Terms of Reference

Assignment:                          National consultant to conduct Social Compliance Assessment of garment and non-garment factories

Contract Type:                      External Collaboration Contract (Individual)

Timeframe:                            1 February 2025 to 31 December 2025

Location:                                Jordan

Required languages:            English and Arabic     

Duration of Contract:           Total up to 165 working days.

Organization context and scope

Over the last two decades, Jordan’s apparel industry has been steadily growing and is now the leading export sector and manufacturing employer in the country. Like most other apparel exporting countries, Jordan gained entry to the global apparel value chain through international ties to developed markets. This began with preferential trade access to the US market, which led foreign investors producing apparel on behalf of international apparel brands to set up manufacturing facilities in Jordan with mostly migrant workers.

Better Work Jordan (BWJ) is a partnership between the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The ILO flagship programme brings together stakeholders from all levels of the global garment manufacturing industry to improve working conditions, enhance respect for labour rights, and boost competitiveness.

The Better Work Jordan programme is mandatory for garment factories that export to the US under the US-Jordan Free Trade Agreement, in addition to RoO non-garment factories. Better Work Jordan covers an estimated 95 per cent of garment workers in Jordan, as the vast majority of garment-sector employment comes from factories that export to the US.  As a result of their participation with Better Work, factories have steadily improved compliance with ILO core labour standards and national legislation covering compensation, contracts, occupational safety and health and working time. This has significantly improved working conditions and, at the same time enhanced factories’ productivity and profitability.

Within the exporting garment industry, there are three types of factories. The largest factories are direct exporters who produce goods directly for buyers. These factories are mostly located in the main economic zones of Dulayl, Irbid and Sahab. Below these factories in the supply chain are numerous subcontracting factories, smaller factories that produce goods for the direct exporters upon request. Parallel to this system are satellite units, which operate outside of the industrial zones, primarily employ Jordanians, and are typically small. There are currently 24 satellite factories registered in the Better Work Jordan programme that employ over 8,000 Jordanian workers    

Around 78,617 workers were employed in the exporting garment sector in 2023. Migrant workers make up three-quarters of the workforce. These workers, primarily from South Asia, typically work in Jordan for a contract of two to three years, which can be extended. Bangladeshis are the largest group of workers (over 50 per cent of migrant workers), and there are also workers from India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Myanmar. Jordanian workers make up the remaining 25 per cent of the workforce. The majority of workers are women – nearly 75 per cent of the production work force – whereas the majority of management positions are held by men.

Background

Better Work Jordan (BWJ) has been collaborating with national tripartite constituents and international brands for the past decade to improve working conditions and promote decent work in the garment sector. The mandatory inclusion of garment factories exporting to the US market and their subcontractors, in addition to RoO non-garment factroies, in the Better Work program has allowed BWJ to access the entire garment-exporting sector. This enabled BWJ to work closely with both workers and managers to enhance working conditions and ensure compliance with labour standards. As a result, factories have made significant improvements.

The ILO Country Office for Jordan, through the Better Work Programme, is implementing a technical cooperation project entitled “Decent Work through Employment Services and Exports-component B” funded by the European Union. This project involves collaboration between ILO/Better Work Jordan and the Ministry of Labour (MoL) to enhance the capacity of MoL, particularly its labour inspectors, and to promote decent working conditions in targeted enterprises and sectors benefiting from the EU-Jordan trade scheme.

Objective

The consultant is expected to conduct in-person assessments of garment and non-garment factories in Jordan. They will also produce subsequent reports adhering to the prescribed assessment tools, formats, and Compliance Assessment Tool (CAT) criteria.

Scope of work

• Following BW assessment guidelines, prepare, conduct and finalize enterprise social compliance assessment visits for garment and non-garment factories based on Jordanian labour laws, International Labour Standards, and BW management systems.

• Maintain BWJ’s Quality Assurance and Quality Check (QA & QC) standards for assessments and uphold data confidentiality.

• Independently produce high-quality reports in English on assessment findings, ensuring alignment with Jordanian labour laws and core International Labour Standards, including Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining (FoA & CB), Child Labour, OSH, Discrimination, and Forced Labour.

• Adhere to BWJ’s report writing processes, guidelines, and instructions, ensuring consistency and quality.

• Collaborate with assigned team members to peer-review reports as part of BWJ’s quality assurance system.

• Archive all evidence (e.g., documents, photos, interview sheets) supporting assessment findings as per BWJ and ILO procedures. Evidence should be stored in an organized manner, with appropriate metadata for easy retrieval, ensuring readiness for review upon request. Adhere to best practices, such as using secure digital storage solutions and maintaining backups to ensure data integrity and accessibility.

• Review and finalize reports in accordance with BWJ’s assessment guidelines, quality standards, and prescribed formats.

• Prepare working hours analysis (WHA) accurately.

• Any relevant task aligned with the requirements of the BWJ program.

Deliverables and timelines  

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, law, industrial relations or a related field.
• At least 5 years of experience in compliance assessments, factory auditing, or factory compliance inspection, including producing and reviewing reports.
• Experience in directly engaging in worker and management interview processes.
• Strong experience in engaging with migrant workers and knowing the challenges facing in the work and their living.
• Experience working with the following five thematic areas:
  • Industrial Relations (IR)
  • Occupational Health and Safety (OSH)
  • Human Resources (HR)
  • Jordanian Labour Law
  • International Labour Standards (ILS)

Desirable

• Any audit/assessment-related certification (e.g., ISO,  WRAP) will add value.
• Experience with Better Work or similar programs.
• Knowledge of occupational safety and health practices.
• Proficiency in Arabic and English; knowledge of a language commonly spoken in the garment sector is an advantage.

Supervision

The consultant will report to the Team Leader and collaborate closely with Enterprise Advisors and other stakeholders.

Payment Schedule

Payment Terms

• According to the market rate, the consultant will be paid according to his/her expertise and is asked to submit a financial offer on his/her daily rate.
• Payment will be processed upon submission of an invoice and timesheet, aligned with the payment schedule, and after completing the assigned assessment visits and delivering high-quality assessment reports to BWJ’s satisfaction.
• The transportation cost to the factories is not included in the daily rate, as the consultant will use BWJ-provided transportation between the ILO office and the factories, both ways.
• Overnight travel will be reimbursed separately based on the ILO rate for ex-coll.

Confidentiality

The External Collaborator will sign a contract with the International Labour Organization that contains clauses on confidentiality and non-disclosure.

 Submission

All applicants (individuals only) should submit his/her CV along with covering letter explaining why he/she fits for this consultancy and financial offer for the daily rate, to Jordan@betterwork.org

The deadline to submit your application 31 December 2024

Only selected applicants will be contacted for an interview.