Freelance Writer & Editor

Orbis is seeking a writer and editor to work as a preferred, go-to vendor for a variety of Orbis projects over a 24-month period, starting in early 2024.

About Orbis

Orbis is an international nonprofit delivering sight-saving programs in over 200 countries and regions worldwide so that individuals, families, and communities can thrive. Currently, around 1 billion people across the globe live with completely avoidable blindness and vision loss. For over four decades, Orbis has been tackling this challenge by building strong and sustainable eye care systems that leave a lasting legacy of vision. Orbis runs dedicated in-country programs in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America; develops and implements innovative training and technology, including an award-winning telemedicine and e-learning platform, Cybersight; and operates the world’s first and only Flying Eye Hospital, a fully accredited ophthalmic teaching hospital on board an MD-10 aircraft. To learn more, visit orbis.org.
About the Opportunity

Orbis is seeking a writer and editor to work as a preferred, go-to vendor for a variety of Orbis projects over a 24-month period, starting in early 2024. We are looking for someone who can grasp our organization and voice quickly, who has great versatility in their writing skills, and who is known for producing clear, compelling, and error-free copy. The ideal vendor will be equally at ease penning content that is appealing and accessible to non-experts and mass audiences as they are at developing materials with sufficient rigor to read convincingly for corporate partners and foundations, international development and policy-making audiences, etc. The vendor should be comfortable translating complex medical topics into plain language and creating content from minimal source materials often written by someone whose first language is not English.

Examples of Writing Projects:

Press releases
Op-eds
Articles
One-pagers and brochures
Speeches and public remarks
Video scripts
Award submissions
Conference and speaker applications
Report copy (e.g., for annual reports)
Messaging documents
Tour scripts (e.g., for the Flying Eye Hospital)
Web content and social copy
White papers

Examples of Editing Projects:

The above are the same types of projects for which editing support would be sought. As an editor, the ideal vendor will have a track record for providing support ranging from developmental editing to copyediting.
Project Scope

These projects will require timely collaboration between the Orbis team and the vendor, including mostly email correspondence and possibly an initial video call for more detailed projects. Projects can last from a few days to a few months, depending on the scope. Projects sometimes arise without much notice, so we are looking for a someone who is reliable, flexible, and can jumpstart projects with little lead time and move them forward quickly. This partnership will last for a 24-month period, and we anticipate collaborating on 20-30 projects per 12-month period, with the potential for this number to increase if other teams across the organization also desire support.

Ahead of starting each new project, Orbis and the vendor will agree on the anticipated number of hours that a particular project would take.
Provided by Orbis

Orbis messaging documents
Orbis brand guidelines
Relevant background for each project
Access to staff, volunteers, and other stakeholders for intake calls (where relevant)

Pricing

We are requesting a quote for an hourly rate for the types of projects described above. Hourly rates should include all costs (save expenses requiring other vendors, such as printing costs) and be provided in USD.
If possible, provide expected number of hours needed to complete each project example listed above in the “Examples of Types of Writing Projects” section.

RFP Process

In order to finalize the selection of the most appropriate vendor, the following information is required. Your proposal MUST contain all of the information requested below:

Summary of your past experience with similar projects via a brief cover note and/or resume
Writing samples across as many types of projects listed in the “Examples of Writing Projects” as possible. Please provide 5 samples at a minimum – to include a press release, op-ed, video script, and one-pager or brochure – and label each by type in your submission.
A before/after to demonstrate at least two examples of editing services you have provided
Your proposed hourly rate and any other details on how you charge (e.g., 50% due on project kickoff, 50% due on project completion; provision of a nonprofit rate; etc.)
Confirmation of your response time for project requests and how you would determine deliverable timelines
Contact information for 2-3 references, ideally former and/or current clients, who can speak to your writing and editing abilities