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Project Description:

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is a development partner to the Government of Sindh and is currently supporting the Department of Education and Literacy with implementation of the Sindh Basic Education Program (SBEP) in Districts Sukkur, Khairpur, Larkana, Qambar-Shahdadkot, Jacobabad, Kashmore, Dadu and selected towns of Karachi city. The overarching goal of SBEP is to increase and sustain student enrollment in primary, middle and secondary schools in targeted geographical locations in Sindh. The Sindh Reading Program (SRP) is a five-year initiative in the same geographic areas of the parent SBEP. SRP will support the SBEP goal based on lessons learned from USAID and the Government of Sindh’s legacy of early grade teaching and learning.

 Over the life of project, SRP aims to improve:

  • Teacher competencies for effective early grade reading and mathematics instruction;
  • Early grade reading and mathematics assessment practice;
  • Student access to supplementary reading and mathematics material;
  • Participation of parents and caregivers in support of early grade literacy and early grade numeracy for out of school children.

About Chemonics International:

On January 6, 2014, Chemonics International and its institutional development partners School-to-School International, Health And Nutrition Development Society, Indus Resource Centre, and and Souktel Inc., were awarded a contract by USAID to implement the Sindh Reading Program to achieve the aims above.

Chemonics is an international development company that partners with local and international organizations to promote social and economic change around the world. From our founding in 1975, we have worked in more than 150 countries to help our clients, partners, and beneficiaries face difficult challenges, from political instability to poor education performance, to a lack of market infrastructure. We have helped them overcome those challenges by working together to find and implement innovative projects that achieve development impact.

We are entirely employee-owned, giving us both the freedom and the responsibility to pursue our mission with single-minded focus. Holding ourselves to the highest quality standards, we are also committed to living our values of caring, excellence, innovation, integrity, and opportunity to implement efficient and effective programs that build a better future for those we serve.

At Chemonics, we believe our mission of helping people live healthier, more productive, and more independent lives is driven by our commitment to service—service to our mission, to our beneficiaries, to our clients, and to our staff.

Position Objective:

The Senior Technical Advisor will be a key decision-maker in the SRP field office – ensuring that Early Learning and Literacy Advisors and Professional Development and Academic Advisor have necessary guidance and resources, and working closely with the chief of party to ensure effective design and implementation of critical training activities are implemented on schedule.The objective of this scope of work is to provide the SRP field office technical staff responsible for Component 1(Continuous Professional Development of Teachers ) and Component 3 (Supplementary Teaching and Learning Materials) with timely guidance and support in planning and executing field-based activities designed to;

  • Improve the knowledge, skills and professional attributes of 25000 teachers serving in over 13000 public primary schools
  • Improve student access to supplementary reading and mathematics materials through selection, procurement and distribution of Supplementary Teaching Lear ning Materials  to target schools
  • To provide senior project representation in meetings with Government of Sindh educational leaders, head teachers and, and regularly interact with key counterparts in the formation of consultative working groups to design strategies for continuous professional development of practicing teachers.

This scope has been divided into three congruent functions – external, internal, and technical support. Responsibilities for each of these functions are described in more detail below.In consultation with the Chief of Party, the Senior Technical Advisor will undertake the following tasks:

  • Represent the project at high level meetings with stakeholders

  •  Advise on formation of inter-sectoral working groups and attend relevant meetings

  •  Attend meetings with USAID as needed

  •  Liaise with SBEP implementing partners, and other education projects and donors

  • Other tasks as assigned

  • Guide discussions with local partners IRC and HANDS to hire support staff for SRP and initiate and implement activities under their subcontract

  •  Institute system for monitoring progress of staff across two offices towards meeting work plan milestone deadlines

  •  Participate in work plan design for the December 2014 training of 3000 teachers from 8 target districts

  •  Oversee design and implementation of the project’s resource mapping exercises to select, procure Supplementary

  • Teaching and Learning Materials for use during the first training activity and work with Early Learning and Literacy Advisors to develop revised standards of Supplementary Teaching and Learning Materials development and   collaborate with selected publishers to develop new grade and level-based Supplementary Teaching Learning Materials in Sindhi

  • Monitor and advise the chief of party on progress under each component

  • Provide technical capacity across components 1, 2 and 3 ensuring that all these components advance on schedule,  and troubleshoot challenges that arise

  • Other tasks as assigned

In addition, the Senior Technical Advisor will assist the Chief of Party with developing team orientation among the technical staff. He/She will lead meetings with the project staff, and key subcontractors/partners, and ensure uniform understanding of aims objectives, and expected outcomes/results of SRP. Her/his involvement will be critical to ensure that technical and administrative staff has continuous, on-call support throughout all the implementation phases of the project.

 Qualifications:

  • Advanced degree in Social Sciences with specialization in education.
  • At least 10 years of teaching and research experience at a reputable university.
  • Experience with USAID or other International donors in an Advisory role.
  • The candidate must be fluent in English and Urdu required; proficiency in Sindhi preferred.
  • Willingness to travel frequently within selected towns of Karachi.

Application Instructions:

Please email a CV, letter of interest, and names and contact information for three professional references to [email protected] no later than October 15, 2014. Please write “Senior Technical Advisor” in the subject line. All interviews will be held in Karachi. Women are highly encouraged to apply.

Chemonics is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in its selection and employment practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, or other non-merit factors.