Government Liaison Consultant

The IRC has been operating in Jordan since 2007 and works with partners through a client-centered approach to achieve resilience and dignified life for the most vulnerable communities across the country. The IRC in Jordan has reached over 620,000 clients at our community centers, clinics, and via mobile teams providing an array of integrated services that improve the health, safety, educational opportunities, and economic well-being of refugees and vulnerable host communities.

IRC has developed its Strategic Action Plan for 2022 -2024 prioritizing the following seven outcome areas: gender-based violence, physical and mental health, long-term economic stability, sexual and reproductive health, early economic recovery, school-aged children and learning, and safety in communities. The IRC targets vulnerable host communities and refugees: persons with disabilities, youth, heads of households, women, and girls, children, and the elderly. IRC aligns its work with the Jordan Response Plan (2020-2022) of the Government of Jordan, the Jordan Compact, and the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan for the Syria crisis. IRC in Jordan has been implementing projects under the following sectors:

1. Healthcare: IRC maintains primary healthcare clinics in two refugee camps – Za'atari and Azraq, supporting Syrian refugees in accessing comprehensive primary as well as sexual and reproductive healthcare services. IRC also supports vulnerable refugee and host community patients with chronic non-communicable diseases in urban areas in the north of Jordan to access appropriate healthcare through contracted private healthcare providers. IRC also implements community-based healthcare programs and works with local partners. IRC aims to strengthen the public health system over time and in collaboration with the Ministry of Health – support the public health providers to absorb additional patients, specifically refugees, and provide them with quality and timely services.

1. Women's Protection and Empowerment: IRC works with local partners and directly through its women and girls' safe spaces in the north of Jordan to provide gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response services including case management and psychosocial support to help survivors overcome the trauma, outreach, and awareness-raising activities to fight the stigma of GBV, inform of available services and rights, and directly engage men and boys to become allies for women and girls. WPE program also provides recreational activities and structured activities such as the Girl Shine program for adolescent girls and their caregivers, legal counseling and coverage of legal fees, and cash for protection for at-risk and vulnerable cases.

1. Economic Recovery and Development: IRC works to build the economic resilience of families so that they can support their basic needs, as well as increase their capacity to generate future income and live independent, dignified lives. The IRC’s economic programming is working to create synergies with national strategies, including supporting refugee employment (through issuing work permits and specifying the work fields they are allowed to work in), as well as supporting home-based and micro businesses for refugee and host communities. ERD program specifically focuses on supporting women in access to income-generating opportunities and is expanding its programming to support the youth.
2. Early Childhood Development: IRC provides ECD activities for young children in refugee camps and urban out-of-camp settings, as well as for vulnerable children within host communities in Jordan. The IRC and the Sesame Workshop are working together to provide children in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq, the support they need to learn, grow, and thrive through the Ahlan Simsim (“Welcome Sesame”) project. The ground-breaking project combines Sesame Workshop’s history of proven educational content with IRC’s decades of expertise in conflict zones to help children and their families cope with crises and build a brighter future. IRC Jordan’s ECD team has been working closely with the Early Childhood Directorate and the Department of Textbooks and Curriculum Development within the Jordanian Ministry of Education on expanding access for children to quality early childhood education

Partnerships are at the heart of IRC Jordan’s SAP. IRC Jordan works with partners through a client-centered approach to achieve resilience and dignified life for the most vulnerable communities across the country and aims to increase the % of the country program’s operations run by local partners to 20% by September 2024 and to have 12 strategic partnerships with at least 6 of them being women-led. IRC coordinates its economic programming with concerned departments of the Jordanian government, local CBOs, international organizations, and the private sector, at the government level. IRC continually coordinates with the Ministry of Labor, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Development, Greater Amman Municipality (GAM), and other municipalities. Currently, IRC Jordan has more than 20 local partners representing distinct levels (governmental, private, national NGOs, CBOs at the countrywide and grassroots level), and covering all of the sectors that IRC Jordan is focusing its services.

Purpose of the Consultancy:

The focus of this assignment is to complete all the projects’ governmental approvals and institutionalize the governmental liaison function.

Time schedule and Deliverables:

The completion of the governmental liaison-related tasks is planned to be carried out in 30 working days within the assignment duration. The timing of any interviews will be agreed upon with the contracted consultant in a dialogue with the main stakeholders of this assignment.

IRC is seeking support to undertake the following:

• Identify all the pending projects’ governmental approval and prioritize them in collaboration with the Partnerships Department and programs, including data collection on both IRC and partner levels to be used in executing the needed governmental approvals.
• Conduct the needed communication and onsite visits to the different governmental entities that require to complete the governmental approvals needed.
• Access the relevant system to the governmental approvals (JORRIS) to submit and complete the needed governmental approvals related to IRC projects.
• Develop the relevant SOPs for governmental approvals by identifying and resolving the gaps.
• Conduct training sessions on the developed SOPs, skills, and knowledge related to governmental approvals

The following is an indicative timeline of the proposed major milestones of the actors’ mapping and stakeholders’ analysis:

-End of the First week of consultancy 27/10/2022:

Conduct kick-off meetings with the related departments and programs to identify the pending/new governmental approvals-related tasks and prioritize them.

-End of the Third Week of consultancy 10/11/2022

Conduct the needed communication and onsite visits to the different governmental entities that require to complete the governmental approvals needed Submit the needed governmental approvals through the required channels (JORRIS, or in hand)

-End of the Fourth Week of consultancy 17/11/2022

Conduct meetings with the partnerships department to identify the missed SOPs related to governmental approvals. Develop the relevant SOPs for governmental approvals by identifying and resolving the gaps.

-End of the Fifth Week of consultancy 24/11/2022

Submit the final report including the status of all governmental approvals needed, and the developed SOPs.

-Starting the Sixth to end of the assignment (27/11 – 22/12)

Conduct training sessions on the developed SOPs, skills, and knowledge related to governmental approvals.

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Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in development studies, Social Studies, and/or other related fields ∙
• Minimum five years’ experience working in the international development sector
• Previous experience in managing governmental relations in Jordan for International and National organizations in the same sectors mentioned above.
• Ability to consolidate information from multiple sources.
• Fluent English skills (written and verbal) required.
• Familiarity with the Jordanian context is essential.
• Good communicator with strong organizational and time management skills.
• Excellent analytical and writing skills.
• Ability to take constructive feedback.
• Ability to juggle competing priorities, meet demanding deadlines and work under pressure in a limited timeframe.
• Strong computer skills required, including use of file sharing, communication, and MS Office package software at an advanced level.

Applications:

• A CV (maximum 3 pages)
• Past performance references for similar assignments with an expression of interest detailing how skills and experience fit the criteria (maximum 1 page).
• Example of previous work
• Cost proposal, including all costs necessary to complete the assignment, and distinguishing (at a minimum) between:
• Individual consultants’ number of days and daily professional fee rates
• And Other costs to be specified
• Confirmation of availability for this assignment duration
• Highlight any operational obstacles that are or might affect program activities or any of the related TOR major points and recommend solutions that will make the process easier.
• Applications without all components will not be considered.
• IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status or disability.

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