Grants Compliance Consultancy Services | ReliefWeb

Terms of Reference (TOR) for Grants Compliance Consultancy Service

Mercy-USA for Aid and Development seeks to hire a Consultant/Consultancy firm to carry out a continuous assessment, review, and monitoring of the implementation of its various programs to ensure donor requirements and specific project targets are complied with. The consultant will report directly to the Mercy-USA Regional Director, but will be working in close consultation and collaboration with the Head of Finance and Administration (HOFA) and Head of Programs (HOP) and all the relevant Program and program support staff.

Objective of the Consultancy Service:

The main objective of this grant compliance consultancy is to ensure that Mercy USA is implementing its programs in accordance with individual donor requirements and by adhering to set internal policies and procedures. Any weaknesses noted or areas needing improvements discovered will be discussed between the consultant and Mercy USA and all agreed recommendations will be implemented within set time periods.

The main responsibility of the consultant will be

To conduct a review of the internal operating procedures, study Mercy USA’s policies, study the individual donor requirements and agreed targets per project, and then review project implementation on a continuous basis to ensure they are in line with all the aforementioned.

To achieve the above objective, the consultant will strive to get answers to the following questions:

• Are payments, recruitment, travels, asset management, reporting, among other functions in line with the Mercy USA internal procedures and processes, policies, and donor requirements?

• Are the internal controls strong enough to ensure efficient and effective implementation of the program activities? Are weaknesses noted during past audits being implemented?

• Are there program implementation plans for each of the project and are Mercy USA staff following these plans in the project implementation?

• Are donor requirements and set project achievement targets being followed?

• How are stocks in the stores/warehouses being managed?

• How are Mercy USA assets being managed?

• How are staff being managed? –Review personnel files and payroll management

• Are donor reports being sent on time? Are there queries on reports and are they being addressed?

Expected Roles and Responsibilities of the Consultant

• Develop a quarterly work plan to be approved by Mercy USA management

• Undertake activities to ensure donor compliance is achieved including implementation of previous audit recommendations

• Develops, initiates, maintains, and updates policies and procedures for the general operation of the Program and its related activities.

• Develops and periodically updates Standards operating procedures to ensure relevance in providing guidance to management and employees.

• Acts as an independent review and evaluation body to ensure that compliance Issues/concerns within the organization are being appropriately evaluated, investigated and resolved.

• Provide technical guidance and support in setting up systems to monitor adherence to financial and procurement standard operating procedures

• Support to ensure grants’ funds are disbursed and accounted for in line with donor agreements and Mercy USA internal policies and procedures

• Provide technical support and put a system in place to ensure effective cash flow tracking including, pre-financing, timely and accurate payment requests and tracking outstanding amounts due from donors.

• Put a mechanism in place to track, document and disseminate donor reporting trends, quality assurance issues and feedback from donors

• Support contract management capacity development through inception workshops, coaching, mentoring, online training and other support as required

• To ensure there is a system in place to regular monitoring and management reports against key indicators, taking appropriate action where necessary including flagging risks for appropriate management action.

• Guidance on and review of narrative and financial reports to ensure quality assurance before submission to donors.

• Technical guidance and support in preparing for and managing donor audits including liaison with auditors and negotiating contested findings where appropriate.

• Give guidance on archiving procedures to ensure all required expenditure support documentation is properly maintained and availed when required.

• Review all existing policies to ensure they comply with donor requirements and give recommendations where applicable

Coverage and duration

The grants compliance consultant will be expected to continuously carry out desk review of all available documents and at the same time undertake field visits within the twelve months’ period of the agreement for all the projects implemented by Mercy USA in the following regions: Garissa in Kenya, Gedo region, Hiraan Region, Mudug Region, Puntland, Somaliland, and Banadir Region of Somalia. The specific sites and nature of project activity will be shared separately. The frequency of field visits within the 12 months’ period are expected to be 2 for Garissa Kenya, 2 for Gedo region, 2 for Hiran region, 2 for Mudug region, 2 for Banadir region, and 1 for Puntland region.

Methodology of carrying out the consultancy service

The consultant will be expected to develop a work plan complete with the methodology they intend to use and this will be reviewed by Mercy USA and approved before it is rolled out. The consultant will be expected to carry out a desk review of all the relevant documents per project alongside the policies and procedures of Mercy USA before embarking on project site visits

The consultant will develop all the tools necessary for data collection with the approval of the Mercy-USA’s Head of Programs, Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator, and the Head of Finance and Administration before going to the field. These tools can be common for all projects or varied depending on target outcome for specific projects.

Expected Deliverables and Timelines:

The consultant will be expected to produce and present his/her reports on a continuous basis as shown below:

Expected deliverable

Period

Work plan and review methodology

within the 2 week of signing the contract

Review existing policies

1 month from the start of the contract

Study all existing all existing grant agreements and develop summarized compliance guideline for each grant and train staff on the guidelines

Within the first month of signing the contract

Initial Report

For the first 3 months within 105 days from the start of the contract

Monthly reports

Monthly from the 4th month

Policy Recommendations

Within six months of signing the contract

Final Report

1 month after end of contract

Expected Quality of the Reports:

The grants compliance reports should represent a thoughtful, well-researched, and well-organized effort to objectively evaluate project implementations. Below are some of the points to consider when writing the each of the reports:

• Evaluation report should be readily understood and should identify key points clearly, distinctly, and succinctly.


• The Executive Summary of an evaluation report should present a concise and accurate statement of the most critical elements of the report.


• Findings should be presented as analyzed facts, evidence, and data and not based on anecdotes, hearsay, or simply the compilation of people’s opinions.


• Findings and conclusions should be specific, concise, and supported by strong quantitative or qualitative evidence.


• Recommendations should be supported by a specific set of findings and should be action-oriented, practical and specific


• Subsequent reports should indicate the extent to which recommendations from previous reports have been implemented

Expected Qualifications of the Lead Consultant.

• Minimum undergraduate degree with professional qualification in Accounting, Finance, and or Auditing with membership to a professional body


• A minimum of 5 years working experience in a humanitarian programs setting


• At least three years of hands on experience in conducting internal/external audits and or capacity assessments of humanitarian assistance projects and an experienced team-leader in such is essential.


• Good working knowledge of accounting systems like Quick books and excellent skills in Excel and other MS-Office tools is necessary.


• Working experience with projects implemented through funding from USAID and familiarity with USAID and other major donors’ funding regulations.


• Knowledge of and familiarity with different qualitative and quantitative monitoring and evaluation tools and techniques.


• Working experience with projects dealing with Nutrition, Health, WASH, Livelihoods, and Food security will be an added advantage


• Experience in the use of participatory appraisal techniques in data collection.


• Ability to assess/review critically the project activities and results.


• Strong presentation and reporting skills.


• Knowledge of Somali language is a plus.


• Experience working with USAID funded projects and familiar with USAID protocol, procedures and policies. The consultant is expected to submit a detailed proposal. The proposal should be divided into two separate sections; A technical and Financial sections for review by Mercy USA. The financial section should include a clear breakdown of all expected costs; consultant fee, travels, and other costs