International NGO · Written recruitment test
Practical exercise · Assistant level
Grants Assistant
- Duty station
- Beira, Sofala province (Mozambique)
- Time allowed
- 60 min
- Marks
- 100 marks
- Pass mark
- 60 %
- Profile
- Assistant, 0 to 2 years of experience
Instructions
- The test lasts 60 minutes. It is marked out of 100; the pass mark is 60.
- You may use a calculator or a spreadsheet. Show your workings: a correct result without workings receives only half the marks.
- Any outside help (another person, artificial intelligence) is forbidden.
- The documents are fictional. Do not make unjustified assumptions; if you make one, state it.
- Amounts in meticais (MZN) and euros (EUR). Round euros to the cent and rates to three decimal places.
Original practice test, built on the format of written tests used by United Nations agencies and international NGOs. The context and figures are fictitious.
Documents provided
- Expenses in local currency are converted at the weighted average rate of the transfers received from headquarters during the reporting period.
- Indirect costs: 7% of eligible direct costs.
- Procurement procedure (equivalent value in EUR): less than EUR 2,500: one quotation; from EUR 2,500 to 10,000: three written quotations and a comparative bid analysis; more than EUR 10,000: tender.
- Documents required for each purchase: purchase request, quotations, comparative bid analysis (if three or more quotations), purchase order, delivery note or goods received note, invoice, proof of payment. The purchase order always precedes the invoice.
- Any payment over MZN 50,000 is made by bank transfer.
| Date | Amount sent (EUR) | Amount received (MZN) |
|---|---|---|
| 10/02 | 40,000 | 2,800,000 |
| 15/04 | 25,000 | 1,762,500 |
| 20/06 | 35,000 | 2,485,000 |
| Category | Expenses (MZN) | Converted by the colleague (EUR) |
|---|---|---|
| Staff | 2,114,250 | 29,778.17 |
| Activities | 3,171,375 | 44,667.25 |
| Transport | 704,750 | 9,926.06 |
| Office | 352,375 | 4,963.03 |
| Total direct costs | 6,342,750 | 89,334.51 |
| Indirect costs | 6,253.42 | |
| Total requested | 95,587.93 |
Colleague's note: "I used the rate of the last transfer, 71.000, as it is the most recent."
| File | Purpose | Amount (MZN) | Documents present and remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| D1 | 300 buckets of 20 L | 155,045 | Request, 1 quotation, purchase order, delivery note, invoice, proof of transfer |
| D2 | Hygiene kits | 535,610 | Request, 3 quotations, purchase order dated 06/05, invoice dated 02/05, proof of transfer |
| D3 | Rental of a training room (5 days) | 211,425 | Request, 3 quotations, comparative bid analysis, contract, invoice, proof of transfer, attendance lists. Two of the three quotations bear the same phone number and the same handwriting. |
| D4 | Generator | 845,700 | Request, 3 quotations, comparative bid analysis, purchase order, goods received note, invoice, cash payment receipt |
Result
0 out of 100
Mark each answer honestly against the panel's grid: the total is calculated automatically.
Common mistakes that cost marks
- Using the rate of the last transfer or the simple average of the rates.
- Calculating indirect costs on a total that already includes them.
- Approving file D2 because all the quotations are present.
- Not noticing that file D4 exceeds the tender threshold.
- Questioning the supplier or the requester about the suspicious quotations in D3.
Useful references
- Financial clauses of the grant agreement (conversion method, indirect cost rate)
- The organisation's internal procurement procedure (thresholds and supporting documents)