Expertise France is the French public agency for international technical cooperation. It works alongside partner countries to advise and support them in strengthening their public policies. To this end, the agency designs, coordinates and implements national and regional projects across the main areas of public action:
- democratic, economic and financial governance;
- peace, stability and security;
- climate, biodiversity and sustainable development;
- health and human development.
In these areas, Expertise France provides project engineering and implementation services for capacity-building initiatives, mobilises French and international technical expertise, and plays a key role in integrating public-sector expertise and private-sector know-how.
Project or context description
- Project description
The “Support to Democratic Reforms in Jordan” (SDR) project is a programme funded by the European Union and implemented by Expertise France in Jordan since 1 January 2024. It aims to contribute to a more participatory, inclusive and accountable democratic process, in the context of the modernisation of Jordan’s political system following the work of the Royal Committee to Modernize the Political System.
The programme is therefore implemented within a context of institutional and political reform in Jordan, particularly in relation to strengthening civic and political participation, the evolving role of political parties, and strengthening the capacity of representative institutions.
The project has three main objectives:
- to promote the effective participation of young people and women in political and democratic life, notably by strengthening their capacity to participate in decision-making processes and to raise issues affecting their communities;
- to support political parties and political institutions in developing more professional, inclusive and representative organisations capable of responding to the expectations of their members and society;
- to strengthen the capacity of the House of Representatives to exercise its parliamentary functions with greater professionalism, effectiveness, inclusiveness and accountability.
Expertise France works in particular with three implementing partners:
- Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD), mainly involved in areas relating to youth political participation, strengthening political parties, inter-party dialogue and support to political institutions;
- Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), mainly involved in strengthening the capacities of the House of Representatives, its committees and services, as well as parliamentary and legislative oversight functions;
- Canal France International (CFI), involved in areas relating to media, civic and political participation, and the role of the media in the democratic process.
2. Position description
Reporting to the Jordan Portfolio Manager, the Project Lead is responsible for the strategic, operational and administrative management of the SDR project.
The Project Lead ensures effective project implementation, monitors the achievement of results and indicators, coordinates partners and stakeholders, and ensures compliance with the contractual commitments towards the donor. He/she works closely with implementing partners, Jordanian institutions, the European Union Delegation, Expertise France teams and other relevant stakeholders within the ecosystem. In this capacity, he/she plays a central interfacing and coordination role between these different actors.
The position requires strong project management expertise as well as solid knowledge of democratic governance and institutional reform, together with a good understanding of Jordan’s political and institutional context.
2.1 Project management and contractual relations with the European Union
The Project Lead:
- oversees the overall management of the project, its work plan and implementation schedule, and ensures coherence across its different components;
- monitors implementation progress, results, logical framework indicators and key risks, and proposes appropriate corrective measures;
- identifies challenges, delays, risks and potential deviations from project objectives and proposes corrective measures;
- analyses developments in the political and institutional context and their implications for project implementation;
- ensures, in coordination with support teams, financial and budget monitoring and consistency between activities, budget and forecasts;
- prepares and follows up on project governance bodies, including Steering and Technical Committees;
- ensures the relationship with the European Union Delegation in Jordan in relation to the project and is responsible for project reports and deliverables;
- organises and facilitates regular monitoring meetings with the partners;
- ensures the follow-up of any No-Cost Extensions and other contractual adjustments;
- ensures compliance with Expertise France procedures and donor rules.
2.2 Coordination of partners and the Jordanian ecosystem
The Project Lead coordinates the different actors involved in the project and ensures the coherence of their interventions. In this capacity, he/she:
- monitors the implementation of activities by implementing partners, including their work plans, schedules, deliverables and contractual commitments;
- ensures regular administrative and financial monitoring of partnership agreements, in coordination with Expertise France support functions;
- analyses partners’ disbursement and budget execution levels against activity progress, forecasts and contractual timelines;
- identifies discrepancies between forecasts and actual implementation, including activity delays, delayed disbursements and risks of underspending or overspending, and proposes appropriate corrective measures;
- organizes regular follow-up meetings with partners to review progress, challenges and corrective actions;
- ensures complementarity and synergies between the interventions of different partners;
- maintains regular dialogue with relevant Jordanian institutions, ensuring their information, involvement and ownership of activities and, where necessary, their participation in validation processes;
- develops and maintains working relationships with key actors in the democratic governance ecosystem in Jordan and ensure appropriate coordination with other relevant initiatives;
- represents Expertise France and the project vis-à-vis authorities, partners and other stakeholders, including in high-level settings;
- draws on his/her knowledge of Jordan’s political and institutional context to facilitate dialogue between different stakeholders and inform project orientations;
- monitors political and institutional developments that may affect project implementation and analyse their implications.
2.3 Capitalisation and support to project development
- organises and contributes to capitalisation and lessons-learned exercises on project results and experiences;
- contributes to the dissemination and promotion of project results and compliance with donor visibility requirements;
- participates in cross-cutting activities of the Jordan Office and contributes to knowledge-sharing within Expertise France;
- contributes, in coordination with the Portfolio Manager and Headquarters teams, to identifying development opportunities for Expertise France in Jordan, in particular the potential second phase of the project.
2.4 Project team management
The Project Lead:
- manages and supports the project team based in Amman, composed of a Project Officer and a Project Assistant;
- sets priorities, allocates responsibilities and monitors deadlines and promotes effective information sharing and structuring within the team;
- contributes, in coordination with support functions, to mobilising the resources and expertise required by the project.
Candidate profile
Education
BA degree in any relevant field.
Professional experience
- At least 15 years of professional experience in international cooperation, development or public policy;
- At least 10 years of experience managing programmes or projects funded by international donors, ideally in democratic governance, institutional reform, political participation or institutional strengthening;
- Proven experience managing multi-stakeholder and multi-partner projects;
- Experience working with the European Union and/or other institutional donors;
- Experience engaging and cooperating with public institutions and senior-level officials.
Technical expertise and knowledge of the context
- Strong expertise in democratic governance, institutional reform and institutional strengthening;
- Good knowledge of Jordan’s political and institutional context, its main institutions and their interactions;
- Good understanding of institutional reform processes and issues relating to political participation, political parties and the functioning of representative institutions;
- Ability to analyse complex political and institutional issues and translate them into operational recommendations;
- Good understanding of international cooperation dynamics and stakeholders in Jordan.
Project management skills
- Strong command of the project management cycle: planning, implementation, results monitoring, risk management, reporting and closure;
- Good knowledge of budgetary and contractual management of donor-funded projects;
- Ability to manage several partners and ensure the coherence of complementary interventions;
- Excellent organisational, analytical and synthesis skills.
Interpersonal skills
- Excellent coordination, communication and negotiation skills;
- Strong interpersonal and diplomatic skills;
- Ability to represent Expertise France with senior institutional officials and international partners;
- Leadership skills and ability to bring stakeholders together and work in a multi-actor environment;
- Autonomy, rigour and ability to work in a changing environment.
Languages
- Fluent English, both written and spoken;
- Fluent Arabic required;
- French is an asset.
