Terms of Reference (TOR)

Policy Mentors and Experts

Project: Jordan Youth Policy Lab

Background

The Politics and Society Institute (PSI) is implementing the Jordan Youth Policy Lab with support from the Embassy of Switzerland in Amman. The project aims to empower young Jordanians through a structured and participatory process that combines capacity building, community-based research, policy co-creation, and direct engagement with decision-makers.

As part of the project, six youth working groups (two groups from each region of Jordan) will conduct field research to identify community-level challenges and gather evidence relevant to public policy issues. The next phase of the project focuses on supporting participants in transforming their research findings into evidence-based policy products and recommendations that can contribute to policy reform discussions and engagement with stakeholders.

To support this process, PSI seeks to engage qualified Policy Mentors and Experts to provide technical guidance, mentorship, and policy advisory support throughout the data collecting and  analysis, policy development, and policy brief drafting phases.

Purpose of the Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to provide technical mentorship and policy advisory support to six working groups throughout the process of analyzing field research findings, identifying policy challenges and gaps, and developing evidence-based policy briefs with practical and actionable recommendations.

The assignment aims to strengthen participants’ capacity to transform community-based evidence into policy proposals that are relevant, feasible, and aligned with national policy priorities and reform frameworks.

Scope of Work

The assignment shall include:

Phase 1: Technical Mentorship and Data Analysis Support

• Serve as the assigned policy mentors for six working groups.
• Facilitate group working sessions to:
• Compile, organize, and analyze collected data.
• Identify key findings, recurring patterns, and priority policy challenges.
• Connect community-level evidence with national policy gaps and reform priorities.
• Provide technical guidance and policy analysis support to each working group.
• Assist participants in transforming research findings into structured evidence-based policy recommendations.
• Support each group in producing research finding report summarizing the evidence, findings, and policy implications emerging from the field research.

The experts shall also provide policy brief templates, writing guidance materials, and practical examples to support participants during the drafting process.

Phase 2: Policy Brief Advisory and Drafting Support

• Support each working group in developing a complete policy brief based on their field research findings.
• Guide participants in preparing:
• A clearly defined problem statement.
• Evidence and findings derived from field research.
• Analysis of current policies and identified policy gaps.
• Actionable, realistic, and evidence-based policy recommendations.
• Proposed implementation pathways and next steps.
• Provide ongoing online mentoring, technical review, and feedback during the drafting process.
• Support groups in refining and finalizing policy briefs according to PSI quality standards.

Key Responsibilities

Policy Mentors and Experts shall be responsible for:

• Providing policy mentorship and technical guidance to six working groups.
• Facilitating six days of in-person mentoring and data analysis sessions (one day per group).
• Support participants to conduct field research in their home communities and target areas by continuous follow-up, twelve days in person (two days per group).
• Conducting twelve online follow-up mentoring days during the field research analysis stage (two days per group).
• Providing eighteen online advisory and mentoring days to support policy brief drafting and finalization (three working days per group).
• Reviewing draft policy briefs and providing written technical feedback.
• Ensuring policy recommendations are evidence-based, realistic, and aligned with relevant policy frameworks.
• Supporting participants in connecting local challenges with broader policy reform priorities.
• Coordinating closely with PSI project staff throughout the assignment.
• Deliver a policy brief development workshop for the project participants (two days).
• Submitting all training materials, templates, guidance documents, and final outputs to PSI.

Expected Deliverables

The consultants are expected to deliver:

• Six facilitated group mentoring sessions for data compilation and policy analysis.
• Twelve days of follow-up support in the field work.
• Twelve days of online technical mentorship and follow-up support.
• Eighteen online advisory and mentoring sessions.
• Six research findings reports developed by the working groups.
• Technical feedback and advisory support provided to all six groups throughout the drafting process.
• One policy brief development workshop
• Six evidence-based policy briefs developed and finalized by the working groups.
• Final mentorship report summarizing activities conducted, key outputs achieved, challenges encountered, and recommendations.

Duration of the Assignment

The assignment will be implemented between October 1, 2026 – November 15, 2026.

Expected level of effort:

• Data analysis and mentoring sessions: 6 working days
• In person follow up in the field work: 12 working days
• Online follow-up and technical guidance: 12 working days
• Policy briefs advisory and drafting support: 18 working days
• Policy Brief Development Workshop: 2 working days

Total: 50 working days

Required Qualifications and Experience

The ideal candidates should have:

• An advanced university degree in Public Policy, Political Science, Public Administration, Development Studies, Governance, Economics, Social Sciences, or a related field.
• At least 7-10 years of relevant professional experience in public policy, policy analysis, governance, advocacy, or policy reform initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience in conducting policy research and developing policy briefs and policy recommendations.
• Proven experience mentoring researchers, youth groups, civil society organizations, or policy development initiatives.
• Strong understanding of Jordan’s public policy environment, governance frameworks, and reform priorities.
• Experience in facilitating policy dialogue, stakeholder engagement, and participatory policy development processes.
• Strong analytical and research skills.
• Excellent facilitation, coaching, and mentoring skills.
• Strong report writing and policy writing skills in Arabic; English proficiency is considered an asset.
• Previous experience working with donor-funded projects and youth-focused programmes is highly desirable.

Application Requirements

Interested candidates are invited to submit:

• Updated CV.
• Cover Letter.
• Technical and Financial Offer.

Note

Only complete applications containing all required documents (Updated CV, Cover Letter, and Technical & Financial Offer) will be considered. Incomplete applications will be automatically disqualified.

Interested candidates are invited to submit their application by September 26, 2026, to [email protected], indicating “Jordan Youth Policy Lab – Policy Mentor and Expert” in the subject line.

Important Note: Applications submitted through the application box below will not be considered. Please send all required documents to the specified email address and ensure that the email is submitted according to the instructions provided below.