The Freedom Fund seeks a Technical Service Provider (TSP) for the provision of Financial review, monitoring and training activities in support of Partners that are engaged to deliver Freedom Fund projects in Thailand. Specific activity requirements are detailed in the ‘Scope of Work’ section below.

 

How to apply: If you are interested in being considered for this service, please review the details below and prepare a submission, with supporting evidence, as detailed in the ‘Proposal Submission’ section. Please submit all proposal materials to Adrian Storey, Program Finance Manager, The Freedom Fund, London by email at astorey@freedomfund.org and copy to the Freedom Fund Program Manager, Ni Ni Aung at naung@freedomfund.org. Any queries or informal inquiries are also welcome via email to Roisai Wongsuban.

 

Deadline for appliation: Submissions are required to be received by the Freedom Fund at its London office no later than Monday 1 February 2021. Applicants should be ready to begin undertaking the work from mid to late February 2021. Due diligence assessments of four organisations will need to be carried out as soon as possible and completed by mid-March 2021.

 

Travel requirements: Subject to any restrictions on traval due to covid-19, the consultant will be required to travel to partner organizations as necessary to do the role, to monitor their compliance with the Freedom Fund’s mandatory standards and capacity on financial reporting and controls. The Freedom Fund acknowledges that all travel plans relating to performing the role must be adjusted to the changing epidemiological situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, domestic travel restrictions, and national public health orders in each country.

 

The TSP is required to undertake the following activities on request from The Freedom Fund. Activities may be requested for all or some of the four Partners within Thailand:

1. Perform ‘Due Diligence Assessments’

Due Diligence Assessments (DDA) are an audit of the systems, processes and procedures that are designed and operated by the Partner to manage the activities within the Freedom Fund project. The DDA assesses existing systems, processes etc. against Freedom Fund mandatory standards and other requirements and reports areas of non-compliance, control gaps and other process weaknesses. The DDA should also consider compliance by the Partner with national laws, regulations and practices where these are appropriate for the project activities.

Typically, a DDA will include:

• a due diligence selfassessment, completed by the Partner under instruction from the TSP. The self-assessment will indicate the Partner’s understanding of FF mandatory standards and other requirements plus the current compliance level (see Appendix I for the current selfassessment template and document checklist);
• a site visit, carried out by the TSP following receipt and review of the completed selfassessment together with relevant documents provided by FF and the Partner, as stipulated in the document checklist. The purpose of the site visit is to verify the content of the self-assessment as well as to independently assess the status of required systems, processes etc. (including compliance with national laws and regulations).
• DDA report to be prepared by the TSP and sent to the Partner for management response. The completed report will then be sent to The Freedom Fund. The report will show the assessed compliance to Freedom Fund standards and recommend actions to be taken to address identified gaps or weaknesses.

2. Provide Capacity Building support to Partners

The DDA (described above) will indicate areas where the Partner staff needs to improve understanding of and compliance with FF mandatory standards and/or reporting requirements. Where the FF has entered into an agreement with Partners, the TSP will support these Partners to develop and implement appropriate systems, processes and controls, as required to complete the recommended actions and close identified compliance gaps. Structured training may also be needed to enhance the Partner staff’s understanding of key requirements and the necessary processes and controls; the TSP will develop and deliver these training packages to financial and program staff members in an effective manner to assist with project delivery and to improve the longer-term sustainability of the Partner organisation.

In addition, ad hoc mentoring and ongoing training support may be necessary to assist the Partner to deliver essential finance and administration activities.

3. Monitor completion of ‘Due Diligence Plans’

There may be occasions where the DDA indicates significant weaknesses or compliance gaps against FF mandatory standards, but FF decides to enter an agreement with the Partner. In these cases, the partnership agreement will include a Due Diligence Plan (DDP) for the Partner, based on recommendations from the TSP that states the improvement actions to be taken within a defined timeline. The TSP is responsible for monitoring completion of the actions in the DDP by the stated deadline, reporting progress by the Partner on a periodic basis as agreed by the FF Program Finance Manager plus prompt reporting any slippage or other issues that may be of concern to FF.

4. Perform monitoring visits

During the operation of the partnership, Partners will carry out project activities and report progress to FF using standard reporting templates; one of the templates is a Partner Financial Report that shows the expenditure incurred against the agreed budget.

The TSP is required to arrange and undertake monitoring visits to each Partner (at an agreed time and frequency) to review the Partner Financial Report to ensure:

• it is accurately completed (i.e. in agreement to the Partner finance system);
• expenditure complies with FF standards and Partner policies and processes;
• expenditure is supported by appropriate evidence (e.g. contracts, invoices, receipts)

5. Perform investigations into financial irregularities

Occasionally FF may become aware of an allegation of fraud or financial irregularity within a Partner organisation. If this happens, the TSP is required to urgently investigate the allegation, determine the facts and report the outcome to FF with recommendations for action to be taken. The investigation will include confidential interviews with connected Partner staff and other stakeholders and the review of relevant documents leading to a conclusion that the allegation is either valid or not valid.

A separate Terms of Reference will be provided to the TSP for any required investigations.

 

Further details of the specific activities required under each section will be agreed as part of the TSP Agreement that will be set up with the successful proposer.

 

In order to deliver the Scope of Work detailed above, the Technical Service Provider is expected to meet the following specification. Please include details of the extent to which you meet the criteria, with supporting evidence if appropriate:

• Registered in Thailand as a financial services or accounting firm
• Experience in planning and delivering internal audit or financial reviews of small program delivery organisations in the NGO sector throughout the country/region
• Detailed knowledge of national financial (including taxation) laws, regulations and reporting requirements
• No known conflicts of interest with other Freedom Fund partners or consultants.
  (Any potential conflicts of interest are to be declared as part of the proposal so that they can be considered as part of the proposal review.)
• Knowledge of the Governance, HR and Administration requirements for small organisations
• Experience of developing and delivering technical training in financial processes and controls
• Fluency in English and Thai, both written and spoken, including for technical and business applications
• Capacity to support multiple organisations through delivery of the scope of work described above, including the ability to respond to and manage urgent requests (e.g. investigations) within a maximum of 5 working days.

 

 

If you are interested in being considered for this service provision please submit your detailed proposal, including the following sections:

 

1. Executive Summary

Brief summary (no more than 1 page) of why you are best placed to fulfil the requirements of this service. This should include the main strengths you can provide to FF and how this will support the Hotspot activities in Thailand. If there are any services you are unable to provide, please indicate any alternative solutions you can recommend.

2. Activities to be performed

Description of how you will deliver the services specified in the Scope of Work. The description should demonstrate your ability and experience in performing similar activities to the level necessary for achievement of FF objectives.

3. Qualifications and experience

Details of your fit to the TSP Specification described above. Copies of documentary evidence (e.g. registration certificate) should be included where appropriate.
If there are requirements that you are unable to meet, please describe alternative solutions or explain why this will not affect achievement of FF objectives.

4. Cost indications for the Scope of Work

Indicative daily rates and other costs (e.g. travel rates) for each service/deliverable in the Scope of Work. The rate should be based on the cost to support one Partner. A range can be provided where the cost may vary (e.g. depending on travel distance from your office location).

 

Proposal Timeline

• Please reply as soon as possible to astorey@freedomfund.org confirming if you will or will not be submitting a proposal in response to this TOR and providing the name and details of the person who is managing this proposal. Your reply should also indicate if you require any clarification of requirements or have any questions on the content of the TOR. Responses will be prepared to any questions/clarification requests and provided to all proposers.
• Your full proposal should be submitted as soon as possible but no later than 1 February 2021.
• Please submit all proposal materials to Adrian Storey (Program Finance Manager, The Freedom Fund, London) by email at astorey@freedomfund.org and copy to the Freedom Fund Program Manager, Ni Ni Aung at naung@freedomfund.org.

 

Download file here : https://www.thaingo.org/jobs/files/Thailand Finance TA ToR 2021.pdf

Contact : The Freedom Fund, London by email at astorey@freedomfund.org and copy to the Freedom Fund Program Manager, Ni Ni Aung at naung@freedomfund.org

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บัญชี / Accountantการเงิน / Financier