Consultancy for Conducting Due Diligence: AU-EU Youth Voices Lab Third Part Funding Mechanism

Apply By Monday, 2nd November 2026 at 5:00 PM (E.A.T)

CONSULTANCY OPPORTUNITY - Restless Development 

Call for Consultant: Conduct cohort 2 due diligence for the AU-EU Youth Voices Lab Third-Party Funding Mechanism.  

About Restless Development

Restless Development is a youth-focused organisation working at the forefront of change and development. The organisation works with and for young people, supporting them to become leaders and agents of positive change in their communities and beyond. Through its programmes and partnerships, Restless Development empowers young people to participate meaningfully in and contribute to solutions that address challenges affecting their lives and communities. For more information, please visit www.restlessdevelopment.org.  

Our approach to safeguarding

Restless Development considers the welfare and protection of children, young people and vulnerable adults to be an organizational imperative with primacy over the success of programmes or strategic objectives. We recognize that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and we expect all of our staff, volunteers and partners to ensure we protect the communities in which we operate from harm and abide by our Safeguarding Policy.

Consultancy Overview:

Assignment: Conduct cohort 2 due diligence for the AU-EU Youth Voices Lab Third-Party Funding Mechanism  

Project Background

Under the AU-EU Youth Voices Lab Programme – also known as Power of the Collective (POC), Restless Development is seeking services of 11 individual consultants (one per country)  to carry out due diligence exercises as part of the selection process of identifying Youth-led organizations under the TPFM. 

A call for proposal was launched in June 2026 inviting youth-led organizations and groups (in their diversity) to apply for small grants. The grants are intended to support the implementation of initiatives by youth-led organizations and groups across the 15 intervention countries of Cameroon, Burundi, South Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso and Belgium. Youth initiatives in the mentioned countries applied for funding to implement their ideas and solutions linked to global challenges. 

Through a transparent exercise involving Restless Development staff, Consortium partners and Youth Advisory Board members, 22 youth-led organizations were shortlisted for due diligence. See list annex 1 with list of shortlisted youth-led organisations.

Purpose of the Consultancy

The overall purpose of this consultancy is to verify that the youth-led organisations are legally compliant, have internal control systems, are operationally capable, and are safe to partner with before any resources are disbursed.

 The specific objectives of the consultancy are to:

• Verify that
  the organization or group is youth-led as described in the funding manual and is officially registered, possesses valid permit, operates within the bounds of local and international laws, and that the signatories have legitimate legal authority.
• Check whether the organization can
  absorb funds properly, manage cash flow, and maintain transparent accounting systems.
• Establish whether the organisation has adequate staff, leadership, infrastructure, and track records to successfully execute the proposed project.
• Check if the organization has a mechanism and track record of preventing misallocation, waste, or theft of funds by identifying red flags related to corruption, money laundering, or weak internal controls.
• Ensure that partnering with the organization does not expose Restless Development and the donor to reputational damage, associations with illicit or EU and UN sanctioned groups, or conflicts of interest.
• Check that the organization has proper policies in place to protect vulnerable populations (such as children or at-risk adults), including mandatory background checks for personnel where applicable.All organisations due diligence report should have evidence of documents/policies  reviewed during the processing of undertaking due diligence  
• Verify that the organization's goals, ethics, and project design genuinely align with the TPFM funding manual
• Share the report summarising key findings, and actions to be brought to management's attention, including percentage rating of each partner to enable Restless Development to make informed grant making decisions 

Duration of assignment and Budget

• Duration: The consultancy is expected to last 10 working days from the date of contract signing.
• Total Budget:
  € 600 and € 800 as indicated per country (Inclusive of all taxes and professional fees). Click here to access the full Terms of Reference (TOR).

Qualifications & Experience

The consultant should demonstrate:

Academic qualifications

• Required: A degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Audit, Public Financial Management, or a closely related field.
• Desirable: Postgraduate training in Organisational Development, Development Studies, or NGO Management, which covers the capacity development side.
• Professional certification (desirable): A recognised accountancy or audit body such as ACCA, CPA, CA, or CIA (Certified Internal Auditor). Useful additions are CISA (for IT and system controls), CFE (fraud examination), or a risk management certification.

Work experience

General

• At least 5 years in financial management, internal audit, or organisational assessment.
• At least 3 years conducting due diligence, partner capacity assessments, or pre-award assessments of NGOs or CBOs.  Ideally this includes small, grassroots, or youth-led organisations, 'which often have less developed systems .

• Experience assessing the full range of internal controls
  
• Demonstrated experience designing capacity development plans from assessment findings. That means action plans with prioritised gaps, realistic timelines, and proportionate, risk-based recommendations rather than generic ones.

Desirable

• Work with youth-led organisations, youth networks, or youth programming.
• Familiarity with donor compliance requirements (EU).

Technical skills and competencies

• Strong analytical and risk-rating skills, including the ability to classify organisations as low, moderate, significant or high risk and justify the rating 
• Ability to apply and, where needed, adapt a standardised assessment tool so that findings are comparable 
• Excellent report writing, both country-level findings and a consolidated synthesis.
• A participatory, developmental approach, so the assessment feels supportive rather than punitive.
  

Application Requirements

Interested consultant should submit:

• Technical proposal demonstrating understanding of the assignment and proposed approach.
• Detailed methodology and work plan, including proposed timeline.
• Financial proposal indicating the consultant's professional fees and any anticipated costs.
• Consultant CV(s) highlighting relevant experience.
• Samples of previous due diligence or partner capacity assessment reports 
• At least two relevant references from previous clients/assignments.
• A brief statement confirming availability during the proposed consultancy period.

Click here to access the full Terms of Reference (TOR).

Submission Deadline: Monday, 2nd November 2026 at 5:00 PM (E.A.T)

To Apply: use this link to apply.

Note: Restless Development does not charge fees at any stage of the recruitment process.

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