National Education Expert (Jordanian)

Job Description

SRD Center is seeking a qualified National Evaluation Expert based in Jordan to join a multidisciplinary team undertaking the final evaluation of a multi-year education sector system-strengthening programme.

The National Evaluation Expert will provide strong knowledge of the Jordanian education sector, institutional environment, national policies, stakeholders, and local context. The expert will work closely with the Team Leader and other evaluation team members throughout the inception, data collection, analysis, validation, and reporting phases.

The assignment covers areas including education policy and strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, education statistics and data systems, institutional capacity development, governance and coordination, education financing, gender equality and inclusion, digital transformation, crisis-sensitive education planning, and evidence-based decision-making.

The position requires fluency in Arabic, good command of English, strong knowledge of the Jordanian education sector, and experience in evaluation, research, or analytical assignments.

Tasks

The National Evaluation Expert will be responsible for:

• Providing contextual and technical expertise on Jordan’s education sector, institutions, policies, strategies, and reform environment.
• Supporting refinement of the evaluation methodology to reflect the Jordanian institutional and education sector context.
• Contributing to preparation of the inception report, evaluation matrix, stakeholder mapping, consultation plan, sampling approach, data collection tools, and workplan.
• Supporting identification and mapping of relevant national and local stakeholders.
• Reviewing national education strategies, policies, plans, monitoring frameworks, institutional documents, and other relevant sources.
• Supporting the assessment of education sector reforms and institutional strengthening initiatives.
• Conducting key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and stakeholder consultations in Arabic and/or English.
• Facilitating engagement with government institutions, education authorities, field directorates, schools, development partners, and other education sector stakeholders.
• Supporting field-level data collection and consultations within Jordan.
• Supporting qualitative and quantitative data analysis and interpretation.
• Contributing to assessment of programme relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability.
• Assessing institutional ownership, capacity development, sustainability, and the extent to which programme-supported systems, tools, and approaches have been institutionalized.
• Providing contextual interpretation of evaluation evidence and findings.
• Supporting triangulation of evidence from national documents, programme information, interviews, focus groups, and other sources.
• Contributing to identification of achievements, implementation challenges, lessons learned, good practices, and unintended results.
• Contributing to development of realistic and context-sensitive recommendations.
• Drafting and reviewing relevant sections of the evaluation reports.
• Supporting preliminary findings presentations, validation discussions, and final presentations.
• Ensuring appropriate consideration of local cultural and institutional factors during stakeholder consultations.
• Supporting integration of gender equality, inclusion, human rights, confidentiality, informed consent, and “do no harm” principles throughout data collection and analysis.

Qualifications

The successful candidate should have:

• A Master’s degree or equivalent in Education, Social Sciences, Statistics, Economics, Public Administration, Information Systems, Evaluation, or another relevant discipline.
• At least 3 years of relevant professional experience in evaluation, research, assessment, policy analysis, or similar assignments.
• Current professional base in Jordan.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the Jordanian education sector, including relevant institutions, policies, strategies, structures, and reform priorities.
• Experience supporting evaluations through qualitative and/or quantitative data collection and analysis.
• Experience conducting stakeholder consultations, key informant interviews, and/or focus group discussions.
• Technical expertise in one or more of the following areas:
- education sector planning and policy; - monitoring and evaluation; - education statistics and data systems; - EMIS and digital transformation; - education financing and budgeting; - institutional capacity development; - governance and partnership coordination; - gender equality and inclusion; - crisis-sensitive education planning.
• Fluency in Arabic.
• Good command of English.
• Strong analytical, research, communication, and report-writing skills.
• Ability to work effectively within a multidisciplinary evaluation team.
• Availability to participate in meetings, consultations, and field visits within Jordan.
• Previous experience working with government institutions, international organizations, development partners, or education sector stakeholders in Jordan is a strong advantage.

Candidates must be independent from the programme being evaluated and should disclose any previous involvement that could represent an actual or perceived conflict of interest.