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Purpose: Redefining HOT’s Operating Model

Application close date: 30 November 2022

Duration of assignment: 4-6 months

Work location: Remote globally

Type of contract: Service Agreement

Project Lead: Head of People Operations and Sr. Director, Operations

About the Assignment

The Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) is requesting proposals from prospective strategy or organizational change consultants to lead an operating model redefinition process. The consultant shall assist HOT in designing a new and improved operating model that aligns with its recently launched Living Strategy. You can read a high-level overview of HOT’s Living Strategy here.

About Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team

HOT sits at the nexus of participatory mapping, community-led development, humanitarian response, open data and tech. With a talented and diverse team of more than 100 staff spread among 37 countries, HOT is an NGO which supports a dynamic global community of thousands of dedicated volunteers using maps and open data for humanitarian response and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals. Working with humanitarian and development partners like the Red Cross, Médecins Sans Frontières, UN agencies, governments and many others, the HOT community maps in solidarity with those affected by or at risk of disaster and humanitarian crises.

In 2020, the work of the HOT community was recognized by TED’s Audacious Project, a collaborative philanthropic initiative that serves as a springboard for social impact on a grand scale, leading to an exciting new phase of growth. HOT is expanding its activities with a very dedicated focus on local-led initiatives, including scaling up its support to local mapping communities, opening four regional Open Mapping Hubs around the world (Asia Pacific, East & Southern Africa, West & Northern Africa, and Latin America & the Caribbean), and finding talent that represents the communities with which we work.

Scope of Work

HOT adopted our new Living Strategy in July 2022 that is designed to evolve over time. This strategy, along with our Vision, Core Values, and Theory of Change, guide the organization’s work. We recognize the need to review how our organization will run in order to effectively execute the Living Strategy and deliver maximum value to HOT’s stakeholders.

HOT has a global staff working in more than 30 countries and many ongoing activities. For example, we have more than 40 active projects of various scopes and duration aligned to our Living Strategy running in the current program year, some of which will continue into the future.

HOT has never explicitly defined our operating model or assessed how we do what we do holistically. Currently, we have annual and quarterly Objectives and Key Results, dozens of policies and SOPs, a wide variety of platforms, systems and tools that guide the work but have not rigorously evaluated those for synergies or friction points. We have also gone through a variety of organizational structure adaptations to meet the current needs of the organization, most of which have been reactionary and not comprehensive in approach.

HOT operates in a rapidly changing environment and is reevaluating what it means to be a locally-led organization with the institution of our regional Hubs, as we intentionally move from a global-led to local-led approach. We are looking for an adaptable Operating Model that evolves as our Strategy does. We are not looking for a stagnant roadmap but rather one that will ensure efficient and effective operations as we change course to meet our overall goals over the coming years.

The deliverable should reflect the Living Strategy, our existing activities, processes that are working, etc. We know that we need to make changes, streamline, and clarify many areas. The process should include the following:

  • Staff are involved in the process at appropriate levels.
  • A representative Steering Committee is formed to give more time and attention to the process - but all senior management are involved.
  • Implementation support beyond the development of the Operating Model to ensure success.

Proposed Process

We see the process of developing and implementing a new Organizational Model as outlined below but we are open to recommendations for the approach and suggested outputs.

  • Complete the identification of our current Operating Model using drafts designed by our team, including:
    • Who the clients are and how we interact with them
    • What systems, tools, processes, data, people & capacities exist
  • Articulate the challenges already identified with our current model, based on both findings from our Living Strategy process in March-June 2022 and more recent input from our team.
  • The bulk of the engagement will be to collaboratively work with our team to design a more efficient, streamlined and simpler model, including:
    • A visual representation of the operating model
    • Our capacities and org structure
    • Our decision-making flows
    • Our processes, tools and systems
    • A decentralized governance structure to bolster our internal operations
    • Equity levers for all of the above to enable locally-led activities wherever possible
  • Support the rollout and implementation of major changes so that we can successfully and independently execute all other changes.
  • Communication guidelines and talking points that enable us to communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders about the process and its outcomes

Who will you be working with on our team?

  • Rachel VanNice - Head of People Operations
  • Sara Amadi - Sr. Manager, Strategy & Implementation
  • Carly Redhead - Head of Impact Partnerships
  • Anne Sorensen - Executive Assistant, Leadership Team
  • Liz Chamberlain - Senior Director, Operations
  • Steering Committee - comprised of representatives from HOT’s global teams

Proposal & Timeline

Proposal Requirements

To be considered for a contract award under this request for proposals, please submit the written proposal (not exceeding 5 pages + applicable resumes and annexes) in English.

The proposal must include the following information:

  • Brief background information, including details of previous experience in relevant specialties;
  • A digestible overview of the proposed approach to address HOT’s needs;
  • Documented ability and capacity to perform the work to a high standard, on time, and on budget;
  • Indication of expected cost / rate for work completed
  • Two examples of similar work undertaken with similar clients (we may ask for relevant contact details should we decide to take up references).

We are seeking to engage with consultancy firms who can provide expert advice within the areas in scope for the duration of an initial 3-5 months. We would especially like to receive submissions from organizations based in or involving your talent from HOT’s priority regions.

Please submit proposals to Anne Sorensen at anne.sorensen@hotosm.org by the deadline listed below.

Timeline:

Request for proposals opened: 31 October 2022

Deadline for submission of written proposal: 30 November 2022 (23:59:59 EST)

Selection process completed: 20 December 2022

Begin collaboration: Mid February 2023