Youth Social Emotional Asset Development Consultant

As the evidence for the positive role that social emotional learning can play in promoting positive youth outcomes in education and beyond continues to grow, so too are local IRC office’s efforts to increase integration of SEL and social emotional asset development (SEAD) into programs. However, these teams lack tools that are targeted to the population that IRC programs serve (refugee and other displaced youth) and the programming contexts in which they operate.

Project description: This project seeks to develop a toolkit that provides practical guidance for IRC offices in Resettlement & Integration contexts on integrating SEAD into direct service youth programs.

This toolkit will:

1. Target the complex, age-appropriate social emotional needs of adolescents and older youth

2. Ensure culturally and linguistically diverse groups of English Learners (ELs) and Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE) have equal access to SEL through effective use of differentiation, scaffolding, and other best practices;

3. Recognize and support a range of program models, including creating healing learning spaces, strategic integration of low-cost, targeted activities, and teaching SEL curricula;

4. Target an audience of IRC staff, and the trained educators and volunteers who are planning and delivering programming.

The project is being led by the Technical Advisor for Education & Youth in US Programs, in consultation with a four-member field staff advisory group and a Design Research consultant. The project seeks support from experts in the fields of teaching youth who are both SLIFE and ELs, and in social emotional learning/asset development for youth/positive youth development.

Timeline: Estimated deliverables due date is December 15, 2019. It is expected that the consultant contract will range from 7-11 days of work.

Consultant role: The role of the Youth SEAD consultant is to ensure that the toolkit integrates theory, evidence, and best practices for promoting SEL and SEAD with adolescents and older youth (primarily in middle school and high school or out-of-school youth up to age 24) in a manner that is practical and accessible for staff at a variety of levels, and promotes highly effective programming. The consultant will support toolkit content development. Pending the outcome of a design research process and toolkit co-creation workshop, deliverables are tentatively expected to include:

• Insight and recommendations based on knowledge and experience related to the overall approach, specific strategies, and associated tools in the toolkit

• Landscape analysis of evidence-based and relevant positive youth development and SEL resources appropriate for adaptation in IRC RAI youth programs

• Feedback on the toolkit’s written components and its design

• Selected written content

• Planning & workshop design and facilitation for one in-person workshop with the project leader and field staff advisory group

To apply: Please apply via Cornerstone including a resume and statement of interest.