Early Childhood Education Technical Advisor

Requisition ID: req51083

Job Title: Early Childhood Education Technical Advisor

Sector: Youth Services

Employment Category: Regular

Employment Type: Full-Time

Open to Expatriates: No

Location: Amman, Jordan

Work Arrangement: Hybrid

Job Description

Years of war in Syria have pushed millions from their homes and into poverty, and millions more have become refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and further afield. Equally complex is the emergency in Iraq, where waves of fighting and displacement have overwhelmed infrastructure and services and pushed communities to the brink. The COVID-19 pandemic deepened these crises, bringing new health, economic, and social challenges throughout the Middle East, as well as interrupting access to all types of services and support. The effects of these crises have changed the entire region. In the Middle East (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Libya, and Yemen) IRC responds to displaced people’s acute and longer-term needs with integrated programs that improve health and safety, prioritize children’s education, foster economic wellbeing, and empower communities to regain control over their lives.

After winning the inaugural MacArthur Foundation 100&Change competition for a $100 million grant to make measurable progress toward solving a significant problem from 2018-2023, the IRC and Sesame Workshop are continuing into the next phase of the Ahlan Simsim project. In the next phase of the project Ahlan Simsim will expand and deepen its interventions to bring vital early learning and nurturing care to more than nine million children and families affected by crisis and conflict in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq, while also starting work in new parts of the Middle East. The program seeks to reach children and families where they are with effective, scalable, and sustainable interventions to support child development, including NGO and government-delivered early education for children and support and training for caregivers using engaging multimedia content. Ahlan Simsim has developed and will continue to co-design and support partner-led interventions with key public and private stakeholders working across the many sectors that serve children and families, including health, protection, and livelihoods. For more information, please visit: https://www.rescue.org/ahlansimsim.

Reporting to the Regional ECD Technical Lead, the ECD Technical Advisor will provide technical support for the development of high-quality ECD programming and content in the region, including diverse print and digital ECD resources created for parents, children and front-line service providers, as well as providing technical support for capacity building and implementation quality initiatives, within the context ofthe IRC and partner direct services and scaling initiatives.

The ECD Technical Advisor is responsible for four key objectives:

-Contribute to the design and roll-out of technical frameworks and content development plans.

-Lead on content development, contextualization and adaptation of ECD programs and materials.

-Lead on capacity building and implementation quality support for ECD programs.

-Maintain strong relationships with external partners including Sesame Workshop, implementation partners, government officials, and other humanitarian actors.

Responsibilities Include:

(1)Content Development and Adaptation

·Collaborate with the Regional ECD Technical Lead to identify gaps in existing educational resources and approaches, and to identify opportunities for new content development and adaptation.

·Assist country offices in co-design, contextualization and adaptation of resources as needed, integrating local examples, country-specific frameworks, and national standards.

·Ensure the revision and adaptations to existing content as well as the development of new content follow universal and client-centered design approaches, as well as the core values and spirit of Ahlan Simsim/Play to Learn projects.

·Work closely with staff of Sesame Workshop and other Ahlan Simsim partners in content design, co-creation and adaptation initiatives.

·Supervise consultants and vendors working on content development and audiovisual production to ensure the quality and timely delivery of outputs.

·Provide technical support in the design and adaptation of digital and E-learning materials.

(2)Capacity Building and Learning

·Lead in developing training and capacity building materials and packages (i.e. training manuals, PTT resources, etc.).

·Lead facilitation and co-facilitation of trainings and capacity building initiatives for IRC and partners.

·Participate in developing monitoring tools to be used in training and capacity building initiatives.

·Support ECD Communities of Practice (CoPs) gathering ECD teams in the region to foster peer support and cross-country learning.

·Contribute to the project’s learning agenda and learning initiatives, including analyzing data and feedback,

(3)Implementation Quality and Technical Support

·Facilitate communication with ECD Technical leads in country teams to understand implementation challenges and collect feedback on existing resources.

·Support the Monitoring and Evaluation teams in the design of monitoring indicators, plans, tools, systems that align with program interventions.

·Support the Monitoring and Evaluation teams in processing data from feedback mechanisms to ensure client feedback is accounted for in program design, implementation, and adaptation.

·Analyze feedback from IRC and partners and share findings with the Regional ECD Technical Lead to guide decision-making and content adaptation/development plans.

·Foster cross-country collaboration to further adapt and contextualize educational content in curricula and related training materials.

(4)Internal and External Representation

·Maintain open communication with regional and country teams to ensure collaboration, coherence and reasonable sequencing of work;

·Participate in developing presentation materials, and key messages related to the technical content of the project for internal and external audiences.

·Represent the IRC ECD Technical team in various settings, including meetings with external stakeholders, and national and international workshops, conferences and events.

·Work closely with staff of Sesame Workshop and other Ahlan Simsim partners to assure that content materials are high quality and contribute to achieving overall project learning outcomes and goals.

Key Working Relationships:

·Position Reports to: Regional ECD Technical Lead

·Position supervises: N/A

·Technical supervision: Consultants

·Indirect Reporting: N/A

Other Internal and/or external contacts:

·Internal: ECD regional and country program staff; Regional staff such as MEAL, Communications, and Advocacy; other technical units within IRC (Education, Health, Violence Prevention and Response, Economic Recovery and Development, Governance, Gender Equality)

·External:Sesame Workshop; Jordan Pioneers and other content production partners; Host Government officials; implementing partner organizations; community representatives.

Qualifications

·At least 7 years of progressive, relevant work experience in content development and implementation of education and/or ECD programs.

·Proven record of design and development of ECD educational content such as curricula, teaching and learning resources, training guides and resource materials.

·Significant training in and a strong technical understanding of latest trends and best practices for ECD program design and implementation in humanitarian and crisis settings.

·Familiarity or exposure to design and development of educational content in audiovisual and digital formats.

·Excellent communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively in a multi-cultural environment with international and local implementing partners, government officials, and clients.

·Solid organizational skills: the ability to be flexible and work well under pressure, dealing with competing priorities, in a fast-paced team environment.

·Solid understanding of the Middle Eastern context, with previous experience working in the region preferred.

·Strong communication and analytical skills, both oral and written.

·Fluency in English and Arabic is required.

Working Environment:

·Standard office work environment; partial remote work possible.

·Travel required 25-40%

·Position can be based in Jordan or Lebanon.