Our organization is accepting proposals from audit firms to provide audit (and tax) services for our organization in the coming year. We invite your firm to submit a proposal to us by January 23rd, 2023, for consideration. A description of our organization, the services needed, and other pertinent information follows:

Background

Connected Development [CODE] is a non-government organization [NGO] whose mission is to empower marginalized communities in Africa.

We strengthen local communities by creating platforms for dialogue, enabling informed debate, and building capacities of citizens on how to hold their government accountable through Follow The Money.  CODE provides marginalized and vulnerable communities with resources to amplify their voices with independence and integrity while providing the communities with information that ushers social and economic progress.

The organization has a January 1  fiscal year-end, with a requirement to file an audited financial statement by March 30 of each year.

Services to Be Performed

Your proposal is expected to cover the following services: 

1.  Annual audit to be completed in compliance with the above filing requirement and meetings with the audit committee and or board of directors, as necessary. 

2.  Tax filings for the organization and related foundation. 

3.  Quarterly reviews of internally prepared financial statements.

Your Response to This Request for Proposal

In responding to this request, we request the following information: 

1.  Detail your firm’s experience in providing auditing and tax services to companies in the not-for-profit sector, as well as associations of comparable size to Connected Development, including those with international memberships. 

2.  Provide information on whether you provide services to related industry associations or groups.

3.  Discuss the firm’s independence with respect to Connected Development

4.  Discuss your commitments to staff continuity, including your staff turnover experience in the last three years. 

5.  Identify the five largest clients your firm (or office) has lost in the past three years and the

reasons. Also discuss, in instances where loss of the client was due to an unresolved auditing or accounting matter, the process of attempting to resolve the issue(s). 

6.  Identify the partner, manager, and in-charge accountant who will be assigned to our job if you are successful in your bid, and provide biographies. Indicate any complaints against them that have been leveled by the state board of accountancy or other regulatory authority, if any. Indicate any corrective actions that have been taken by the firm with respect to these people. 

7.  Describe how your firm will approach the audit of the organization, including the use of any association or affiliate member firm personnel and the areas that will receive primary emphasis.  Also, discuss the firm’s use of technology in the audit. And finally, discuss the communication process used by the firm to discuss issues with the management and audit committees of the board. 

8.  Set forth your fee proposal for the 2022 audit, with whatever guarantees can be given regarding increases in future years. Provide your proposed fee for the required quarterly review work and for tax preparation. 

9.  Provide the names and contact information for other, similarly sized clients of the partner and manager that will be assigned to our organization for reference purposes. 

10.  Describe how and why your firm is different from other firms being considered, and why our selection of your firm as our independent accountants is the best decision we could make. 

11.  Include a copy of your firm’s most recent peer review report, the related letter of comments, and the firm’s response to the letter of comments.

12. Among other things, also include evidence of registration with Auditors’ General Office, your Firm’s Tax Filing, as well as the most recent audited report. 

Evaluation of Proposals

CODE will evaluate proposals on a qualitative basis. This includes our review of the firm’s 

peer review report and related materials, interviews with senior engagement personnel to be assigned to our organization, results of discussions with other clients, and the firm’s completeness and timeliness in its response to us. 
Please submit your response to this request for proposal to audit@connecteddevelopment.org by January 23, 2023.

Education is the most powerful investment in our future. But the Nigerian education system is in a state of emergency and the country is lagging behind even the poorest countries on the continent.

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Download here

FTM-Citizens-Guide-Manual-Web-Size

Download here

Application deadline: October 25th, 2022.

Yearly, the Conference of the Parties (COP) which stands as the supreme decision-making forum of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), brings together signatory governments to thoroughly discuss and agree on how to jointly address climate change and its impacts.

This year, the United Nations Climate Negotiations (COP27) will be held in the city of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt from 7-18 November 2022. This conference will be an avenue to galvanize world leaders, activists, journalists and critical stakeholders to drive the implementation of climate change adaptation, and mitigation.

As such, Connected Development (CODE), Africa’s leading civil society organization is launching a fellowship program (Ewah Eleri Climate Justice Fellowship) that will enable climate activists & campaigners to build networks around the world for climate justice and engage with other activists, campaigners and journalists beyond their countries/regions. It will be a chance to gain hands-on experience at the United Nations Climate Negotiations (COP27) event in Egypt.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

The Petroleum Industry Act 2021 was passed to remedy the failure of the Petroleum Act, it commercialized the NNPC and established new regulatory agencies. It also aimed to solve the age-old problem of oil-bearing communities being devastated by the activities of oil companies through the establishment of the Host Communities Development Trust (HCDT). The host community development provisions in the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 (PIA) is a well-known topic amongst stakeholders in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. The reason for this is not far fetched as before the PIA, there were no laws imposing host community development obligations on oil and gas companies but chapter 3 of the PIA in S.235 mandates the incorporation of the HCDT which will be a corporate body able to sue and be sued aimed at fostering sustainable prosperity in host communities and encouraging peaceful coexistence between licensees and host communities. It goes on to mandate the contribution of three percent of the total annual expenditure of the ‘settlor’ to the trust. The HCDT is to be established, specifically, to address the developmental needs of the oil-bearing and impacted communities in the region, and while it is commendable, it creates certain challenges. Below are some of the gains and perceived challenges that can arise from the act.

The UNGP provides a framework for companies to report on their human rights record while chapter 3 of the PIA mandates it. The PIA by its provisions is complementary to the principles of the UNGP and although the development and implementation of the National Action Plan have been slow, the passage of the PIA and its eventual implementation will go a long way in influencing human rights records within the industry. 

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DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT HERE

DEADLINE: 13th June 2022

Job Description
State Civil Engineer

Locations: Borno, Ekiti, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Plateau States.

Reports to: Project Lead

Organizational Background

Connected Development [CODE] is a non-government organization [NGO] whose mission is to empower marginalized communities in Africa.

We strengthen local communities by creating platforms for dialogue, enabling informed debate, and building capacities of citizens on how to hold their government accountable through Follow The Money.  CODE provides marginalized and vulnerable communities with resources to amplify their voices with independence and integrity while providing the communities with information that ushers social and economic progress.

To enhance effective democratic governance and accountability, CODE creates platforms [mobile and web technologies] that close the feedback loop between citizens and the government. With global expertise and reach, we focus on community outreach, influencing policies, practices, and knowledge mobilization.

One of the projects to be implemented to achieve this goal is the AGILE (Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment) project. The Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) Project was developed by the Federal Ministry of Education in collaboration with the World Bank as part of the Government’s long-term education reform agenda, to adequately address the identified constraints of accessing and completing secondary education facing adolescent girls in Nigeria.

AGILE consists of three distinct but complementary components. These are:

(1) Creating Safe and accessible learning spaces
(2) Fostering an enabling environment for girls) and
(3) Project management and system strengthening components.

CODE is calling for a civil engineer for the AGILE Project who will join the team to carry out the following responsibilities:

–   Measure outputs and outcomes using available data and by undertaking interviews and field assessments where necessary;

– Support the Project lead to prepare/update their system of tracking and reporting against their agreed performance indicators;

– Support AGILE to implement agreed institutional strengthening and personnel capacity building projects related to performance monitoring;

– Work closely with the engineers supporting capacity development of AGILE team .

– Track progress of AGILE project interventions and report in progress monthly;

– Collect data, analyze, and present data on outputs, outcomes, and impact of AGILE project in all localities;

– Support the project manager on project compliance, monitoring and reporting.

– Support the development of a monitoring plan

– Assist in providing training and technology transfer to national personnel

– Represent CODE in project implementation activities in the State, as directed by the Project Manager and the Senior Engineer to ensure that AGILE procedures and the standards adhere to all project implementation activities.

–   Ensure regular supervision of the monitoring plan progress and quality for on time delivery

– Provide data and information about project to the PM for reporting purposes.

Requirement

– Degree in Civil Engineering or related disciplines.
– Minimum 2 years’ experience
– Previous experience in monitoring project performance would be preferred.
– Experience in preparing reports on project progress is desirable.
– Strong in communication skill and speaks the local language fluently.
– A team player.

Method of Application:

Interested candidates should fill the form provided below. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Women are strongly advised to apply.

APPLY HERE

DEADLINE: 13th June 2022

Job Description
Monitoring and Evaluation Support Officer

Locations: Borno, Ekiti, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Plateau States.

Reports to: Project Lead

Organizational Background

Connected Development [CODE] is a non-government organization [NGO] whose mission is to empower marginalized communities in Africa.

We strengthen local communities by creating platforms for dialogue, enabling informed debate, and building capacities of citizens on how to hold their government accountable through Follow The Money.  CODE provides marginalized and vulnerable communities with resources to amplify their voices with independence and integrity while providing the communities with information that ushers social and economic progress.

To enhance effective democratic governance and accountability, CODE creates platforms [mobile and web technologies] that close the feedback loop between citizens and the government. With global expertise and reach, we focus on community outreach, influencing policies, practices, and knowledge mobilization.

One of the projects to be implemented to achieve this goal is the Third Party Monitoring of Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) project across seven states. The AGILE Project was developed by the Federal Ministry of Education in collaboration with the World Bank as part of the Government’s long-term education reform agenda, to adequately address the identified constraints of accessing and completing secondary education facing adolescent girls in Nigeria.

CODE is calling for a State M&E Support Officer for the AGILE Project who will join the team to carry out the following responsibilities:
He/ She will be responsible in assisting the Project team to design, coordinate and implement the monitoring and evaluation, research, and learning framework of the Project. He/she will assist to develop a systematic monitoring framework to improve the qualitative and quantitative evidence gathered by the Project.

Specific duties;

• Collect data on a regular basis to measure achievement against the performance indicators.
• Check data quality with partners
• Maintain and administer the M&E database; analyse and aggregate findings.
• Support project progress reporting, project mid-term review and final evaluation.
• Provide advice to the supervisor on improving project performance using M&E findings.
• Produce reports on M&E findings and prepare presentations based on M&E data as required.
• Provide the Project Manager with management information she/he may require.
• Check that monitoring data are discussed in appropriate forum and in a timely fashion in terms of implications for future action. If necessary, create such discussions to fill any gap.
• Perform other duties as may be assigned by the Project Manager

Skills & Qualities  

• Minimum of three (3) years of professional experience in an M&E position responsible for implementing M&E activities of international development projects.
• Experience in designing, implementing, and operating project M&E systems from project initiation to closeout stages.
• Experience in designing and managing beneficiary monitoring and database systems.
• Proven experience in community projects.
• Experience in Advocacy.
• Excellent writing skills in English.
• Outstanding communication skills (both written and verbal).
• An ego-free attitude when it comes to taking constructive feedback and running with it.
• Ability to work methodically and meet deadlines.
• Positive, flexible, solution-oriented, and excited to work with a diverse team of professionals working toward a common goal.
• Mature, coachable, and happy doing high-level projects.
• BSc degree.

Method of Application:

Interested candidates should fill the form provided in the link below. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Women are strongly advised to apply.

APPLY HERE