I.      Objectives and desired results

1)      General objective

The overall objective of the assignment is to strengthen the institutional and operational capacity of SPAC, selected government institutions and municipal-sector stakeholders to embed gender equality and inclusion in public-sector human resources management, organizational culture and internal practices. The assignment will support the transition from policy commitments to practical and sustainable arrangements, tools and working methods that can be applied, monitored and progressively scaled across public institutions.

              2) Specific objectives (SO)

The assigned experts will contribute to the following specific objectives:

SO1 – Institutional arrangements for gender equality: Assess the feasibility and relevance of different institutional arrangements for advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment within public institutions, and facilitate an informed dialogue among IMC, JNCW, SPAC and other relevant stakeholders on the most appropriate options for the Jordanian administrative context.

SO2 – Gender-responsive organizational culture and compliance: Strengthen the capacity of decision-makers and practitioners to integrate gender equality and broader inclusion principles into organizational culture, codes of conduct, institutional values and internal compliance mechanisms.

SO3 – Practical and inclusive HR policies and tools: Equip SPAC Human Resources Community of Practice members with practical knowledge, methods and materials to review, adapt and apply HR policies, procedures and tools through a gender-responsive and inclusive lens, and provide targeted follow-up support to selected institutions.

SO4 – Adaptation of the Community of Practice approach to the municipal sector: Support CVDB, SPAC and selected municipalities in designing and initiating a Community of Practice mechanism adapted to municipal human resources management and based on structured knowledge exchange and peer learning.

3)      Anticipated results

This assignment is expected to support SPAC and its partner government institutions and municipal sector in advancing administrative reform in the areas of public service culture and human resources management in a gender-transformative manner. It will bring national and French expertise and approaches to support the institutionalization of gender equality functions and priorities within public sector institutions. It will also contribute to moving from conceptual commitments to equality and inclusion towards concrete HR instruments applied by ministries and public institutions.

At the strategic level, it will contribute to fostering coordination among government decision-makers, strengthening dialogue on gender equality, and advancing priorities related to the Public Sector Reform Executive Plan.

4)      Description of the assignment

a.       Planned activities

The expert shall perform this assignment by undertaking these activities:

Activity 1: Organize two thematic workshops aimed at enhancing inter-ministerial coordination and building a common understanding of gender equality as part of public sector reform:

1^st Thematic Workshop: Policy to Practice: Assess the feasibility of establishing gender equality/women's empowerment units and determine the most appropriate approach, whether through administrative units or by incorporating inclusive competency measures into job descriptions and functions.

 Referring to Jordanian organizational Structures Regulation for year 2025 issued by SPAC, the expert will need to prepare a policy options document clarifies new insights on institutionalization of gender inclusion in public institutions. The local expert will be supported by French international expertise.

The document will assess the advantages and disadvantages of the different modalities adopted by the Government of Jordan, including establishing directorates or units, appointing gender focal points or committees, or maintaining core gender-related functions within institutional competencies.

The experts will facilitate a thematic open-dialogue workshop to highlight the main findings and discuss the resulting policy options.

Outputs:

§  A policy options document presenting the advantages and disadvantages of each approach and a practical set of indicative criteria to guide ministries in determining the most suitable institutional arrangement;

§  Facilitation of the thematic workshop

§  Final report, including recommendations and a practical guidance tool.

Second Thematic Workshop: Alignment of Core Institutional Cultural Values with Gender Equality Compliance

The experts will prepare a document clarifying the intersection between institutional cultural values and gender inclusion in the public sector.

The experts will present the document's findings during the thematic workshop, which will encourage government decision-makers and practitioners to integrate gender equality into institutional values and organizational compliance systems.

The workshop will also address other human rights principles and values and analyze relevant institutional documents, such as strategies, codes of conduct, the Gender Equality Mainstreaming Policy in the Public Sector, institutional culture awareness-raising materials, and other related documents.

Outputs:

§  An insight document providing recommendations to decision-makers and practitioners to strengthen public servants' compliance with gender equality and organizational culture principles.

§  Facilitation of the thematic workshop;

§  Final report, including recommendations and a practical guidance note.

Activity 2: provide capacity building for CoP-human resources members on inclusive human resources instructions and policies for SPAC- this includes:

·       Review the relevant documentation related to the Jordanian HRM framework in coordination with French expertise. The experts will refer to Jordanian HR regulations and instructions available on SPAC's official website. They will review policies related to recruitment and interview tools, talent management and career development, flexible working hours and work organization, competency frameworks, promotion systems and fair advancement processes, codes of conduct and institutional culture, and other relevant provisions of the HRM Bylaw.

·       Hold two refresher sessions for CoP members to discuss concerns and areas for improvement in policies and regulations identified by CoP members. The topics for these sessions will be defined jointly with SPAC management.

·       Develop training materials tailored to the needs of CoP members, ensuring that all materials are practical and relevant to priority HRM Bylaw topics. The experts will prepare peer-learning content on how to apply a gender lens to identify discriminatory or biased gaps in HR regulations. For this component, the experts will adapt French expertise by coordinating with the French expert assigned by Expertise France through online meetings.

·       Deliver the training over two days, with two sessions per day, and guide participants in identifying policies and procedures requiring improvement and in establishing an exchange platform.

·       Provide follow-up support to CoP members and support the development of practical in-house outputs. The experts will guide four selected entities in revising three internal policies.

·       Prepare a report summarizing the work undertaken, pre-post assessment results for CoP participants knowledge improvement, the practical outputs produced, and suggested next steps.

Activity 3: provide capacity building for Cities and Villages Development Bank to exchange experiences between SPAC and municipalities sector this includes:

·       Hold a workshop (2 days) aims to transfer the knowledge of establishing community of practice to municipality sector. The workshop will include CVDB HR management and human resources departments from four middle region municipalities. The workshop content will focus on guiding CVDB to establish a community of practice for municipalities in the middle region (Amman, Madaba, Zarqa, and Balqa) using SPAC’s guidelines.

·       Prepare a workshop report summarizing the results and findings and suggested next steps.

·       The expert will encourage CVDB to hold two gatherings for middle region municipalities CoP to consolidate establishment and provide initial guiding.

a.       Anticipated deliverables

The deliverables shall be provided in English. Expertise France will translate the final outputs into Arabic through a translation company.

b.      Coordination

The assigned expert will coordinate with and report to Expertise France, namely the technical assistance project manager, who will provide guidance during the consultancy. Therefore, regular exchanges must take place with the project manager regarding progress on the assignment and any difficulties that may be encountered.

The expert will work closely with the national and international experts assigned by EF and coordinate, as needed, with SPAC, IPA, and other relevant Jordanian stakeholders participating in the Community of Practice, with the support of Expertise France staff.

Expertise France will directly manage coordination with government counterparts, participant invitations, venue and logistics, interpretation and translation, printing, online platform arrangements, coordination with the French expert, workshop note-taking, and the design and formatting of materials.

2)      Place, duration and terms of performance

a.       Estimated implementation period: August to December 2026

b.       Estimated start date: 20 Aug  2026

c.       Estimated end date: 30 Dec 2026

d.      Estimated schedule/program:

The provisional program for assignment implementation is as follows: