Education Specialist

Background/ IRC Summary

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC delivers education programs in 22 conflict-affected or post-conflict countries around the world.  The IRC’s educational interventions strive to help children and youth gain valuable skills and knowledge that will increase their opportunities and life chances, and contribute to their well-being and livelihood. The IRC supports formal and non-formal learning activities that lead to tangible learning outcomes and promotes the protection and psychosocial well-being of conflict-affected children and youth.

Job Overview/Summary

The Education Specialist will take a lead role in providing curriculum development support to improve IRC’s global work in social and emotional learning, trauma recovery, early grade reading and  math, functional literacy and numeracy in emergency contexts, and youth 21st century skill development.   The Education Specialist will work under the technical guidance of Education Technical Advisors in CYPD HQ who are leading the global work in these technical areas; as well as directly support country programs to adapt and tailor existing curriculum to their specific contexts.    The work in curriculum includes assisting in the production of teacher training manuals in teaching social and emotional learning skills; adapting and tailoring IRC’s Healing Classrooms multi-media teacher training resource to country level programs; creating activities to help children and youth recover through recreation, art, drama and music in safe learning and healing spaces that are often established in acute emergencies; as well as assist in the development, as needed,  of early grade reading and math teaching and learning materials.  It is expected that the Education Specialist will travel up to 30 percent of their time.

Responsibilities

• Curriculum Development (under guidance and oversight of lead Education Technical Advisors)
• Adapt Healing Classrooms and safe learning environment materials to country level programs and contexts as requested
• Contribute to the further development of both teacher and student curriculum to explicitly improve social and emotional learning skills in primary education programs
• Contribute to the curriculum work within CYPD of youth relevant SEL/Life/Entrepreneurial skills development
• Help further partnerships with other agencies and institutions as appropriate that have evidence based curriculum that promote students’ learning and well-being
• Develop social and emotional facilitator training manuals and  learning activities  for children and youth in Safe Learning and Healing spaces established in acute emergencies
• Test, pilot, refine and contextualize as needed the above mentioned materials to country specific projects and contexts
• Assist as needed the Reading and Math team in CYPD to Develop a non-formal literacy and numeracy curriculum and training materials for safe learning and healing space programs in acute emergencies
• Assist in the further development and refinement as needed of Learning to Read and Learning Math in a Healing Classroom
• Capacity building and training
• Conduct trainings in the above listed materials at the field level when requested
• Adapt existing and above mentioned materials to staff led and field driven trainings in IRC  field education programs
• Research and learning
• Develop strategies for testing, piloting and tracking use of existing and newly developed materials. 
• Refine materials based on learning from tracking and monitoring the use of IRC developed materials
• Assist with data analysis of HC programs  and report writing as requested

Other tasks

• Support the packaging of the above mentioned materials
• Support the creation of appropriate PR and communications materials that can raise our profile with donors, partners, and other key actors
• Contribute to technical writing on proposals as requested; as well as other key proposal documents such as capacity statements and past performance capability matrices

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to: Senior Technical Advisor for Education, Child and Youth Protection and Development

Position directly supervises:  Not Applicable

Other Internal and/or external contacts:

Internal: The position includes close liaison and work with all CYPD Technical Advisors, ERT Education and Child Protection Coordinators and other staff; and CYPD staff in the field working on related projects.

External:  The position includes relationship-building with partner organizations, oversight of vendors and consultants for special projects as needed

Job Requirements:

• Master’s degree in Education or related field.
• Proven skills in curriculum development, particular teacher training curriculum, particularly in the areas of reading and math
• Experience working in conflict or crisis affected environments
• At least 2 years of experience managing and/or advising on education programs in conflict or post-conflict contexts. 
• Classroom teaching at the primary school level preferred
• Strong knowledge in social and emotional learning and/or child psychology/child development preferred
• Strong written communication skills
• Proficiency in French and/or Arabic preferred