Professional Development Advisor – Kenya Primary Literacy Program

EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT CENTER (EDC)

Education Development Center (EDC) is a global nonprofit that advances lasting solutions to improve education, promote health, and expand economic opportunity, with a focus on vulnerable and under-served populations. Since 1958, we have been a leader in designing, implementing, and evaluating powerful and innovative programs in more than 80 countries around the world.

EDC promotes equity and access to high quality education and health services and products that contribute to thriving communities where people from diverse backgrounds learn, live, and work together. We support an inclusive workplace culture that embraces many perspectives and broadens our understanding of the communities we serve, enhancing and enriching our work.

EDC is committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace.

Project Description

The USAID Kenya Primary Literacy Program (USAID KPLP) is a five-year initiative that supports the Kenyan Ministry of Education to deliver interventions at scale as well as pilot and expand innovations that address the language and literacy needs of primary grade learners while building more inclusive, accountable, and resilient education institutions and systems.

USAID KPLP has three broad objectives:

1. Improving education services and student learning outcomes, including for vulnerable populations;

2. Strengthening education institutions and systems to become more accountable, self-sustaining, and resilient; and

3. Empowering local youth organizations to strengthen and sustain community and family support for student learning and wellbeing.

Position Description

As part of KPLP, the Professional Development Advisor will play a critical role in advancing the project’s objectives related to teacher training and teacher professional development focused on language and literacy instruction in the primary grades.

The Professional Development Advisor leads technical assistance and collaboration in teacher professional development including school-based teacher professional development. The successful candidate will possess outstanding technical skills as well as the ability to collaborate in a highly effective manner with technical and operational counterparts within the project team, with MOE and government counterpart agencies, and other education sector stakeholders.

The Professional Development Advisor will report to the Deputy Chief of Party. This is a full-time position based in Nairobi, Kenya. The Professional Development Advisor’s responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Lead collaborative technical planning for sustainable short- and long-term teacher professional development activities to strengthen language and literacy instruction and outcomes for primary school students.
• In collaboration with technical counterparts, design and carry out high quality, CBC-aligned training plans and programs in language and literacy instruction, including early grade reading, inclusive pedagogy, inclusive teaching and learning materials, learning remediation, and continuous assessment.
• Provide technical assistance in school-based teacher professional development as well as in the development and implementation of continuous assessment.
• Liaise with MOE and government of Kenya counterparts at the central and decentralized levels in planning and implementation of teacher professional development activities, building on existing content and materials.
• Provide technical assistance to the development of online and hybrid teacher training materials and processes.
• Collaborate with technical team members in developing and implementing instruments for monitoring fidelity of implementation.
• Provide technical assistance and support to the development and implementation of training by Master Trainers with Head teachers, senior teachers, star teachers, and classroom teachers, as well as quality support officers and curriculum support officers.
• Work with the KPLP administration and finance team and counterparts to establish planning and budgeting procedures for supported training.
• Institute and monitor procedures to ensure prompt collection and submission of implementation data.
• Collaborate in the development and implementation of the collaboration, learning, and adapting (CLA) agenda.
• Prepare data and information for project quarterly and annual reports, and other data as required.

The candidate for the position of Professional Development Advisor shall have at a minimum the following qualifications:

Education:

Master’s degree in education, early grade reading, literacy and language instruction, curriculum development, or related field.

Skills and Experience:

• 8 to 9 years of progressively responsible and directly relevant experience.
• Experience as a primary school classroom teacher and experience in providing CBC-aligned language and literacy instruction and coaching.
• Expert knowledge in the design of effective, inclusive curriculum, materials, and instructional approaches in a bilingual and transitional early grade literacy learning context.
• Demonstrated ability to collaboratively design and deliver training content related to primary grade language and literacy instruction.
• Experience in planning and implementing school-based learning remediation.
• Experience in the development and implementation of tools to support fidelity of implementation.
• Proficiency in preparing detailed progress reports and annual summaries.
• Experience in coordinating with central and district-level education authorities.
• Knowledge of gender-responsive teaching methodologies and inclusive education practices.
• Strong organizational and leadership skills.
• Experience using technology to support instruction and learning, and/or instructional leadership development strongly desired.
• Capacity to work in difficult conditions and function well under pressure and hard deadlines.
• Ability to multitask.
• Experience in collaboratively designing and delivering capacity building with education sector counterparts and stakeholders.

Language:

Fluency in oral and written English and Kiswahili is required.

Other

Applicants must be Kenyan nationals or hold current work authorization.