Senior Education Officer

BACKGROUND

Since 1933, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has developed unparalleled expertise in responding to emergencies and helping uprooted communities to rebuild. Founded at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers life-saving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster.

The International Rescue Committee Poland is part of the IRC global network, which is on the ground in more than forty countries, providing emergency relief, relocating refugees and rebuilding lives in the wake of disaster. Through over twenty regional offices in cities across the United States, the IRC also helps refugees resettle in the US and become self-sufficient.

The IRC is committed to a culture of bold leadership, innovation in all aspects of our work, creative partnerships and, most crucially, accountability to those we serve. The IRC is a tireless advocate for the most vulnerable.

THE PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

The Education Officer is the main focal point for IRC’s new education programming in Poland. One area of focus for education programming is on promoting the psychosocial wellbeing of refugee children and young people in schools and vocational centers. IRC will be adapting its existing tools and approaches to fit the Polish context and will be offering training for teachers and pedagogical staff.

KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS:

The position reports to the Child Protection Manager. The Education Officer also works closely with RAI Education technical units, Education technical unit, EHAU, and the Deputy Director of Programmes.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES:

Training and professional learning content development

• Organization, implementation, and follow-up of education events for teachers at primary, secondary, and vocational schools in IRC implementation areas.
• Adaptation of IRC’s Healing Classroom teacher training curricula and social emotional asset development materials for use in online and face-to-face trainings in the Poland context.
• Development of teacher training resources and toolkits to support refugee students
• Training facilitation and provision of school support coordination
• Facilitation of engaging, interactive online and in-person teacher training workshops that meet high standards for teacher professional development;
• Planning, management, and follow-up of training events (online and face-to-face formats) for educators at primary and secondary schools in Poland;
• Development of relationships with education institutions, NGOs, civil society organizations and public authorities at local levels to ensure cooperation and coordination in collaboration with Partnerships Coordinator and Child Protection Manager;
• Continuous support and coaching of the schools and teachers involved through class visits, individual advice and meetings;
• Conduct participant outreach, deliver awareness raising activities for schools and teachers on the needs of refugee students;
• Conduct research to identify further ways to support schools and to broaden the evidence base that underpins our programmes;
• Contribute to newsletters and blogs about refugee education.

PROJECT ADMINISTRATION

• Data collection and monitoring according to programme Monitoring & Evaluation plan;
• Collection of participant feedback to inform programme delivery and design, ensuring continuous improvement of activities;
• Contribution to donor reporting and documentation of experiences to communicate the work of IRC in the field of education;
• Cooperation with the IRC Poland programme teams and RAI Europe education teams, Education technical unit, and EHAU for the further development of the programme design and sharing of lessons learned.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

• Minimum undergraduate degree in Education, Social Work, or similar.
• Minimum five years relevant work experience in the education system in the Poland
• Experience planning and leading engaging professional development training events both in person and online;
• Experience developing teacher resource materials such as curricula and lesson plans for working with diverse EAL students;
• Experience with data collection and using participant feedback to inform project modifications, strong attention to detail;
• Proven communication and networking skills: the ability to effectively handle a variety of stakeholders;
• Experience in supporting Polish as an Additional Language students from diverse backgrounds is an asset.
• Professional written and oral communication skills in English and Polish are required.
• Some proficiency in Ukrainian is an asset.
• Ability to respond to multiple priorities in a timely manner.

You must have the right to work in Poland.

IRC strives to be an equal opportunities employer. IRC is committed to equality of opportunity and to non-discrimination for all job applicants and employees, and we seek to ensure diversity in our workforce regardless of gender, race, religious beliefs, nationality, ethnic/national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability.

IRC welcomes applications from all candidates, including underrepresented groups and refugees who have the right to work in the Poland.