Tender Notice for DC-ETH23.01 Project Audits Full Time NEW

Organisation: Hoffnungszeichen | Sign of Hope e.V.

www.hoffnungszeichen.de, www.sign-of-hope.org

Position: Auditor

Type of Contract: Framework Agreement (on satisfactory performance and timely delivery of annual audits)

Type of Audit: In depth Audits

Location: Home-based with field mission travel to to Omorate Dassanech Woreda, South Omo Ethiopia

Languages Required: Amharic & English

Application Deadline: 14/12/2025

Starting Date: 26/01/2026

Auditing Period: Annual Audit from 01.01.2025 – 31.01.2025

Annual Audit from 01.01.2026 – 31.12.2026

Final Audit from 01.01.2023 – 31.12.2027

Project Title: Supporting Livelihoods and Peace Transformation of Pastoralists (SLPTP) – in Dassanech Woreda of the South Omo Zone in the Southern Nations, Nationalities & Peoples Region (SNNPR), Ethiopia

Total Project Budget: € 445,000

Annual Budget 2025: € 79,497.47

Annual Budget 2026: € 24,439.06

Hoffnungszeichen | Sign of Hope e.V (SoH) is announcing an open tender procedure for external independent financial audit services in Ethiopia.

Background and Organisational Setting

SoH is a Christian motivated organisation for Human Rights, Humanitarian Assistance and Development Cooperation. Based in Constance, Germany, SoH is dedicated to helping those in distress and exploited people worldwide.

The audits are commissioned under the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) funding guidelines for development projects run by private German executing agencies.

SoH will be the private German executing agency and the contracting party, with Ethiopian Catholic Church Social and Development Commission Soddo (ECCSDCO Soddo) being the local implementing agency, the contracting party, are currently carrying out the project “Supporting Livelihoods and Peace Transformation of Pastoralists (SLPTP) – in Dassanech Woreda of the South Omo Zone in the Southern Nations, Nationalities & Peoples Region (SNNPR), Ethiopia” since January 2023. Furthermore, the project will phase out in December, 2027.

The project will contribute to sustainable livelihood security and promotion of pastoralists and agro-pastoralists in Dassanech Woreda. It will do so by strengthening the resilience of the target group to the loss of natural resources due to/and the impacts of climate change. Through the results areas and activities, 1,420 households (7,100 people in total 3,533 men and 3,567 women), of which 577 are headed by women and 843 by men who are in IPC 3 (crisis) food insecurity situations will be reached directly. In addition to the direct target group mentioned above, more than 3,613 households (of which 1,794 are headed by women), a total of 18,065 beneficiaries, will benefit from the project activities indirectly.

Audit Objectives

The purpose of the in-depth audits is to provide SoH with a sound basis for its accountability, transparency and accuracy in the financial disclosure towards the funding agency BMZ. The tasks of this recruitment relate to:

• An annual audit, with a detailed examination of all the supporting documents for 01.01.2025 – 31.12.2025
• An annual audit, with a detailed examination of all the supporting documents for 01.01.2026 – 31.12.2026
• A final audit, with a detailed examination of all the supporting documents for 01.01.2023 – 31.12.2027

These in-depth audits will verify the compliance with standards of the funding agency BMZ, SoH, national regulations and the international accounting standards (ISA).

The auditor will review the project’s financial documents, receipts lists, records of transactions, all vouchers and receipts disbursed, and relevant project documents in order to come up with a professional, independent opinion on the financial accounting of the project Supporting Livelihoods and Peace Transformation of Pastoralists (SLPTP) – in Dassanech Woreda of the South Omo Zone in the Southern Nations, Nationalities & Peoples Region (SNNPR), Ethiopia for all funds received and expended by Ethiopian Catholic Church Social and Development Commission Soddo (ECCSDCO Soddo)from 01.01.2025 to 31.12.2025., from 01.01.2026 to 31.12.2026 and from 01.01.2023 to 31.12.2027

Additionally, the audit shall give recommendations on strengths, weaknesses, and required improvement in the project-related financial and human resources management systems of Ethiopian Catholic Church Social and Development Commission Soddo (ECCSDCO Soddo).

The audit will support the project quality assurance measures implemented by SoH and contribute to the decision-making process with regard to the project management and monitoring of finances by SoH and Ethiopian Catholic Church Social and Development Commission Soddo (ECCSDCO Soddo).

Expected Deliverables

The auditor is expected to produce an audit report, an audit certificate and a management letter for each auditing period, which will comprise the following:

1. Presentation of the scope and mandate of the audit, as well as the list of documents that formed the evidence for the audit,
2. An opinion whether financial statements (statement of accounts broken down for each year being audited) are issued in accordance with the financial reporting framework of the project, BMZ requirements and an internationally recognized accounting standard,
3. A checked, signed and stamped list of all project costs receipts, sorted by BMZ budget lines (list is provided by the local implementing partner).
4. Recommendations on identified shortcomings, and, if applicable, comments on the follow-up of audit observations and recommendations from previous years.

Audit documents must be issued in English.

Scope of the Audits

The audits should focus on the following:

• The correctness and completeness of the accounting records,
• The financial report, showing all project related income and expenditure structured by budget lines,
• Deviations of expenditure by budget lines. The expenditure, which exceeds or falls below the budget appropriations by more than 30 %, shall be explained separately, if the approval of the BMZ has not previously been obtained,
• That receipts and relevant supporting documents are available for all project related income and expenditures,
• The management of the funds made available, which includes the transfer of project funds, all interest earned from the project funds during the reporting period and further income generated by the project,
• Reviewing the appropriate use of funds according to the project objectives,
• Evaluation of the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the usage of funds,
• Budget adherence through the comparison between budgeted and actual costs in the currency in which the expenditure was incurred. The audit report will not convert the examined amounts into the Euro amounts,
• Reviewing if personnel costs and social security contributions conform to the regulations in the project country and are locally comparable,
• The economical use of the project equipment and assets,
• The inventory and the use of capital items, their whereabouts and their purposive usage,
• Compliance with the legal framework of the project (project agreements and annexes, contracts, etc.) and the donor requirements,
• Compliance with the policies of the local implementing partner regarding procurement, financial administration, human resources management and travel.

Procedures and Communication

The auditor will be given access to all necessary documents in the project offices through the local implementing partner Ethiopian Catholic Church Social and Development Commission Soddo (ECCSDCO Soddo) as well as relevant donor documents through SoH.

The auditor will be responsible to set up a schedule in agreement with the local implementing partner Ethiopian Catholic Church Social and Development Commission Soddo (ECCSDCO Soddo). Any expenses for field trips, postal and translation services and other expenses shall be included in the auditor’s proposed budget. Ethiopian Catholic Church Social and Development Commission Soddo (ECCSDCO Soddo) will support the auditor with logistics and arrangements to physical visit, however, all payments of the contract will be made directly by SoH.

Subject to satisfactory performance and timely delivery of all annual audit deliverables, the successful bidder will be contracted to undertake the successive audits. This will be determined in a joint meeting between the auditor, the local implementing agency and Sign of Hope.

Qualifications and Experience

• Necessary qualification to serve as a recognized independent auditing authority having registration certificate, license and Tax identification number (TIN)
• Minimum of five (5) years of experience conducting external independent audits of projects funded by international institutional donors in Ethiopia,
• Experience in conducting audits for BMZ-funded projects is beneficial.

Tagged as: Ethiopia, Sign of Hope