Terms of Reference
Local Development Assessment Coordinator
Project Title: Decentralizatio
(DLDSP)
Position title: Local Development Assessment Coordinator
Type of Contract: Service Contract
Level: SC 9
Duration: 1 year, extendable
Duty Station: Amman, Jordan
Expected Start date: April 1, 2015
Organizational Unit: UNCDF
Main Office: DLDSP – Local Development Directorate, Jordan
Entitlements/
Programme Background:
The Decentralizatio
initiative funded by the European Union through a Financing Agreement signed with the
Government of Jordan in 2011 and designed to support Democratic Governance in the
Kingdom. The Programme is supported by one of three components covered by the
Financing Agreement, which focuses on the provision of support to the Government of
Jordan to undertake a comprehensive process of reform of its local administration and
municipal system and the formulation of a National Strategy for applying the reform.
The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) has been engaged to support
the implementation of the Programme through backstopping the LDD on the
implementation of the Programme.
The reform of the system of local administration has been called for by His majesty King
Abdullah II on numerous occasions and through a series of policy statements that he
made over the past few years. His Majesty’s calls for undertaking decentralizatio
reform have focused on increasing the participation of citizens in decision making and in
the oversight of public institutions at the central and local level and with a particular
focus on increasing accountability and transparency in the allocation and utilization of
public resources. The demand for these reforms also stems from increased pressure on
government to address deepening inequities between regions and varying quality and
coverage of basic social services in non-urban and remote localities. Furthermore,
stagnation in economic development and the growing rates of unemployment and
underemployment
unsustainable level which is seen as increasing the Kingdom’s vulnerability and
increasing sources of instability.
In addition, and increasingly more critical has been the impact of regional conflicts on
Jordan and particularly on its border localities that have born the brunt of the Syrian
conflict and is now bracing up to handle yet again unpredictable turbulence along its
eastern and northeastern borders with Iraq and eastern Syria.
Over the past few years, the government has initiated a number of efforts to address the
weaknesses of the local administration system and to try to respond to some of the
increasing demand for its reform. However, most efforts have been compartmentaliz
and fragmented focusing on components of the system and not tackling it in a
comprehensive manner. These efforts have in many cases been counterproducti
ability to deliver.
Programme Objectives:
The overall objective of the Programme is to support the articulation and adoption of
Jordan’s Decentralizatio
and Programme for its implementation.
generate a coherent, accountable and effective sub-national system of
administration/
and contributing effectively to a broader process of national development. The intended
Outcome of this Programme is to trigger a sustainable and equitable process of local
development spearheaded by empowered local governments that are highly efficient at
mobilizing/
and highly effective at allocating and investing such resources in support of this
intended Outcome.
Organizational Context
The Local Development Assessment Coordinator (LDAC) will play a lead role in
coordinating and supporting the processes of implementation and consolidation of local
development assessments in the 3 participating Governorates and their selected
Municipalities.
closely with its other members in support of the participating Governorates and
Municipalities.
Decentralizatio
DLDSP offices at LDD as the base for launching field operations to support the three
governorates.
The LDAC will perform his/her tasks under the overall technical guidance of the Local
Development Specialist (LDS). At the Pilot Governorate and Municipalities,
supported by the DST, shall work closely with and support the Local Development Units
that will be a primary target of the pilot and are expected to play a lead role in adopting
and applying a Public Expenditure Management system and an integrated Local
Development Framework. The LDAC will also interface with de-concentrated
directorates operating at the local level as well as with other centrally operating
departments of ministries and agencies that perform local functions. The LDAC will also
cooperate with the Participatory Systems Analyst and will utilize the community
participation systems as one of the critical platforms for carrying out local development
assessments in the 3 Governorates and their participating Municipalities.
Functions and Key Results:
The LDAC will be expected to undertake the following scope of work to effectively perform
their assigned role;
1. Conduct a review of existing capacities and efforts to generate periodic reports or
publications that provide an overview of the state of local development at the
Governorate or Municipal level and assess their quality, structure and the
methodologies and capacities used to produce them;
2. Work with the LDS and with specialized external experts on building upon existing
efforts and approaches to develop enhanced methodologies for conducting the local
development assessment in each of the 3 Governorates and their selected
Municipalities.
consideration to ensure the accuracy and equity of the assessment;
3. Work with the Local Development Specialist and with specialized external experts on
developing the structure of a “State of Local Development Report” to provide a well
structured and grounded overview of the state of local development of the Governorate
and of the Municipality to be consolidated into a “National State of Local Development
Report” for Jordan to be updated periodically;
4. Work closely with the Local Development Units at the Governorate and Municipal level
to introduce and to apply the methodology for carrying out the assessment of the state
of local development at the Governorate and Municipality levels and support the
development of capacities at the LDUs to enable them to sustain this effort on a regular
basis;
5. Engage with the members of the Decentralizatio
institutionaliz
its re-application on a periodic basis and work towards the gradual adoption of this
process and its outputs in regulation as a function assigned of the Governorate Local
Administration and to the Municipality and of the Local Development Directorate for the
consolidation of the State of Local Development Report for the Kingdom to be updated
periodically;
6. Engage closely and provide the required support to the launch of this effort in
collaboration with the Local Development Units of participating Governorates and
Municipalities;
7. Consolidate the methodologies developed and applied for conducting the Local
Development Assessment into user-manuals that can be used to scale-up their
application and adoption in the remaining Governorates and Municipalities;
8. Develop an accurate estimate of the cost of implementing the Local Development
Assessment at the Governorate and Municipal Levels as well as the costs for producing
the State of Local Development Report for the Governorate and at the national level;
Competencies:
Corporate Competencies:
Demonstrates integrity in keeping with the UN's values and ethical standards
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNCDF
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
Treats all people fairly without favoritism
Functional Competencies:
Knowledge Management and Learning:
Promotes a knowledge sharing and learning culture in the office
Good level of knowledge of development issues and decentralizatio
Ability to provide technical support to Local Development personnel operating at the
Governorate and municipal levels on the assessment of local development;
Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more
Practice Areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills.
Development and Operational Effectiveness: Ability to technically contribute to complex and multi-tier processes involving a variety
of local administration and service delivery systems and modalities as well as diverse
civil society social structures;
Ability to competently engage and work with specialized teams with varying lines of
accountability
Strong IT skills and well developed writing skills in Arabic and English;
Management and Leadership:
Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback
Engages teams effectively and contributes positively to conflict resolution
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude
Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills
Builds strong relationships with clients and external actors
Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities
Qualification:
Education:
A Bachelor degree in the social sciences, statistical public administration,
studies, or related fields
Experience:
Over 5 years of experience in designing and conducting assessments of aspects of
local development that may include the state of social, service delivery, economic
development aspects or other;
A base understanding and meaningful exposure to the broad field of local
development including any or all of its contributing factors that may include the
state of service delivery, Local Economic Development, social development and
others
Exposure or some knowledge decentralizatio
strengthening programmes and hands on experience working with local
administrations
general;
Exposure to or experience in guiding the implementation of field research and
assessments and the development and consolidation of reports;
Strong interpersonal skills and experience working in the field and with local
administration officials and civil society;
Ability to work under pressure in a complex policy, legal and institutional
environment and to be fully mobile within the Country;
Familiarity with the Jordan country context and understanding of the country’s most
pressing local development challenges and their possible contributors;
Developed management and team building skills and ability to deliver on-the-job
training to the staff of the Local Development Units;
Language Requirements:
Full fluency in Arabic and English both written and spoken is a requirement. An ability to
produce well-structured
manuals for carrying out local development assessments in Arabic and to guide their
translation into English if needed.
Local Development Assessment Coordinator
Project Title: Decentralizatio
(DLDSP)
Position title: Local Development Assessment Coordinator
Type of Contract: Service Contract
Level: SC 9
Duration: 1 year, extendable
Duty Station: Amman, Jordan
Expected Start date: April 1, 2015
Organizational Unit: UNCDF
Main Office: DLDSP – Local Development Directorate, Jordan
Entitlements/
Programme Background:
The Decentralizatio
initiative funded by the European Union through a Financing Agreement signed with the
Government of Jordan in 2011 and designed to support Democratic Governance in the
Kingdom. The Programme is supported by one of three components covered by the
Financing Agreement, which focuses on the provision of support to the Government of
Jordan to undertake a comprehensive process of reform of its local administration and
municipal system and the formulation of a National Strategy for applying the reform.
The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) has been engaged to support
the implementation of the Programme through backstopping the LDD on the
implementation of the Programme.
The reform of the system of local administration has been called for by His majesty King
Abdullah II on numerous occasions and through a series of policy statements that he
made over the past few years. His Majesty’s calls for undertaking decentralizatio
reform have focused on increasing the participation of citizens in decision making and in
the oversight of public institutions at the central and local level and with a particular
focus on increasing accountability and transparency in the allocation and utilization of
public resources. The demand for these reforms also stems from increased pressure on
government to address deepening inequities between regions and varying quality and
coverage of basic social services in non-urban and remote localities. Furthermore,
stagnation in economic development and the growing rates of unemployment and
underemployment
unsustainable level which is seen as increasing the Kingdom’s vulnerability and
increasing sources of instability.
In addition, and increasingly more critical has been the impact of regional conflicts on
Jordan and particularly on its border localities that have born the brunt of the Syrian
conflict and is now bracing up to handle yet again unpredictable turbulence along its
eastern and northeastern borders with Iraq and eastern Syria.
Over the past few years, the government has initiated a number of efforts to address the
weaknesses of the local administration system and to try to respond to some of the
increasing demand for its reform. However, most efforts have been compartmentaliz
and fragmented focusing on components of the system and not tackling it in a
comprehensive manner. These efforts have in many cases been counterproducti
ability to deliver.
Programme Objectives:
The overall objective of the Programme is to support the articulation and adoption of
Jordan’s Decentralizatio
and Programme for its implementation.
generate a coherent, accountable and effective sub-national system of
administration/
and contributing effectively to a broader process of national development. The intended
Outcome of this Programme is to trigger a sustainable and equitable process of local
development spearheaded by empowered local governments that are highly efficient at
mobilizing/
and highly effective at allocating and investing such resources in support of this
intended Outcome.
Organizational Context
The Local Development Assessment Coordinator (LDAC) will play a lead role in
coordinating and supporting the processes of implementation and consolidation of local
development assessments in the 3 participating Governorates and their selected
Municipalities.
closely with its other members in support of the participating Governorates and
Municipalities.
Decentralizatio
DLDSP offices at LDD as the base for launching field operations to support the three
governorates.
The LDAC will perform his/her tasks under the overall technical guidance of the Local
Development Specialist (LDS). At the Pilot Governorate and Municipalities,
supported by the DST, shall work closely with and support the Local Development Units
that will be a primary target of the pilot and are expected to play a lead role in adopting
and applying a Public Expenditure Management system and an integrated Local
Development Framework. The LDAC will also interface with de-concentrated
directorates operating at the local level as well as with other centrally operating
departments of ministries and agencies that perform local functions. The LDAC will also
cooperate with the Participatory Systems Analyst and will utilize the community
participation systems as one of the critical platforms for carrying out local development
assessments in the 3 Governorates and their participating Municipalities.
Functions and Key Results:
The LDAC will be expected to undertake the following scope of work to effectively perform
their assigned role;
1. Conduct a review of existing capacities and efforts to generate periodic reports or
publications that provide an overview of the state of local development at the
Governorate or Municipal level and assess their quality, structure and the
methodologies and capacities used to produce them;
2. Work with the LDS and with specialized external experts on building upon existing
efforts and approaches to develop enhanced methodologies for conducting the local
development assessment in each of the 3 Governorates and their selected
Municipalities.
consideration to ensure the accuracy and equity of the assessment;
3. Work with the Local Development Specialist and with specialized external experts on
developing the structure of a “State of Local Development Report” to provide a well
structured and grounded overview of the state of local development of the Governorate
and of the Municipality to be consolidated into a “National State of Local Development
Report” for Jordan to be updated periodically;
4. Work closely with the Local Development Units at the Governorate and Municipal level
to introduce and to apply the methodology for carrying out the assessment of the state
of local development at the Governorate and Municipality levels and support the
development of capacities at the LDUs to enable them to sustain this effort on a regular
basis;
5. Engage with the members of the Decentralizatio
institutionaliz
its re-application on a periodic basis and work towards the gradual adoption of this
process and its outputs in regulation as a function assigned of the Governorate Local
Administration and to the Municipality and of the Local Development Directorate for the
consolidation of the State of Local Development Report for the Kingdom to be updated
periodically;
6. Engage closely and provide the required support to the launch of this effort in
collaboration with the Local Development Units of participating Governorates and
Municipalities;
7. Consolidate the methodologies developed and applied for conducting the Local
Development Assessment into user-manuals that can be used to scale-up their
application and adoption in the remaining Governorates and Municipalities;
8. Develop an accurate estimate of the cost of implementing the Local Development
Assessment at the Governorate and Municipal Levels as well as the costs for producing
the State of Local Development Report for the Governorate and at the national level;
Competencies:
Corporate Competencies:
Demonstrates integrity in keeping with the UN's values and ethical standards
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNCDF
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
Treats all people fairly without favoritism
Functional Competencies:
Knowledge Management and Learning:
Promotes a knowledge sharing and learning culture in the office
Good level of knowledge of development issues and decentralizatio
Ability to provide technical support to Local Development personnel operating at the
Governorate and municipal levels on the assessment of local development;
Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more
Practice Areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills.
Development and Operational Effectiveness: Ability to technically contribute to complex and multi-tier processes involving a variety
of local administration and service delivery systems and modalities as well as diverse
civil society social structures;
Ability to competently engage and work with specialized teams with varying lines of
accountability
Strong IT skills and well developed writing skills in Arabic and English;
Management and Leadership:
Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback
Engages teams effectively and contributes positively to conflict resolution
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude
Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills
Builds strong relationships with clients and external actors
Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities
Qualification:
Education:
A Bachelor degree in the social sciences, statistical public administration,
studies, or related fields
Experience:
Over 5 years of experience in designing and conducting assessments of aspects of
local development that may include the state of social, service delivery, economic
development aspects or other;
A base understanding and meaningful exposure to the broad field of local
development including any or all of its contributing factors that may include the
state of service delivery, Local Economic Development, social development and
others
Exposure or some knowledge decentralizatio
strengthening programmes and hands on experience working with local
administrations
general;
Exposure to or experience in guiding the implementation of field research and
assessments and the development and consolidation of reports;
Strong interpersonal skills and experience working in the field and with local
administration officials and civil society;
Ability to work under pressure in a complex policy, legal and institutional
environment and to be fully mobile within the Country;
Familiarity with the Jordan country context and understanding of the country’s most
pressing local development challenges and their possible contributors;
Developed management and team building skills and ability to deliver on-the-job
training to the staff of the Local Development Units;
Language Requirements:
Full fluency in Arabic and English both written and spoken is a requirement. An ability to
produce well-structured
manuals for carrying out local development assessments in Arabic and to guide their
translation into English if needed.