Background

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. 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 77,800 workers were employed in the exporting garment sector in 2022. 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.

Better Work Jordan’s comprehensive approach to monitoring, evaluation, and research is integral to its success in driving sustainable improvements in the garment sector. BWJ’s M&E activities focus on systematically tracking factory compliance with international labour standards and national legislation, assessing the impact of interventions on working conditions, and identifying areas for further improvement. BWJ also conducts research to explore critical issues affecting the industry, such as workforce composition, wage structures, and worker wellbeing, and to evaluate the effectiveness of policies and programs. These efforts provide actionable insights that enhance program delivery, foster stakeholder engagement, and inform broader policy discussions and advocacy initiatives. The consultant’s role is pivotal in advancing these activities, ensuring the availability of high-quality data and analysis to support programmatic and sectoral development.

Objectives

The consultant will play a key role in supporting the programme’s monitoring, evaluation, and research activities. This includes collecting, analysing, and reporting data to generate high-quality insights that inform program development, policy discussion and advocacy efforts. 

Scope of Work

The consultant will be responsible for the following:

• Collect primary data for various project components through surveys, interviews, focus group discussions, etc.
• Compile, clean, validate and analyse incoming data using appropriate software tools (e.g., R).
• Triangulate insights from collected data with existing monitoring data and evaluation findings (where relevant).
• Ensure the program’s data-related workflows are documented and accessible for future use.
• Maintain up-to-date documentation of analysis methods and coding frameworks on relevant platforms (e.g., GitHub).
• Prepare summary statistics, draft reports and policy briefs based on findings, and deliver presentations to internal and external stakeholders.
• Collaborate with Better Work programming and research team to enhance M&E frameworks and ensure data-driven insights inform program development.
• Coordinate with external research partners, support fieldwork, and review research outputs.

Coordinate data requests and participate in Better Work research meetings to share findings.

Deliverables and timeline

Supervision

The consultant will report to the BWJ program manager and will work closely with the BWJ team. Technical backstopping and review of data-focused deliverables will be done by the Better Work Global research team.

Payment Schedule

According to the market rate, the External Collaborator will be paid according to expertise and is asked to submit a financial offer detailing the daily rate. The consultant will only be paid upon satisfactory completion and approval of deliverables and upon receipt of signed invoices.

Confidentially

The External Collaboration will sign a contract with International Labor Organization that contains clauses on confidentiality and non-disclosure.  

Qualifications

The consultant should possess the following qualifications:

• University degree in Economics, Statistics, Social Sciences or related field.
• Good familiarity with some of the policy issues related to Better Work, such as the following: corporate social responsibility and global supply chains; international trade, labour standards, labour markets in developing countries; personnel economics; industrial relations; and international development.
• Relevant professional work experience in data management and analysis, monitoring and evaluation, and research methods (including impact evaluation).
• Ability to use quantitative and qualitative research techniques, and related data analysis software such as R and Stata.
• Proven research and analytical work with demonstrated ability to prepare and present comprehensive reports.
• Excellent ability to draft concise, accessible documents presenting and/or summarizing research findings and their implication for policy and programme design.
• Understanding of gender equality, gender mainstreaming and equal opportunity principles and approaches, including as related to research.
• Excellent command of English.
• Excellent report writing skills.

How to apply

Interested National Individual applicants wishing to apply to this assignment must send an email to jordan@betterwork.org  with the subject (MEL Consultant 2025).

 The email shall include the following:

1. Technical Offer
   1. A proposal which at least consists of proposed approach and methodology
   1. Consultant profile and CV
   1. Summarised description and examples of work on the previous specific and similar assignments.
2. Financial Offer
   1. The financial offer – Daily rate.

The deadline for receiving applications is 25 December 2024.

Only short-listed applicants will be contacted.