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 the program, 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 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 programs 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 to our mission, to our beneficiaries, to our clients, and to our staff.
Position Objective:
The objective of this scope of work is to provide the SRP field office technical staff with timely guidance and support in planning and executing field-based activities designed to improve the reading and math skills of up to 750,000 students in K-5 by 2019. The Local Language Reading Specialist will be paired with a global Reading Specialist to provide short-term technical assistance. The Local Language Reading Specialist will work closely with (1) SRP technical staff including three Advisors for Early Learning & Literacy, Professional Development & Academic Advisor and the Student Assessment Advisor as well as (2) a cohort of teachers, field mentors, and quality control officers that participated in the EGRA/EGMA baseline study to build their capacity to improve the reading skills of primary school students in Sindh province. The Local Language Reading Specialist will also work in tandem with the short-term Reading Specialist to build the capacity of all SRP staff in all districts to apply international best practices for improving early grade reading in the Sindhi context.
By working with SRP technical staff as well as an identified cohort of teachers, field expert mentors, professional development strategic advisors and quality control officers previously trained by SRP, this STTA will ensure sustainability and scalability of programmatic activities through the project’s interrelated technical components. The Local Language Reading Specialist will also carry out detailed implementation planning with the SRP Professional Development & Academic Advisor to implement the recommendations developed jointly by the Local Language Reading Specialist and global Reading Specialist.
Qualifications
The position requires an individual with:
- Masters or PhD in Education, Linguistics (Sindhi preferred) Early Grade Reading, or a relevant field
- 5 years of demonstrated experience working in improving literacy and/or early grade reading required
- Experience of developing scripted lesson plans preferred
- Prior experience of working in the education sector in Pakistan
- Demonstrated capacity to reflect critically on the theory and practice of teacher professional development and to embed this critical reflection and knowledge into professional development programs focused on improved reading instruction
- Strong organizational abilities including ability to self-manage and function with limited oversight.
- Demonstrated ability to function effectively in stressful contexts with restricted movements to maintain a positive attitude in such contexts.
- Native or near-native proficiency in written and spoken Urdu or Sindhi required.
Application Instructions:
Please email a CV, letter of interest, and names and contact information for three professional references to [email protected] no later than December 31, 2014. Please write “Local Language Reading Specialist” in the subject line.
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. Qualified women are highly encouraged to apply.