Strengthening Capacities and Standards of Social Protection Reporting Lead Expert
Terms of Reference
1. Project background and objectives
Over the past decade, Jordan has moved from fragmented interventions to an institutionalized social protection system guided first by the NSPS (2019-2025) and now by the updated NSPS (2025-2033). The updated strategy reaffirms the pillars of Dignity (كرامة), Opportunity (فرصة), and Empowerment (تمكين) and introduces Resilience (صمود) to strengthen shock responsiveness, governance, and coherence with national modernization agendas. This evolution reframes social protection as a core driver of inclusive development, reducing poverty and vulnerability while enhancing societal resilience and participation.
Despite policy progress, public understanding and media narratives around social protection remain uneven, often procedural or event driven rather than analytical, rights based, and impact oriented. Strengthening communication standards and practice is therefore essential to support accountability, improve uptake of services, and foster informed public discourse on the NSPS. This consultancy responds to that gap by positioning communication as a governance tool that promotes accuracy, inclusivity, and trust.
The project is implemented by the Jordan Media Institute (JMI) in partnership with UNICEF Jordan. It combines a rigorous assessment phase with targeted capacity building and the development of standardized resources to sustain quality improvements in media coverage and institutional communication on social protection.
Core activities include a desk review, media content analysis, online survey, focus group discussions (FGDs), and key informant interviews (KIIs) all feeding into a training manual and a standardized communication/reporting toolkit to embed common definitions, ethical standards, editorial guidance, and practical templates.
Project objectives
By the end of the assignment, the project will:
- Diagnose communication and reporting gaps on social protection across government and media institutions through a structured review and needs assessment, with actionable recommendations to improve quality, accuracy, and inclusivity.
- Strengthen capacities of government communication department, spokespersons, journalists, and advanced students via tailored, practice oriented training that reflects national priorities and international good practice in rights based, sensitive, and effective communication on social protection.
- Standardize communication and reporting practices by developing and validating a practical Toolkit (including a glossary, ethical/editorial guidelines, message design templates, and checklists) to serve as a common institutional reference for future media coverage and public communication in the sector.
- Embed sustainability and accountability by aligning content and methods with the NSPS (2025-2033) pillars, including the Resilience dimension, and by integrating monitoring and evaluation elements (pre/post measures and adoption indicators) to track learning and uptake.
2. Objectives of the Assignment
The assignment will extend over a period of three months (October 2025 - December 2025), and the work plan, timeline, and level of effort required from the expert will be agreed upon after the contract is signed.
The Lead Expert will cover the below tasks:
- Guide the comprehensive process of Media Landscape Review and Needs Assessment of current policies and media practices related to social protection.
- Oversee and contribute to the gap analysis of current policies, practices, and media coverage of social protection.
- Provide strategic oversight and technical direction across all project components.
- Lead the development process of standardized guidelines for media coverage of social protection.
- Provide technical guidance and ensure that training materials incorporate key concepts, ethical guidelines, and best practices for social protection reporting, social protection policy, and inclusive / effective communication.
- Ensure that training materials are grounded in international best practices, ethical standards, and context-specific insights.
- Lead the drafting process of the standardized media toolkit on social protection reporting • Review and validate all project deliverables and outputs.
- Work closely with the JMI team to ensure alignment with project goals and timelines.
- Participate in monitoring and evaluation activities and contribute to final project reporting.
- Coordinate the contributions of the sectoral support experts to ensure that technical knowledge across social assistance, labour, and protection services is accurately reflected in the training manual, toolkit, and related outputs.
3. Qualifications and Experience
Education:
- Master’s degree (or higher) in Social Protection or social sciences, Journalism and Media Studies, Social Development Studies, Communications, Sociology, or Political Science.
Experience:
- Minimum 15 years of progressive experience in one or more of the following areas: social protection, information and journalism, media development, strategic communication, or public policy.
- Proven experience in the areas of social protection, Journalism and Media and related policy reform areas at national level.
- Demonstrable technical knowledge of social protection and Journalism and Media framework.
- Proven track record of providing policy and programming advice in areas related to Social Protection, Journalism and Media.
- Demonstrated experience in designing and delivering social protection / information and journalism / media development capacity building programs.
- Prior work experience in Jordan or the MENA region is highly desirable.
Skills and Competencies:
- Strong understanding of social protection systems and the Journalism and media landscape in Jordan.
- Excellent research, analytical, and reporting skills.
- Experience in developing guidelines, training manuals, toolkits, or policy documents.
- Strong facilitation and communication skills in Arabic and English.
- Ability to engage diverse stakeholders including government, media, Journalists, academia, and civil society.
Language Skills:
- Arabic: C2 level
- English: B1 level
4. Application Process
Interested candidates should submit:
- A CV outlining relevant experience
- A cover letter describing suitability for the role
- Sample(s) of relevant work (reports, guidelines, or publications)
- The application deadline is Thursday October 21th, 2025.
- Applications should be submitted via email to: info@jmi.edu.jo
- The email subject line should be written as follows: " Strengthening Capacities and Standards of Social Protection Reporting Lead Expert - Jordan Media Institute"