‘The Global Majority Fund’ is a dedicated programme to further Covid-19 response and recovery work with communities experiencing racial inequality. The programme has been undertaken across three phases: Phase I (July 2020 – October 2021), Phase II (November 2020 – Present) and Comic Relief launched Phase III of the fund in May 2022.

Comic Relief is seeking to recruit one or two representatives from its Phase II cohort of Intermediary Technical Partners to build on the existing Fund Reference Group, to assist with the evaluation of Phase II of the programme.

Applications to be submitted via be applied: Friday 22 July 2022 at 10am (BST)

Shortlisted consultants will be notified by: Friday 29 July 2022

Interviews to take place on: Wednesday 3 and Thursday 4 August 2022

Background:

In July 2020, Comic Relief launched ‘The Global Majority Fund’ programme, a dedicated fund to further Covid-19 response work with communities experiencing racial inequality. The Fund awarded investments to 10 organisations led by and for communities experiencing racial inequality, (known as Intermediary Technical Partners), who went on to make smaller investments to grassroots community organisations. Funding for onward distribution was designed to support at least one of the following:

A.      Organisational survival: This included funding to pay for organisational overheads, salaries, office premises and adaptations to the office required to enable social distancing.

B.      Emergency Covid-19 response activities: This was to be determined by organisations but broadly included: food security, distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE); mental health services, bereavement support, facilitating access to services and information, supporting those with no recourse to public funds, supporting remote learning… etc.

C.      Remote working adaptations: Supporting organisations to pivot service delivery online through the purchase of Zoom subscriptions, upgrading IT equipment, purchase of data packages…etc.

The ITPs were allocated 10% of fund towards grant making and management costs and a further 10% towards their own organisational development.  The programme concluded in October 2021, having funded 644 organisations, and supporting over 112,000 individuals.  

Phase II of this work launched in November 2020, replicating the same model, and funding was awarded to a further 10 organisations. Phase II of the programme will conclude in January 2023.

In May 2022, we launched Phase III of The Global Majority Fund. A closed funding call, exclusively for intermediary technical partners Comic Relief funded directly under Phase I.  The Fund will be different to previous iterations, shifting the focus from Covid-19 community response to investing in the development and resilience of these organisations and, supporting their recovery from Covid-19. The funding will also enable organisations to pilot making larger grants to grassroots communities alongside a package of organisational development support to further strengthen community groups in line with their priorities.

Fund Reference Group Member:

As part of our commitment to shifting power in investment decisions and ensuring as much of our processes are led by people closest to the issues, we are seeking to recruit one or two Phase II intermediary technical partners to join the Fund Reference Group (FRG) and contribute to the external evaluation of Phase II of the programme.  The FRG will provide ongoing independent oversight of the evaluation process to ensure learning is captured and shared with partners, funders and networks. 

The Fund Reference Group has been brought together in recognition of the need to integrate expertise across:

• The grassroots sector working with Black and minoritised communities;

• Lived experience of and a working understanding of barriers that consistently exclude organisations led by and for Black and minoritised communities from mainstream funding;

• Lived experience of Black and minoritised identity, intersectional discrimination (holding in mind all nine protected characteristics);

• Monitoring, evaluation and learning.

In its Social Change Strategy, one way Comic Relief seeks to contribute to social change is by putting lived and learnt experience at the heart of the agenda. In practice, we are seeking to enhance the participation of people with lived and learnt experience in the design and delivery of, and decision-making in, our funding programmes and their evaluation.

The ideal members have a sound understanding of the intersectional issues, structural inequalities and resourcing challenges facing community organisations led by people experiencing racial inequalities. You will be familiar with shaping the design of programmes and decision-making processes and/or have an understanding of the challenges organisations face when applying to mainstream funders. You will be driven to disrupt traditional grant application processes that may serve as barriers for organisations to apply and want to help create an evaluation that captures all learning through processes that are inclusive and accessible.

As a FRG member you will be responsible for the following:

1.  Reading all material prior to meetings (pre-reads)

2. Attending FRG meetings via zoom

3.Responding to correspondence via email, timely and efficiently.

All meetings will take place remotely, via Zoom.

We anticipate a commitment 35 hours will be required between August and October 2023 (for meetings and pre-reads).

Skills and experience:

Essential:

• Experience of working with small-medium organisations undertaking work with communities experiencing racial inequality – either paid or unpaid.

• A strong understanding of the intersectional issues, structural inequalities and resourcing issues facing organisations led by and for communities experiencing racial inequality.

• Strong analytical skills and the ability to provide analysis of strengths and weaknesses

• Commitment to an intersectional approach in decision-making and willingness to draw on non-sensitive personal and contextual experience to influence the decisions made.

• Fluency in English, strong verbal communication skills and confidence to actively participate in meetings, providing constructive challenge where needed concerning investment decisions.

• An understanding of safeguarding, inclusion, diversity and participation as it relates to organisations and assessment.

• A commitment to Comic Relief’s values of promoting social justice and tackling the root causes and effects of poverty in the UK.

Desirable:

• Experience of co-designing a community programme, applying for funding and/or making investment decisions to third sector organisations.

We particularly welcome applications from individuals who have experience of racial justice and/or identify as being from a community experiencing racial inequality.

All meetings will be undertaken remotely using Zoom. You will need access to a laptop/computer (not just mobile device), with a microphone, ideally a camera and an internet connection. We would also expect you to be a confident user of Microsoft Word, Zoom and email and commit to ensuring all materials shared will be held in confidence.

All applications must be submitted by 10:00 (BST) on Friday 22 July 2022.

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to attend a 30-minute interview on Wednesday 3 or Thursday 4 July 2022.

Any applications received after this time will not be considered. If you have any queries in relation to your submission or to any requirements of this terms of reference, please contact Charlene Annon – c.annon@comicrelief.com.

Please be aware:

• Comic Relief’s aim is to ensure the FRG is made up of a range of diverse experiences.

• You will be assessed against the experience/skills mentioned above.

• Please note, you must be over 18 to apply.

•  We are seeking to work with individuals representing their organsiation. As such, organisations will be paid – not individuals. Please note, we will only accept one application per organisation.

Safeguarding:

If selected, the successful consultant will be expected to read and comply with Comic Relief’s Safeguarding Framework and Code of Conduct.

Processing your data:

Please let us know if you would like us to keep your personal details in our database for future reference. We will process your personal data according to the UK data protection law (the General Data Protection Regulation). If you want to know more about how we will use it, please refer to our Privacy Notice on our website.