Network Platform Consultant

Qualifications and Experience

The consultant/agency should have:

• 5+ years’ experience in digital ecosystem scoping, user journeys and platform architecture.
  
• Proven experience in designing, developing or implementing community or membership platforms, ideally for INGOs or international networks.
  
• Expertise in platform configuration, user management, multilingual navigation and mobile-friendly design.
  
• Strong technical knowledge of Salesforce integration (HelpAge Connect), Teams, APIs and Single Sign-On solutions.
  
• Experience with live chat, discussion forums and content repositories, including moderation and access tiering
  

The consultant will:

• Conduct a technical landscape review of community and network platforms.
  
• Facilitate stakeholder workshops and interviews with staff, network members,
  
• Healthy Ageing Platform members, supporting members and other relevant groups.
  
• Produce a user needs analysis covering feature expectations, accessibility requirements, multilingual needs, low-bandwidth considerations and workflow preferences.
  
• Review and map integration requirements with Microsoft 365, Teams, Salesforce, Mailchimp and other HelpAge tools.
  
• Engage with at least three external peer networks (e.g, GNDR, WHO Knowledge Action Portal, START Network, HelpAge Knowledge Platform) for benchmarking and insights.
  
• Assess data protection, governance, moderation and access needs in line with GDPR, and develop draft frameworks.
  
• Develop a platform architecture blueprint, outlining recommended configurations and functional modules.
  
• Ensure the Phase 2 scope and technical workplan are fit for purpose, including development requirements, user journeys, integrations, hosting, security and performance expectations.
  
• Provide an implementation roadmap with milestones, dependencies and risk analysis.
  

Phase 2: Development and Rollout

Upon approval of Phase 1 deliverables, the consultant will:

• Build the HelpAge Network Platform according tthe approved architecture and requirements. Priority areas include:
  
• Single Sign-On
  
• Integration with Microsoft 365, Teams, Salesforce and Mailchimp
  
• Knowledge Hub and resource library
  
• Conduct testing cycles, including user acceptance testing (UAT) with staff and network members.
  
• Provide training materials, onboarding guides and platform documentation.
  
• Support pilot testing, rollout and early adoption.
  
• Ensure a sustainable handover, including maintenance expectations, technical manuals and a support setup for post-launch continuity.