Background

The middle class is characterized as a productive group that usually lead to change and improve productivity, and this group usually shares some characteristics such as level of education, social and political behavior, and ownership of productive assets. This study focuses on the analysis of those qualities on the status of the middle class in Jordan.

The middle class is characterized by its importance as a source of skilled labor, and purchasing power that stimulates the economy, along with entrepreneurial capabilities, and democratic tendencies that contribute in the development of economic and political life.

For the purpose of determining the middle of class, the study follows a methodology that defines the middle class in Jordan as individuals whose expenditure totals between two and four times of the poverty line. Referring to the Middle Class Study 2010, results showed that in 2010 percentage of the middle class population was 29.31% and they earned 37.5% of the total income and spent 42.8% of the total expenditure.

The objective of updating this study is to present and analyze data that will assist in formulating policies that aim at widening the middle class in the country. This data provides a clear picture of middle-class status in 2010 and compares it with indicators in 2008, which is the year in which a similar study was conducted following the same methodology, where each of the two studies were conducted based on the household expenditure and income survey for the years 2008-2010.

The preparation of the 2013 middle class study will be an update of the results of the previous middle class study, which was done in 2010 in order to monitor and evaluate changes in the middle class status in Jordan between 2010 and 2013, as well as changes in the characteristics of the middle class in the Jordanian society in the Kingdom and to enable the government and policy makers to evaluate the plans and programs and apply strategies that have been developed in the previous years to widen the middle class in Jordan.

Duties and Responsibilities

Main objectives, responsibilities and description of the proposed analytical work

Objectives and tasks of the Assignment:

 The purpose of this consultancy is to assist policy and strategies directorate (PSD) at (MoPIC) by drafting a comprehensive and professional middle class study for the year 2013

The objectives of the assignment are the following:

• Draft the 2013 middle class study;
• To write professional middle class study comparison chapter for the years 2010-2013 showing the trends between the fields indicators and linking the analysis with the government interventions to evaluate their impact. Also, to link the results with the country macroeconomic indicators. Finally, to prepare policy measures based on the findings of the comparison analysis to help decision makers in their tasks.

Scope of work:

 Consultant is expected to undertake the following tasks:

• Review current middle class study results, its descriptive analysis tables and figures;
• Conduct meetings and interviews with other line ministries’ and departments’ connected to the middle class study field;
• Study the current methodology for middle class study to understand it very well and develop new thoughts support the work path;
• Define the components of middle class study;
• Classify the type of indicators;
• Verify each indicator data;
• Linking middle class analysis results with the country macroeconomic status;
• Develop policy measures based on middle class study;
• Compare results with 2010 middle class study results;
• Review and finalize the study.

Competencies

 The candidate should be able to:

• Work under pressure against strict deadlines;
• Think out-of-the-box;
• Present complex issues persuasively and simpl;
• Contextualize global trends in accordance with the dynamics of the operating (working) environment.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Post graduate in statistics, economics, social science or any other related field.

Required Skills and Experience:

• Fifteen years of experience in statistics, development, economic research or any related field;
• Experience in professional writing report;
• Familiarity with the middle class indices;
• Knowledge in using SPSS or any related software;
• Excellent computer and word processing skills.

 Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English and Arabic.

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications on the following link: jobs.undp.org

Page proposal:

• Explaining why they are the most suitable for the work
• Provide a brief methodology on how they will approach and conduct the work (if applicable)

Financial proposal (which includes a breakdown of consultancy fees).

Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references.

Noting that, only applications which include the above, will be considered. Please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.

 Evaluation:

Only candidates who meet the preliminary requirements (related education, related experience and relevant skills and competencies) will be technically evaluated.

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodologies:

 Cumulative analysis

When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

* Technical Criteria weight; 70%.

* Financial Criteria weight; 30%.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 60 points out of a total of 70 in the technical evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation

 Technical 70%.

• The approach to work, 30%;
• The approach to work, 30%;
• Timeframe, 10%.