Mercy Corps Hiring for Legislative Agenda Impact Assessment Consultant at Amman, Jordan Full Time

Background:

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, and in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action, helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities now and for the future.  Mercy Corps has worked in Jordan since 2003 to implement a variety of programs funded by global public institutions, as well as private donors, to meet the urgent needs of vulnerable populations, build cohesive and civically engaged communities, and increase inclusive economic opportunities. Mercy Corps’ current portfolio in Jordan focuses on three domains: resilient individuals, strong communities and governance, and environmentally sustainable and inclusive economic growth. Mercy Corps integrates crosscutting themes of youth, gender equality and empowerment, governance, natural resource management, and technology.

About The Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW):

The Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW) is the national machinery for Women in Jordan established in 1992 by a Cabinet Decree and is chaired by HRH Princess Basma Bint Talal, which mandate is the promotion of status of women in Jordan. The Commission works on integrating women’s issues and priorities in national strategies, policies, legislation, plans, and budgets. JNCW is a reference body for all official agencies in setting woman-related policies and strategies, suggesting legislative amendments to improve the status of women in Jordan.

JNCW is a member of the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Women’s Empowerment, which was formed in 2015 as one of the permanent ministerial committees of the Cabinet.  The Committee has clearly defined powers and tasks and it contributes to the promotion of women’s rights and access to decision-making issues.

JNCW led the process of preparing the National Strategy for Women[1] in Jordan (2020-2025) under the guidance of the Prime Minister, and the preparation of its related Action Plan[2] in collaboration with the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MOPIC) and the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) for Women Empowerment. Both strategic documents were endorsed by the Government of Jordan in 2020 and 2023 respectively.

The National Strategy for Women (NSW) is a national roadmap for Jordan towards gender equality and the empowerment of women and its goals are achievable through the combined efforts of the Executive and Legislative Branches of Government, in close partnership with national institutions, CSOs and the private sector. 

The NSW’s has placed its focus on the importance of achieving legislative and positive measures to enhance women’s representation including, not limited to:

1. Women and girls are able to exercise their economic, political and human rights and freely lead and participate in society free of discrimination.
2. Women and girls enjoy a life free of all forms of violence.
3. Positive social norms, roles and attitudes support equality and women empowerment.
4. Sustaining policies, structures and services that support women representation.

The NSW’s Action Plan 2023-2025, represents a guidance document for policymakers through six main pillars, including: 1) Economic empowerment, 2) political empowerment and participation in decision-making, 3) human rights, 4) combating of violence against women and girls, 5) community culture, and 6) gender mainstreaming at the institutional level in the public and private sectors[3].

Purpose / Project Description:

Tawazon – Promoting the Voice and Leadership of Women Activity is a five-year activity that works on creating transformational changes in gender relations at the family, community, and national levels to enhance gender equality and advance women’s leadership in Jordan. This will be achieved through: 1) strengthening the enabling environment and institutional capacity and addressing structural barriers for women to fully exercise their rights, express their agency and freely lead and participate in society without restrictions; 2) partnering with local stakeholders to counter prevailing prohibitive social norms that perpetuate gender inequality, undermine women’s agency to exercise their rights, and prevent transformative change in gender relations; and 3) advancing the inclusive and transparent leadership and decision-making participation of girls and women and 4) enriching collaboration amongst USAID’s Gender Community of Practice in order to strengthen coordination, scale innovative ideas, and promote accountability to gender equality among practitioners.

Consultant Objectives:

JNCW being the national mechanism for advancing the status of women in Jordan, has been actively engaged throughout the years in working closely with civil society, government entities, academia, experts, among others to develop a comprehensive review of the legislation to enable women to fully participate and contribute to different aspects of the development of the country.

At present, the Jordanian National Commission for Women is working on preparing a legislative agenda which will serve as a reference document for various legislation that require amendment, improvement or better enforcement for the purposes of promoting women’s rights and increasing their political, economic and social participation. Development of the legislative agenda involves reviewing legislative frameworks and identifying the most discriminatory laws and positive laws with weak enforcement and accordingly propose amendments. Concurrently, JNCW will support and enhance the capabilities of official institutions to adopt gender-sensitive policies and tools, contribute to reviewing legislative frameworks, and strive to enforce their texts to ensure the achievement of equal citizenship and non-discrimination.

The process for developing the legislative agenda will be evidence based to ensure its effective implementation. Thus, it is critical to include a gender impact assessment of existing legislation or proposed amendments to identify whether a given decision will have negative or positive consequences on the state of equality and gender mainstreaming efforts. The aim of the gender impact assessment is to improve the design and the planning of legislations under consideration, to prevent or mitigate against negative impacts of legislations and strengthen gender equality efforts through transformative legislation and policies. At minimum, the gender impact assessment must answer whether a law, bylaw or instruction reduce, maintain or increase compliance with women’s rights and equality.

Consultant Activities:

1. Conduct desk research and literature review.
2. Review status of Jordanian women against national and international indicators related to women’s empowerment and equality.  
3. Compare and benchmark the outcomes with other countries similar to Jordan.
4. Develop and deliver presentations detailing the main findings.
5. Co-develop, together with the Legal Agenda consultant, 8 concept papers that cover the identified legal priorities based on the template agreed by JNCW.

Consultant Deliverables:

1. Inception report with detailed action plan and a clear timeline for the assignment. As a minimum requirement, the report should include and clearly highlight the methodology of the work, key assumptions, and sources of information and data. The inception report should include a list of documents for desk review and be based on initial consultation with JNCW and other relevant stakeholders.
2. Based on the agreed methodology (described in the Inception report), submit first draft impact assessment report.
3. Submit final Impact Assessment report. Deliver a final report incorporating feedback and comments received from JNCW.
4. Presentations: Deliver presentations detailing the findings of the assessment.
5. Concept Papers: Contribute to the development of 8 concept papers prepared by the legal consultant, that cover the identified legal priorities through providing impact assessment content based on the template agreed by JNCW.

Timeframe / Schedule: 

This contract will be implemented over a period of two months with an estimated Level of Efforts of 20 days starting 26 November 2023.

The Consultant will report to:

Institutional and Leadership Development Lead – Tawazon.

The Consultant will work closely with:

The Consultant will carry out this assignment under the supervision of Tawazon ILD Lead in close coordination with JNCW. The consultant must coordinate with the legal consultant working on the legislative agenda.

Required Experience & Skills:

1. MSc. In Economics, Social Science, Political Science, Law, or any other related fields.
2. Minimum of 10 years of demonstrated relevant experience.
3. Demonstrated experience and knowledge of impact assessment studies.
4. Strong knowledge and understanding of the socio-economic context and the legislative frameworks of Jordan.
5. Ability to meet deadlines, work with minimum supervision, and deliver quality products is essential. 
6. Demonstrated experience working in the Arab States is highly desirable.
7. Experience and knowledge of women’s rights and gender equality programming.
8. Knowledge of women’s empowerment and gender equality priorities in Jordan.
9. Fluency in written and spoken Arabic and English languages.

Resources provided:

JNCW and Tawazon will provide necessary support and resources for the consultant to perform tasks defined in the consultancy. 

Documents to be included when submitting Consultancy Proposals:

• A proposal demonstrating the approach and strategies the consultant will follow in delivering this scope of work.  Proposal length shouldn’t exceed 3 pages.
• Detailed workplan with estimated level of effort for each deliverable.
• Financial offer and daily rate.
• CV of applicant.
• Samples of previous relevant work.
• Three references.

Evaluation criteria:

Applicants will be evaluated according to the below elements and weights.  Only applicants that receive a score of 40% and above on elements from one to three will qualify for the assignment.

1. Proposal and approach 30%
2. Workplan and distribution of level of effort 10%
3. Previous experience 20%
4. Presentation 20%
5. Financial offer 20%

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives. 

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity
We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics
Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our stakeholders and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

How to Apply: Mercy Corps Jordan is seeking a qualified consultant to provide an Impact Assessment for the Legislative Agenda under the Jordanian National Strategy for Women in Jordan-USAID Tawazon – Promoting the Voice and Leadership of Women Activity. If you are interested, please send the requirements to the Mercy Corps – human resources department at “[email protected]” . The last date for submission is on the 21st of November, 2023 indicating the title of the position “Impact Assessment for the Legislative Agenda under the Jordanian National Strategy for Women in Jordan-USAID Tawazon ” in the subject line.