Consultancy – Partners Due Diligence Exercise

Terms of Reference:

Performing Due Diligence on the Young Africa International (YAI) potential partners in Nigeria.

1. Background:

Young Africa is a federation of independently and locally registered affiliated organisations operating in 5 countries of Southern Africa and expanding to Nigeria in 2024. Our mission is to empower disadvantaged young people through a comprehensive and holistic approach, including imparting skills for employability and entrepreneurship.

1. 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).

1. 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.

1. 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.

1. 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.

1. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

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 Deadline:

Qualified candidates should submit their applications by close of business, 11th December 2024, to this address: [email protected]