Service provider to develop and upgrade the Livelihood Matching Mobile application

1. General background

The global forced displacement crisis has grown in scale and complexity in recent years, with 117.3 million people forcibly displaced worldwide by the end of 2023 (UNHCR). Forcibly displaced persons (FDPs), including refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), face acute vulnerabilities such as loss of assets, psychological trauma, limited rights, protection risks, disrupted education, and uncertain futures. Host communities (HCs) likewise struggle to sustain their own development amid these challenges.

In response to these considerable challenges, the ‘PROSPECTS’ Partnership — launched by the Government of the Netherlands in 2019 — brings together the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Labour Organization (ILO), UNHCR, UNICEF, and the World Bank. The partnership adopts a holistic approach across eight countries (Egypt, Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Sudan, and Uganda), leveraging each agency’s comparative advantages and expertise to improve access to education, decent jobs, protection, and critical infrastructure for FDPs and HCs. In 2024, the partnership launched Phase II, building on the results and lessons learned from Phase I (2019–2023) to maximize impact. This new phase addresses core challenges through PROSPECTS’ three original pillars—education and skills, employment and economic inclusion, and protection and social protection—while introducing a fourth pillar on critical infrastructure to respond to evolving needs.  

2. PROSPECTS in Jordan

Under PROSPECTS in Jordan, the ILO focuses on strengthening the labour market and creating sustainable livelihoods for both Jordanian host communities and Syrian refugees. Interventions are structured around three integrated pillars: (1) Education and Learning, through market-driven skills training, recognition of prior learning, and career guidance to enhance employability; (2) Economic Inclusion, which includes improvements to labour market governance and employment placement services, promoting fundamental principles and rights at work; and value chain development using the Access to Inclusive Markets Systems (AIMS) approach (3) Protection and Social Protection, through strengthened social protection schemes for vulnerable groups including expanding social security outreach to workers and tackling child labour. Phase II (2024–2027) of PROSPECTS builds upon lessons learned while introducing new interventions aligned with Jordan’s evolving priorities.

ASSIGNMENT BACKGROUND

Despite Jordan's significant investments in employment programs, several persistent challenges hinder progress: limited job market access for both refugees and vulnerable Jordanians; skill mismatches between job seekers and available positions; informal hiring practices that disproportionately affect marginalized groups; language barriers and low digital literacy; and a notable absence of centralized, easily accessible job-matching solutions.

In 2019, Jordan's Ministry of Labour launched "Sajjil," a national employment platform designed to streamline job connections between job seekers and employers. This all-in-one online system serves as a central hub for job listings, training programs, and professional profile creation. Employers gain access to a comprehensive resume database, enabling them to quickly find qualified candidates and post vacancies, including roles supported by initiatives like the National Employment Program. Sajjil is a critical component in Jordan's efforts to modernise its labour market, enhance employment services, and facilitate direct employment through user-friendly tools that encourage active participation from both job seekers and employers.  Recently, UNHCR has developed a livelihood matching application which aims to support refugees residing in Jordan to find opportunities.  Building on this, the Ministry of Labour has engaged with UNHCR and the ILO in order to continue improving their digital services by build on the UNCHR mobile app and extend its outreach to include Jordanians, through an AI-powered skills matching module. 

ASSIGNMENT OBJECTIVES

This initiative aims to expand its reach to include vulnerable Jordanians, ensuring that both populations benefit from improved employment access and support services through this application, for this; ILO and UNHCR propose developing an enhanced the current Livelihood Matching Mobile APP digital platform by transform into a unified digital gateway for accessing livelihood opportunities in both Syria and Jordan, in line with Jordan’s national economic development priorities. By fostering an inclusive labour market, the enhanced platform will connect refugees and host-community members to decent work, promote formal employment, and generate critical data to inform evidence-based policy and programming.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO), in collaboration with MOL and UNHCR Jordan, is seeking the services of a qualified provider ("Company") to develop the required app using three full-time senior developers (Two (2) Senior Native Mobile Developers for MOL; and one (1) Senior .NET & Mobile Developer for UNHCR Jordan).  The duration of the work shall be for four months with the purpose of  enhancing the digital platform which integrates refugees and Jordanians into two employment ecosystems, and may be unified in the future according to MoL guidance, leveraging advanced AI-powered matching algorithms.

The company will be accountable for the following:

1. Deliver production-ready Android and iOS applications for the Sajjil platform, plus the supporting REST APIs.
2. Enhance ILO-UNHCR’s web and mobile application, including AI-driven matching and other feature upgrades.

        3. Ensure continuous knowledge transfer and final handover to the government,            UNHCR and ILO technical teams

MOL – Sajjil Mobile App (2 Devs)

Key Activities

• UI/UX design, native coding
• API design & integration.
• Automated testing and deployment

Core Technologies

Kotlin (Android), Swift (iOS), REST/JSON, Swagger, PHP / Node.js, MySQL / SQL Server / Oracle

Expected Outputs

• Android & iOS apps live in stores.
• Fully documented REST API suite

UNHCR – Application Enhancements (1 Dev)

Key Activities

• .NET Core back-end upgrades
• Cross-platform mobile features (.NET MAUI / Xamarin)

• AI skills-matching module

Core Technologies

C#, ASP.NET Core, .NET MAUI / Xamarin, REST, SQL, Azure OpenAI (or equivalent)

Expected Outputs

• Updated web & mobile builds.

• AI matching in production

• Methodology

1. Kick-off – confirmation of sprint cadence and KPIs; access to environment arranged.
2. Recruit & Mobilize – vendor submits CVs for approval; onboarding within 10 days of award.
3. Iterative Delivery – two-week sprints, daily stand-ups, secure client-owned Git.
4. Integration with Mobile Applications: Enhancing accessibility by enabling job seekers to use the platform via mobile devices.
5. AI-Powered Matching Enhancement: Incorporating AI embeddings to improve the precision of job-candidate matching.
6. Expansion to Host Communities: Allowing vulnerable Jordanian job seekers to create profiles, apply for jobs, and receive recommendations.
7. Secure API Development: Enabling interoperability with work permit systems and other employment-related government databases.
8. Cybersecurity and Penetration Testing: Ensuring data protection through rigorous security testing and compliance with international standards.
9. User Training and Community Engagement: Conducting training sessions, focus group discussions, and pilot rollouts to maximise usability and engagement.
10. Sajjil platform enhancements
11. Cloud-Based Hosting for Scalability: Ensuring the platform’s long-term sustainability with secure, scalable cloud infrastructure.
12. Quality Assurance – Automated tests (≥80% coverage), security review (OWASP).
13. Handover – final merge, deployment, and knowledge transfer.

Please check attached TOR for more details on the TOR and requirement and application process