Product Development Specialist, EdTech and Innovation

The Product Development Specialist, EdTech and Innovation will be a core position within the Product Development Team, which is part of the wider EduQuality Programme. The Product Development Specialist, EdTech and Innovation will be responsible for creating a vision and roadmap to drive the EdTech approach, implementation, and opportunity to address issues of scale, equity, and quality in Teacher Professional Development Programmes.

Preference will be given to candidates based in or near London, UK, where a hybrid approach to office work is in operation.

RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

Strategy and Communication (20%)

• Review the existing EduQuality programme model, identify gaps, and provide recommendations on the use of EdTech to enhance the design and delivery of the teacher and school leader professional development programmes.
• Develop a strategy and roadmap to drive EdTech improvements to support teacher and school leader learning and application (this might include the redesign of facilitation guides/coaching tools and strengthening communication and audiovisual media capabilities).
• Provide input into the Product Development Procedure Manual, particularly in relation to the digital content development and design.
• Support the EduQuality Manager in external communications of the EduQuality programme, especially when related to EdTech and other innovations, which include relationship development and maintaining communication with funders and other implementation partners.

Product Development and Implementation (40%)

• Oversee the development of new audiovisual content and tools to enhance teacher and school leader professional development opportunities.
• Support internal training by working in an iterative fashion with in-country staff and other stakeholders to test and refine the product development.
• Provide technical expertise to to improve pedagogical practices and master new and existing training content.
• Identify internal and external opportunities to strengthen digital literacy.
• Implement native application across multiple programme contexts.
• Conduct on-going research into effective programming for EdTech and educational innovation and disseminate learnings across the team.

Management and Operations (20%)

• Manage the Chalkboard Education partnership, leading regular meetings to raise technical and design issues and to plan for new innovations.
• Collaborate with Chalkboard Education, Project Managers and Head Education Specialists to develop clear channels of communication and trouble-shooting processes to streamline technical issues.
• Act as the key link with the Data and Business Intelligence team to ensure all digital products have effective monitoring and evaluation tools built into the design.
• Manage between 2-3 members of the Product Development Team, overseeing the digital aspects of the programme and providing guidance and support to direct reports through regular meetings, goal setting and performance reviews.
• Manage technical consultants and partnerships as arises.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY

• Line management responsibility for 2-3 Product Development Team members.

QUALIFICATIONS

• A postgraduate degree or equivalent in a relevant subject i.e., Education, Education and International Development, Educational Research, Education Management etc.
• Minimum 3 years relevant experience at the school level (as a classroom teacher and/or in school leadership) and/or within educational programming and delivery.
• Knowledge of EdTech (low and high-tech solutions) used to train and support teachers and school leaders, digital content creation and teaching and learning innovations in low resource contexts.
• Experience building in-person and digitally delivered professional development training for teachers and/or school leaders in low- and middle-income countries.
• Excellent digital literacy and ability to troubleshoot tech challenges.
• Experience in educational video planning and creation.
• Experience using data and research to inform product development and decision-making.
• Technical expertise in EdTech and at least one other area critically important to the development of education in low-and-middle income countries, i.e., primary education, literacy development, girls’ education, education in emergencies and inclusive education.
• Experience working within the education sector and school environment in EduFinance countries of operation; preferably the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, India, Kenya, Pakistan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Dominican Republic and/or other similar markets.
• Management experience and strong leadership skills, including the development, implementation and ownership of a vision and strategy.
• Demonstrated ability to work autonomously with little oversight, strong attention to detail, and excellent written communication skills.
• Appreciates fast-past environment, highly organised and responsive to shifts in priorities.
• Commitment to diversity and inclusion.
• An understanding of and a commitment to advancing the mission and core values of Opportunity International.

LANGUAGE SKILLS

• Written and verbal fluency in English required, fluency in French or Spanish desirable.

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS

• 10% travel is required with minimal administrative planning support to countries of programme operations.

ABOUT OPPORTUNITY INTERNATIONAL

Opportunity International is a global non-profit that has been empowering people to work their way out of poverty for over 50 years. Last year, Opportunity provided 18.7 million families with innovative financial resources, training, and support to grow their small businesses and send their children to school. Opportunity and its partners released $2 billion in capital across 30 countries and helped fund 8,400 schools that reached 2 million children.

Learn more about our company by visiting our website: https://opportunity.org/

ABOUT EDUFINANCE

Opportunity EduFinance is a nimble, fast-moving, and rapidly expanding core function of Opportunity International’s global footprint. EduFinance aims to get more children into better quality schools. It does this by increasing access to capital for affordable private schools and parents, and by boosting the capacity of school leaders and teachers in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). It does this in over 25 countries and is growing rapidly.

The Education Finance program accelerates investment into affordable education in low-and-middle income countries, to get more children access to better quality schools. In 2022, EduFinance became a WISE Award winner – which recognizes programs addressing global education challenges and serving as “a model of excellence that serves as an inspiration for innovation and creative action for education.”