Request for Proposals

The Jordanian-American Commission for Educational Exchange (aka the Binational Fulbright Commission in Jordan) is looking to hire a Consultancy Firm, which specializes in governance and compliance, to review and revise its internal policies and procedures. The Consultant must complete the tasks and deliverables in accordance with Jordanian labor laws, and in line with international standards and best practices. The deadline to receive applications is May 18th, 2021. The technical and financial proposals should be submitted to FulbrightProcurement@gmail.com.

‍

‍

Date:  15 April 2021

Name of Organization: Jordanian-American Commission for Educational Exchange (JACEE) aka Fulbright Commission 

Address: 19 Mahdi Bin Barakah Street (Shmeisani), Amman, Jordan

Contacts:

• ‍For questions only (not submitting proposals) contact: Iman Abdul Wahid, Deputy Director and Acting ED; iman.aw@fulbright.org.jo  ‍
• Proposal submission: Please send your proposals to FulbrightProcurement@gmail.com.
  
  

Organizational Profile: 

The Bilateral Agreement between the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (GOJ) and the Government of the United States of America (USG) establishing JACEE as an independent, binational, non-governmental, not-for-profit, higher educational exchange organization in Jordan was signed on 12 May 1993, with funding provided annually by both nations.

The Commission was officially opened on 14 September 1994 by its Royal Patron, then-Crown Prince, HRH Hassan bin Talal.

The Commission administers a wide range of research, study, and teaching grants, chiefly within the context of the worldwide Fulbright Program. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). ECA administers the Program under policy guidelines established by the U.S. presidentially-appointed Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FFSB) with the assistance of binational commissions and foundations in 49 countries, U.S. embassies in more than 100 other countries, and cooperating agencies in the United States. The U.S. State Department and the  FFSB set worldwide Fulbright Program policy, while the Commission develops priorities for the Program annually, to include the numbers and categories of grants, and priority thematic areas.  JACEE works with U.S.-based cooperating organizations to administer approximately 53 Jordanian and American grantee programs annually under the Fulbright Program, and 3 grants under other programs    

JACEE delivers15 core programs to provide participants with opportunities to teach study or conduct research, —seven for Americans coming to Jordan and eight for Jordanians going to the United States. The Commission is managed by an Executive Director appointed by the JACEE Board, which oversees the general operation of the Commission.  

The Fulbright Program: 

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. Government, designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.  The program provides participants, chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential, with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.  Grants are available for U.S. citizens to go abroad and for non-U.S. citizens to go to the United States.  U.S. and foreign governments jointly set priorities for exchanges.  

‍

Scope of Work:

‍As part of an effort to modernize the Commission and streamline its operations, the Commission requires a Consultant to review, revise and advise the Commission on its internal policies and procedures. The Consultant must complete the following tasks and deliverables, all of which must be in compliance with Jordanian labor laws, and in line with international standards and best practices: 

Organizational development 

• Conduct organizational review of Commission staffing and workflow.
• Create an updated and effective staff organizational chart with clear reporting guidelines.
• Review Commission staff structure and workloads, management structure, and delegation of responsibilities and authorities according to the Board guidelines.
• Provide recommendations for enhancing productivity, efficiency, and accountability.
  

Administration and human resources

• Review and recommend improved administrative procedures and standard operating procedures (SOPs) in view of worldwide Commission best practice and Fulbright Program policies, as well as Jordanian labor law.
• Review staff contracts to ensure compliance with the Jordanian labor code.
• Draft standardized job descriptions and relevant contracts.
• Conduct a review of staff salaries, benchmarked by market rates, and recommend salary scales.
• Make recommendations on performance management system; provide performance evaluation guidelines and provide recommended salary adjustments that come from such reviews. 
• Create standard HR and organizational policy that complies with Jordanian labor code and aligns with Commission best practices and Fulbright Program Policy, to include hiring, timesheets, payroll, performance, travel procedures, leave policy, code of conduct, conflict of interest policy, remote work policy, etc.
• Recommend HR management system to ensure greater data security.

Governance

• Develop the board governance framework, roles and responsibilities vis a vis Commission directorate.
• Develop a decision matrix between Board and Executive Director, and as relevant, JACEE staff. and any other person identified by the board.
• Develop a code of conduct and define conflicts of interest; define Board member roles and commitments to JACEE. 
• Define relationship with stakeholders.
• Provide a clear authority matrix (over financial matters; hiring; firing; disbursements of funds; assets management; liability management, etc.,).
  
  

Finance

• Review budgeting and accounting policies and procedures and provide recommendations for improved financial reports. 
• Recommend improvements to financial procedures/processes in compliance with IFRS. 
• Make recommendations, as needed, to ensure data security in financial management systems.

Time Frame:

‍Ideally, the Consultant will begin work by early July 2021 and complete the tasks and deliverables within five months, but must be available for follow-on consultations on an ad-hoc basis in the subsequent months. 

Language:

‍All deliverables must be created in English.  

Proposals:

‍The consultant or organization should include information in the proposal that demonstrates their experience and expertise in developing organizational capacity, which can include experience in developing HR and/or financial policies, Board governance. JACEE particularly welcomes proposals from firms with experience in educational exchange, U.S. government programming, and management consultancy for multi-stakeholder organizations.  Proposals should also include the following:

• Staff CVs
• Organization Chart
• Two firm references letters
• Proposed budget 

Please send proposals to FulbrightProcurement@gmail.com by May 18, 2021. By submitting a proposal, the firm authorizes JACEE to contact references to evaluate the firm’s qualifications for this project.

Payment:

‍Payment will be made upon approval of deliverables based on the below matrix: