Consultancy Title: National Expert on NGOs, CBOs, Classification & Rating Mechanisms ,Amman-Jordan (10 Months, 200 working days)

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, Protection

Background of the Project:

Jordan is experiencing a shift towards empowering civil society and the NGO sector. Through the Economic, Political and Public Modernisation Visions, national priorities have been set to strengthen citizen voice and improve the participation of Community-Based Organizations (CBOs).  The National Social Protection Strategy (NSPS, 2019-2025) puts a special emphasis on the role of CBOs, especially under the Tamkeen pillar, highlighting the importance of collaborative arrangements between the public sector and CBOs to ensure more accessible and inclusive social services, in particular for the provision of alternative/home-based rather than institutional care.

The NSPS was set on guiding principles advocating for shared responsibility and coordinated efforts and systems across all sectors of society, encompassing the public, CBOs, and the private sector. Nonetheless, efforts are still required to promote a greater engagement of CBOs and the civil society to identify and address the needs of the vulnerable population. Therefore, it is necessary to enhance and strengthen the cooperation and coordination with civil society organizations within the framework of the NSPS.

In Jordan, all CBOs and NGOs, in order to operate, need to be registered within the CBO Registry at the Ministry of Social Development (MOSD). The registry has a basic mechanism for classifying CBOs according to the sector they operate in; e.g health, education, sports etc. Given the trajectory initiated by the national reform agenda and the update process of the CBO Law, a more detailed classification and rating mechanism for CBOs in the social protection sector is necessary for multiple reasons.

Firstly, a classification system is a useful way to map CBO’s contributing to social services and targeting vulnerable populations, such as elderly, children and persons with disability, across Jordan. This will provide MoSD, other governmental and national institutions as well as the population of Jordan with accurate information on available and accessible social services and promote a culture of responsibility and accountability. Additionally, implementing a rating mechanism, developed according to global best practices for evaluating the charity sector covering aspects such as financial transparency and good governance, can be helpful to MOSD in selecting CBOs for outsourced service delivery. It could also support the establishment of a formal mechanism to monitor the performance of CBOs by the CBO Registry. This approach would also assist the general public, private sector and international organisations in selecting the preferred service provider, and shed light on areas where CBOs require support, enabling the development of customized capacity-building activities tailored to the needs of those CBOs.

Purpose and Objectives

Under the direct supervision of the Social Policy Officer and the overall guidance of Chief  Social Policy, the consultant will develop a classification and rating mechanism for CBOs working in the social protection space in Jordan.

The tasks of the consultancy include a desk review of global best practices in CBOs/NGOs classification and rating mechanisms, a desk review and analysis of the existing national legislation and practices on CBOs and NGOs, development of tools for an assessment of CBOs across the Kingdom, engagement with stakeholders and NGOs, and based on this analytical work, , develop the CBOs classification and rating criteria (with supporting materials and tools, and a capacity building plan for CBOs and CBO registry staff), and finally support the preparation and execution of plans for increasing awareness on the new mechanisms amongst CBOs, NGOs, and other relevant stakeholders. The consultant will also provide support to the team working on the development of MIS and enhancing the CBO Registry’s current online platform ‘Takamul’ to reflect the new classification and rating mechanisms.

How can you make a difference? 

The key deliverables include the following:

1. Situation Analysis of CBOs operating in the domain of Social Protection in Jordan:

• Prepare data collection tools (quantitative and qualitative) for a mapping and assessment of the CBOs working under MOSD to understand their capacities, and needs, main challenges faced and their current integration into the CBO Registry’s Takamul Platform, as well as their appetite for a classification and rating mechanism, and perceptions on the National Social Protection Strategy and its relevance
• Support the CBO Registry team in the data collection process
• Lead the CBO Registry team in analysing the data and writing up a brief report

2. Desk Review of legislation and classification and rating mechanisms:

• Conduct a desk review of classification and rating mechanisms in Jordan including:

i.key legislation and procedural documents within the CBO Registry including the CBO Law No 51 (2008),  the Foundational Framework No. 23 (2010)  and its 2023 Amendments,  Classification Booklet (2018),  Instructions on Supporting CBOs through the CBO Support Fund  among others, outlining strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for a classification and rating mechanism

ii.CBO rating and classification mechanisms implemented by selected NGOs (e.g Tkiyet Um Ali), private sector entities with large Corporate Social Responsibility portfolios and donors in Jordan

• Conduct a desk review of global best practices on CBO Classification and rating implemented by governmental and private sector institutions providing proposals of relevant options for Jordan (at least 3) alongside pros and cons of each option and their alignment with the roles and responsibilities of CBOs outlined in the CBO Law No 51 (2008),

3. Classification and Rating Manual:

• Develop a classification and rating mechanism for social protection CBOs based on the existing procedures and documents within the CBO Registry, global practices, findings identified in the Situation Analysis, and consultations
• Lead a series of national consultations with the CBO Registry, its Managing Council and other governmental partners, CBO representatives, the private sector and the donor community to aid in the development of the  Classification and Rating Manual and to validate and approve the final draft  (minimum 6)
• Develop a mini action plan on implementing the classification and rating mechanism including the provision of support to the CBO Registry in reflecting the necessary changes to frameworks and procedural documents such as the Foundational Framework and Classification Booklet based on the Classification and Rating Manual

4. Ongoing feedback on MIS system developed to host digital classification and rating mechanism:

• Provide clear business requirements to the MIS developers during the design and development phases of the MIS based on the Classification and Rating Manual. This includes conducting follow-ups with the MIS team, engaging with end-users for feedback, and reviewing system requirements and MIS modules.

5. Capacity Building Action Plan for CBOs and the CBO Registry staff:

• Develop a capacity building action plan for CBOs and CBO Registry staff on the implementation and utilisation of the new Classification and Rating Manual including brief needs assessment, strategies for capacity building, as well as a detailed implementation plan and metrics to measure progress and success
• Implement capacity building for CBOs and CBO Registry staff across the three regions of the Kingdom (minimum 6)

6. Support Awareness Strategy for CBOs and the CBO Registry staff:

• Support the development and implementation of an Awareness Raising Strategy for CBOs and CBO Registry Staff and its Management Council on the implementation and utilisation of the new Classification and Rating Manual including key messages, communication tools and channels

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

• Education: Advanced degree in one of the social sciences, including economics, political science, social policy, sociology, public administration, business administration, international relations, social development, social work, community development among others.
• Experience: At least 5 years of relevant experience in development and social policy.

• Extensive experience in working with the CBO/NGO sector.

• Proven evidence of experience in monitoring and evaluation, development of awards, rating mechanisms and standards 

• Knowledge of social protection in Jordan (experience of working on social protection is an asset) with focus on community-based organizations and policy/upstream work

• Experience in research is an asset

• Fluency in Arabic and English, written and spoken.

Applications submitted without a financial proposal will not be considered.  The financial offer should be a lump sum for the whole assignment + Travel if applicable. 

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

  

To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

  

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check. 

 

Remarks:  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.