Tenders Are Invited For Legal And Regulatory Help Desk For Civil Society Organizations

Tenders are invited for Legal and Regulatory Help Desk for Civil Society Organizations Cordaid seeks a qualified legal service provider to operate a free, independent and practical help desk that supports Iraqi CSOs to operate lawfully, maintain compliance, strengthen governance and resolve legal and administrative problems throughout their organisational life cycle. The help desk builds the capacity of CSOs to meet their own legal obligations; it does not replace them, and it reduces reliance on unverified or commercial intermediaries. Duties and Responsibilities A. Individual legal advice and legal clinics Receive enquiries through a dedicated hotline/WhatsApp number, email and scheduled in-person hours at each of the four hubs; offer bookable clinic slots of 3060 minutes, in person or online. Provide written, legally referenced responses: acknowledgement within one working day; simple enquiries within three working days; complex cases within ten working days; protection cases contacted the same day. Triage each case as Level 1 (information, answered directly), Level 2 (document review and consultation) or Level 3 (complex matter, first-line guidance then referral to specialist counsel). B. Registration and establishment guidance Explain registration procedures with the NGO Directorate (federal) and the NGO Department of the Kurdistan Regional Government, including the UR e-services platform and public-benefit status. Review by-laws, founding statements, election or appointment minutes and administrative registers prepared by the CSO itself and return written comments; diagnose stalled applications and agree a completion plan with the CSO. C. Post-registration compliance and amendments Maintain an annual compliance checklist (licence renewal, annual report, registers, notifications) and support CSOs to meet it. Handle warning and suspension cases: analyse the cause, support the CSOs formal response and follow up to closure. Guide amendments: changes of board members or founders, address, branches, scope of work, bylaws and organisational structure, including notifications due to authorities Advise on secondary approvals: residence attestation for premises, sectoral ministry accreditation and accepted specialisations. Conduct a legal compliance review of each supported CSO at the start and end of the assignment, issuing a compliance scorecard and an action plan (issue, risk, action, priority, deadline) and tracking closure of each item. D. Tax and legal-financial framework Explain current tax instructions applicable to NGOs, including the Secretariat-General letter of 30 March 2026 (no retroactive assessment; assessment from the year income is generated; unified application in the Kurdistan Region; not a blanket exemption). Advise on withholding tax for staff and contractors and on the treatment of grants, donations and gifts; refer complex tax matters to qualified specialists. The help desk does not provide bookkeeping or accounting services. E. Employment, contracts and governance Advise on employment, volunteer, intern and consultancy contracts, social security registration, disciplinary and termination procedures, and provide a standard CSO employment and engagement template package. Review, before signature, grant, sub-grant, partnership, consultancy, service, lease, cooperation and non-disclosure agreements, focusing on obligations, liability, reporting duties, termination and dispute-resolution clauses. Advise on board disputes, general assembly powers and the lawful procedure for changing members or officers. Provide a governance and legal documents toolkit: board terms of reference, delegation of authority, election procedures, conflict-of-interest policy, code of conduct, whistleblowing and complaints mechanisms, decision-making procedures, minute and register formats, authorisation letters, and document retention rules. F. Legal protection and referral Provide first-line guidance in cases of summons, investigation, inspection, document requests, administrative pressure or internal governance disputes, including procedural rights. Maintain a vetted referral list of litigating counsel, approved by Cordaid, and follow referred cases to closure. Court representation is outside this assignment. Coordinate with the digital security and psychosocial help desks on cases that cut across mandates, under an agreed referral protocol. G. Awareness, legal alerts and resources Issue a legal alert in Arabic and Kurdish within 15 working days of any new law, instruction or circular affecting CSOs, stating what organisations must do, and a quarterly legal update bulletin. Publish advisories on high-risk practices: sale or transfer of registered organisations, foreign registrations marketed with promises of UN status or funding, and unaccredited internationally recognised certificates. Deliver at least one group session per hub per quarter on a single compliance topic, with attendance records. Build and maintain a resource library (checklists, templates, step-by-step guides, FAQ with cited legal sources) and hand it over in editable form at the end of the assignment. H. Case management, reporting and learning Operate a confidential case-management system; log every case within two working days of closure; share only anonymised data with Cordaid. Tender Link : https://www.ngosjobs-bids.com/index.php/bids