Senior AI Technical Specialist at Development… · Amman

About Development Gateway and the Early Grade Education Activity (EGEA)

Development Gateway: An IREX Venture (DG) is an international non-profit organization with approximately 80 team members based in more than 10 countries worldwide. By leveraging the combination of programmatic and IT developer capacity and skills within DG, over the last 20 years we have researched data ecosystems, built digital tools to support those data ecosystems, and advised on data strategy and digital transformation to strengthen decision-making, transparency, and service delivery.

DG is one of several consortium partners, led by IREX, implementing the Early Grade Education Activity (EGEA, also known as ‘ASAS’) program in Jordan between 2023-2028, funded by the U.S. Department of State. As a large-scale development program, ASAS is a complex, high-paced and outcome-oriented initiative. The consortium itself comprises well over 50 individuals working on the program at any given time (based both in Jordan and abroad). From DG’s side alone, there are likely to be approximately 8-10 personnel supporting implementation at any given time, with at least 4 staff based in Amman, including the Senior AI Technical Specialist.

The overarching objective of ASAS is to improve the quality of early grades (K-G3) education outcomes for children in Jordan. The program aims to achieve this objective by supporting the education of student teachers while they are still at university (pre-service teachers), and also by supporting early grades students and teachers (in-service teachers).

DG’s role within the consortium includes supporting the safe, effective, and responsible integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into Jordan’s education sector, in alignment with the national AI policy. In partnership with the Ministry of Education and Human Resources DevelopmentDG is embarking on an ambitious set of activities that will test AI capabilities in real-world settings.

Job description

This is an exciting opportunity for an AI specialist who can situate cutting-edge developments in AI within Jordan’s policy context and understand how new technologies can strengthen education systems. Based in Amman, you will turn fast-moving AI advances into practical opportunities for the Ministry of Education, schools, and universities, and explain their value clearly and simply to non-technical audiences.

Rather than executing backend software development or heavy algorithmic coding, your focus is on driving active stakeholder participation, co-designing AI sandbox environments in schools and universities, and explaining complex technical concepts in accessible Arabic and English. You will directly complement IREX’s overarching coordination work by grounding high-level planning into practical, school- and university-level deliverables–ensuring MoEHRD counterparts, school staff, faculty, and administrators remain energized, engaged, and aligned with core project requirements.

Embedded within the ASAS project office in Amman, you will report directly to DG’s Director of Software Development (US) for technical strategy, with a dotted reporting line to DG’s local Project Lead/Advisor for daily operational alignment. Working alongside 30+ Jordan-based consortium colleagues, you will join a creative, globally distributed team that values hard work, practical problem-solving, and collaboration. If you excel at turning institutional friction into clear technical momentum, this role offers the platform to drive meaningful digital adoption across Jordan's education ecosystem.

At DG, we are a creative and dynamic group of people based around the globe. We value and reward hard work, innovative thinking, a commitment to teamwork, and a good sense of humor. With this role, we are looking for a new colleague to join our team and be our Senior AI Technical Specialist on the ASAS program in Amman.

The work you get to do

In-Service AI: School-Level AI Centers & Sandbox Pilots

• Provide technical support to establish six AI Centers in MoEHRD-selected schools, including assessing facility readiness, defining equipment and technical specifications, and verifying that installed centers are ready for use.
• Work with the MoEHRD and relevant stakeholders to co-design the scope, governance, school selection, institutional roles and implementation approach for AI sandbox pilots in three schools across the country including facilitating technical consultations and participatory workshops. Support the preparation of a technical brief outlining the objectives, scope, expected outcomes, and implementation approach for the school AI sandbox pilots, aligned with the Year 3 AI Readiness Assessment and policy brief.
• Lead the technical set-up of school sandboxes, support the design and delivery of sensitization workshops and hands-on training, , and help pilot schools shortlist 2–3 priority AI use cases.
• Support monitoring and evaluation of AI sandbox pilots, including assessment of technical performance, usability, pedagogical relevance, user adoption, and documentation of results, challenges, and lessons learned.
• Support the organization and technical facilitation of workshops to present and validate pilot results with MoEHRD, participating schools, and relevant stakeholders.
• Provide ongoing virtual sandboxing support, including a helpdesk that responds to technical questions and pedagogical questions on applying AI to agreed use cases.
• Translate pilot results into evidence and recommendations for MoEHRD leadership, the National AI for Education Forum, and a national approach to scaling successful use cases.
• Support MoEHRD and Field Directorates in assessing technical, institutional, and operational requirements for sustaining school AI Centers and scaling successful AI applications.

Pre-Service AI: University Engagement & Institutional Integration

• Serve as the lead technical interlocutor for partner universities, directly tackling engagement friction and driving active academic participation in project activities.
• Uncover operational bottlenecks and university requirements, translating qualitative institutional feedback into structured digital use cases.
• Lead the co-design, testing, and university-level rollout of sandbox AI environments, establishing clear feedback loops with faculty and administrators.

Requirements Scoping & Technical Translation

• Scope functional requirements for applied AI initiatives (e.g., automated reporting, documentation synthesis, data collection tools) without needing to write heavy software code.
• Translate complex technical concepts into accessible, bilingual (Arabic/English) specs and guidance notes for non-technical stakeholders, MoEHRD and university leadership, and vendors.
• Establish User Acceptance Testing (UAT) protocols, rollout sequencing, and data stewardship standards for school, university and ministry systems.

Alignment with IREX Coordination & Programmatic Support

• Complement IREX's programmatic coordination and oversight by serving as the Jordan-based technical liaison between DG's development team, IREX, MoEHRD, schools, and partner universities, translating agreed plans into actionable technical activities and supporting the timely resolution of implementation challenges.
• Serve as the primary Jordan-based technical liaison between DG's development team, IREX technical teams, MoEHRDHRD counterparts, schools, and partner universities, ensuring timely validation of requirements, coordination of technical implementation, resolution of operational challenges, and alignment with agreed work plans and institutional priorities
• Co-develop SOPs, workflows, and training materials that enable school and university staff to practically adopt AI tools in their daily routines.
• Provide regular, proactive updates on school and university technical readiness, operational risks, and adoption milestones to project leadership.

Data Governance & Responsible AI

• Establish practical ethical standards, governance rules, and privacy protections across all school and university AI sandbox pilots.
• Define data de-identification practices, accuracy checks, and hosting protocols to protect sensitive institutional and student data.

Qualifications and experience requirements

• Experience: 5+ years of experience in data systems, digital transformation, or technology adoption, with proven success driving stakeholder engagement within Jordanian universities or national institutions. Experience with AI applications, data science tools, or emerging technologies in education.
• Technical Alignment: Demonstrated capacity to map user requirements to applied AI/data tools and structure low-risk use cases (no direct programming required).
• Language Skills: Professional fluency in written and spoken Arabic and English, with demonstrated ability to draft technical specifications in both languages.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in STEM, Information Management, Education, or a related field.

Preferred (desirable) qualifications

• Degree and/or certification in artificial intelligence, machine learning, or computer science is a plus.
• Familiarity with donor-funded programming (e.g., U.S. State Department) and their reporting standards.

Position Details

This is a full-time staff position (not consultancy), embedded in the ASAS office in Amman. The role is expected to run for the life of the program (3 years), pending annual performance reviews. The expected annual salary range is USD 60,000-70,000, depending on relevant experience.