Consultant - Partners Due Diligence Exercise at Young Africa International

Young Africa is a confederation of independently and locally registered affiliated branches which act as independent NGOs. Each affiliate runs training centres, youth (self-) employment programmes and community activities. We are located in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana and Zambia.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Consultant - Partners Due Diligence Exercise

Location: Nigeria

Objective
To assess potential partners and ensure that they have:

• Proper internal controls in place to mitigate against fraud and error and assess the strengths of such controls.
• Financial and administrative policies and procedures and those meet the generally acceptable standards and are adhered to, including procurement and human resources procedures,
• Governance, risk and compliance policies in place including, but not limited to:
  • enterprise risk management
  • governance & regulatory
  • internal audit
  • integrity, child protection and safeguarding.
• A demonstrated commitment to ethical practices and transparency,
• Annual audited accounts (audited by reputable audit firms).

Scope
The scope of this assessment includes:

• The overall readiness of the prospective partner for the collaboration.
• Physical inspection and verification of critical documents, ensuring that these documents are plausible and are operational.
• Identifying gaps in the processes that may impede cooperation.
• Conducting third party verifications.
• Evaluating the potential partner’s reputation, past performance, and any history of involvement in corruption or unethical practices.

Methodology:

• Visiting prospective partners and conducting assessments, reviewing critical documents for adequacy, and physical verification of the existence and documents and implementation of the policies and procedures.
• Engaging with stakeholders, including staff, beneficiaries, and local communities, to gather insights on the potential partner’s operations and reputation.
• Conducting background checks on key personnel to ensure they have no history of involvement in corrupt practices.

Deliverables
The consultant will deliver the following:

• To submit to Young Africa International a report of factual findings about the procedures performed highlighting strengths and detailing significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the systems.
• An assessment of each prospective partner’s integrity, ethical practices, and risk exposure.
• Recommendations that will enable Young Africa International to select suitable partners. The recommendations should clearly state the following, among others:
  • Whether the partner is completely suitable, or not.
  • If there are gaps identified - recommendations on whether these can be addressed by capacity building.
  • The best models of engagement that can work for the specific partner, based on the assessment.

Education and Qualifications
Key team member(s) should have:

• A Master's Degree in a relevant field such as Finance, Business Administration, or International Development.
• A minimum of 7 years of experience in due diligence, advisory services, auditing, or compliance roles.
• Experience working with international organizations, NGOs, or government agencies.

Additional Requirements:

• Ability to work independently and collaboratively as part of a team.
• Strong attention to detail and organizational skills.
• Ability to meet deadlines and work under pressure.
• Strong ethical standards and a commitment to integrity and transparency.

Skills and Requirements:
The consultant should possess the following skills and qualifications:

• Expertise in governance, risk management, and compliance.
• Strong background in conducting due diligence, particularly in high-risk environments.
• Ability to identify and evaluate internal controls and their effectiveness.
• Experience in financial and administrative policy analysis.
• Proficiency in conducting third-party verifications and background checks.
• Excellent communication and report-writing skills.
• Cultural sensitivityand the ability to work with diverse communities.

Duration:

• The estimated duration of the consultancy is 30 working days.

Consultancy Fee:

• Eligible candidates should provide a detailed budget for the specified work.

Application Closing Date
11th December 2024.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should submit their applications to: [email protected] using the Job Title as the subject of the mail.