Background:

In November 2021, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission to Jordan awarded the five-year USAID Makanati Women’s Economic Empowerment and Leadership Activity to implementing partner EnCompass LLC, as prime implementer, and its subcontractors: Nathan, a Cadmus Company; Integrated; and JoWomenomics.  

The activity’s ‘objective is to increase women’s access to waged employment and leadership opportunities in Jordan through the achievement of three interlinked purposes: 1) Women’s access to jobs in the private sector and leadership opportunities in the public and private sectors are increased. 2) Perceptions, practices, and advocacy for women’s labor market participation improved. 3) More equitable, safe, and accessible working environments for women are stimulated and enforced. 

This position will be under Nathan, a Cadmus Company (aka “Nathan”). Nathan is a leading provider of analytic and economic consultancy services worldwide. In the past decade, we have implemented more than 120 projects in more than 50 countries leveraging our global presence in Washington DC, London, and India. From improved transparency and deeper stakeholder engagement to more effective policies and more resilient businesses, we deliver results that impact economic growth, human development, and poverty reduction. We are passionate about applying our deep analytical expertise and advanced proprietary tools to generate economic solutions tailored to our clients’ unique challenges.  Nathan focuses on a range of economic development subject matter areas including Trade & Logistics; Economic Policy & Governance; Private Sector Development; Women’s Economic Empowerment; and Financial Solutions.   

Position Summary:

The Government and Policy Senior Specialist will work as part of a team under the guidance of the Deputy Chief of Party-Technical (DCOP-T) liaising with line ministries such as the Ministry of Labor (MoL), the Ministry of Culture (MoC) and other government bodies as requested, and following up on implementation of technical interventions. Importantly, the Government and Policy Specialist will work closely, as part of this small team, with USAID Makanati’s Workforce Policy Manager, supporting each other to achieve the overall policy and government deliverables as detailed in USAID Makanati workplans and other program documents.

The Government and Policy Senior Specialist will be responsible for providing technical assistance to identify key entry points to address policy impediments to women’s participation in the labor force, specifically in the private sector. This will include the drafting and revision of policy briefs as well as planning and implementing policy dialogues and events that help advance shared goals. The Government and Policy Senior Specialist will also be responsible for conducting policy research, analysis, and writing. To ensure smooth implementation of USAID Makanati interventions, the Government and Policy Senior Specialist will work closely and coordinate with USAID Makanati team members who work on different activity implementation and ensure engagement with key partner organizations from both the private and public sectors.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Liaise and lead follow-up communications and interaction with line ministries.
• Advance implementation of memorandums of understanding and action plans with government counterparts by tracking outstanding activities and providing technical support as needed.
• Draft concept notes, memorandums of understanding, or other documents to form or progress partnerships.
• Develop, review, provide technical inputs/revisions, and finalize written sectoral-focused policy briefs and reports.
• Research and write policy documents with a high level of technical expertise and limited editing needed.
• Attend, facilitate and derive insights from meetings and events.
• Present policy papers, studies, and reports, including preparing presentation slides and talking points.

• Design events, workshops, and conferences around technical policy priorities; this can include agenda design, preparing or facilitating relevant technical papers and presentations, and writing workshop/conference reports.
• Contribute to and/or lead activity tracking for the government component, including regularly updating and maintaining planning and tracking tools.
• Provide reporting and work plan inputs as needed.
• Contribute to the technical management of grants under contract as requested by the DCOP-T.
• Work in a cooperative manner with all USAID Makanati staff, taking a whole team approach to interactions with other teams.
• Present the work of the Government Team to USAID representatives as specifically requested by the DCOP-T or COP.

Qualifications & SKILLS:

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field; master’s degree preferred in law, economics, social science, or any related field with a minimum of 15 years of experience, with at least 10 years of experience working with government stakeholders.
• Proven experience working with the government of Jordan and strategic understanding of, and commitment to, relationship building with government and policymakers.
• Proven experience working with international development projects preferably USAID-funded projects on areas related to gender equality and women’s economic empowerment.
• Strong analytical skills associated with technical experience in writing policy briefs.
• Demonstrated understanding of key policy issues about women’s workforce participation preferred.
• Strong and proven facilitation skills during consultation and dialogue sessions with government, private sector, and community partners.
• Strong organizational skills with proven experience in event planning including developing agendas and technical writing and reporting associated with events.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills and ability to coordinate across stakeholders and team members.
• Fluency in Arabic and excellent English required with strong writing skills in both languages.