide information on your project and its goals. We suggest using the Career categories and Theme filters that best describe the areas covered in the project: food and nutrition, health, shelter, etc.
Scope of Work
What will the hired expert(s) do? Include some specific goals such as assessing the compliance with donor’s requirements, internal regulations, beneficiaries’ involvement, etc.
Methodology and deliverables
How do you expect your consultant(s) to carry out the assignment and what should be delivered? Quantitative and qualitative analysis, a report, a meeting, recommendations?
Candidate profile
What type of consultant(s) are you looking for? An individual or a team of professionals? Include the qualification and competencies that will inform your decision. For instance, years of expertise or experience with a particular donor, country, etc.
How to apply
Provide information on the documentation to submit to apply. Don’t forget to include the email of the contact person. You can enter a link to your tender webpage with further details on the resources, timing and evaluation criteria.