External Financial Expert

General background

The EU Anti-Corruption Initiative in Ukraine (EUACI) is the European Union’s technical support program in the area of anti-corruption in Ukraine, co-funded and implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Denmark. The overall objective of the EUACI is to achieve significant progress in preventing and countering corruption, ensuring the coherence and systemic anti-corruption activities of state and local self-government bodies, and to empower civil society and citizens to contribute to the combatting of corruption, as well as the proper process of Ukraine’s post-war recovery. The program runs till April 2027.

EUACI supports civil society organizations and investigative media through grants. The EUACI expects to have somewhere between 20 and 30 partners. Transparency and accountability of partners are essential; therefore, an appropriate reporting system is in place to ensure proper oversight and use of funds.

Objective

Enhance the transparency and accountability of NGO partners through verification of their financial reporting and monitoring of their documentation, accounting etc. Support the EUACI in ensuring that the NGO partners live up to Danida requirements.

Scope of work

The Financial Expert will be responsible for performing the following tasks:

• Financial Pre-assessment & Verification:
  • Conduct financial pre-assessments of grant applicants in accordance with EUACI and Danida financial requirements.
  • Verify the accuracy and completeness of all financial documents provided by applicants.
  • Assess the financial viability of proposed budgets, ensuring they align with project scopes and funding guidelines.
  • Formulate independent recommendations regarding applicant financial capacity and budget suitability based on verifiable data.
• Financial Reporting Review & Compliance:
  • Review and verify grantee financial reports against EUACI and Danida reporting standards and grant agreements.
  • Ensure the full package of financial supporting documents is collected, complete, and adequately supports reported expenditures.
• Financial Monitoring & Documentation:
  • Perform financial monitoring visits to grantees as requested by EUACI, focusing on verifying financial records, internal controls, and adherence to expenditure rules.
  • Document findings from financial reviews and monitoring visits thoroughly and objectively.
  • Prepare complete financial documentation packages for grantees in preparation for external audits, ensuring all required records are organized and readily available.
• Consultations:
  • Provide clarification and guidance to grantees on specific financial reporting requirements, allowable costs, and documentation standards, upon the granteesrequest.
  • Answer questions related to budget changes or audit preparation as needed.

The External Financial Expert is expected to complete the required competence development component for EUACI staff.

Deliverables

• Financial pre-assessment reports for each applicant reviewed.
• Monitoring visit reports, including recommendations and action points.
• Complete audit support documentation files, as required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, economics, or a related field, with at least 3 years of relevant professional experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Strong knowledge of Ukrainian financial legislation, internal control systems, and audit procedures.
• Proven ability to manage complex workloads, prioritize tasks, and meet tight deadlines.
• Self-motivated, solution-oriented, and capable of working independently with minimal supervision.
• High level of computer literacy, including proficiency in MS Word, Excel, and other relevant software.
• Excellent attention to detail and critical thinking abilities.
• Previous experience working with international donor-funded projects, particularly those funded by EU or Danida.
• Fluency in Ukrainian and English, both written and spoken.

Budget, timeframe, and location

The expected duration of the assignment is tentatively 21 months, with a tentative start from August, 2025 till April, 2027.

Location: Remote, with occasional travel to grantee offices in Ukraine

Type of contract: framework contract (10 days per month).

Reporting and management

The External Financial Expert will coordinate his or her work with the EUACI’s inhouse Financial Expert and report under the supervision of the Head of Administration.

The performance of the Contractor will be judged upon reaching the purpose of this contract as well as obtaining its results, as indicated in the section “Objective” and “Deliverables” herein respectively. Moreover, the performance of the Contractor will be judged upon the successful implementation of all the specific activities indicated in Section “Scope of work” of this document

By signing the contract, the Contractor agrees to hold in trust and confidence any information or documents (“confidential information”) disclosed to the Contractor or discovered by the Consultant or prepared by the Contractor in the course of or as a result of the implementation of the contract, and agrees that it shall be used only for the contract implementation and shall not be disclosed to any third party. The Contractor also agrees not to retain copies of any written information or prototypes in its archive and for its use. EUACI will cover travel expenses in accordance with our travel policy.

How to apply

The deadline for submitting the proposal is July, 21, 23:59 Kyiv time.

All interested candidates should submit:

• CV, including references and portfolio of previous similar assignments.
• Financial offer, including daily fee in EUR.

If these documents are not submitted in line with the request above, the bid will not be considered.

The proposal shall include the aforementioned information and should be submitted within the above deadline to [email protected] indicating the subject line: External Financial Expert

You will receive an auto-reply from the [email protected] mailbox when the offer has been received. If you do not receive an auto-reply, your offer was not received and you should contact the EUACI by phone.

Bidding language: English.

Please note that the name of the winner of this tender will be published on the EUACI’s website.

Any clarification questions regarding the terms of reference should be addressed to [email protected], not later than July, 15, 23:59 Kyiv time.

Evaluation criteria

Applications will be evaluated under the criteria provided below:

Annex. Budget template