Education Learning Assistant Coordinator - Care International in Timor Leste

JOB ADVERTISEMENT
Internally & Externally
CARE International in Timor-Leste - CITL

Department/Project	Hatutan
Position Title	Education Learning Assistant Coordinator
Supervisor	Field Office Deputy Manager (FODM), Technical supervision from Literacy Program Manager and Education Program Manager
Position Supervises	Short Term Learning Assistant Volunteers (20)
Position Grade	Grade 5
Salary	From  USD 743 Plus Benefit
Location of work	Ermera
Contract Period	1 Year
Areas of experience required	This position will manage the HATUTAN program’s placement of short term learning assistant volunteers and interns in targeted public basic education schools and assist the Field Office Deputy Manager and Senior Education Project Officers’ oversight of the broader education program.
Applications required by	28th  June 2021
Application should include	CV and Application letter only
Application should be sent to	Manuela.dasilva@careint.org

INTRODUCTION:

CARE is a leading humanitarian and development organisation dedicated to fighting global poverty and social injustice with special emphasis on human rights, gender equality and women and girls’ rights. As a non-religious and non-political organisation, CARE works with communities to help overcome poverty by supporting development efforts and providing emergency assistance. We believe supporting women and girls is one of the most effective ways to create sustainable outcomes in poor communities.

CARE International in Timor-Leste (CITL) will implement a 5-year United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) funded program called HATUTAN, to build a partnership between schools and their communities to improve literacy, learning, health and nutrition for children and adults in the municipalities of Ainaro, Ermera, Liquica and Manatuto. The program works with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MEYS) as the lead Ministry to strengthen pre-school and primary school performance in literacy, health and nutrition and support the full implementation of the government school feeding program.

PURPOSE OF THE POSITION:

Education Learning Assistant Coordinator: Based in Ermera, this position will manage the HATUTAN program’s placement of short term learning assistant volunteers and interns in targeted public basic education schools and assist the Field Office Deputy Manager and Senior Education Project Officers’ oversight of the broader education program.

The Education Learning Assistant Coordinator will be supervised by Field Office Deputy Manager (FODM) and will receive technical guidance from the Literacy Program Manager or her delegate (Dili) and the Education Program Manager (Dili). The position coordinates the 20 or more Learning Assistant volunteers placed at targeted schools with a focus on Ermera and later expanding into Ainaro, Liquica and Manatuto.

The role requires strong communication and interpersonal skills, solid organisational and planning skills, and an ability to work confidentially and appropriately with school personnel and municipal government officials. This position requires extensive travel to remote school locations throughout the school year (even in rainy season) with some travel required to Dili and other municipal program locations of Ainaro, Liquica and Manatuto. The regular work schedule will include Saturdays to cover activities at the schools. The work schedule for field staff, including this position, may shift to Tuesday through Saturday work week and/or use compensatory time off.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES:

Implementation, Training and Application of Learning:

• Lead the HATUTAN Short Term Learning Assistance intervention which places recent Faculty of Education graduates at schools with a shortage of teachers in cycle 1 basic education;
• Identify schools for placement of Learning Assistants or Faculty of Education interns with priority for rural and remote schools;
• Develop Memorandum of Understanding with the schools receiving Learning Assistants for smooth and effective implementation;
• Orient incoming Learning Assistant volunteers prior to placement on their role, responsibility and conditions of deployment to target schools;
• Coordinate school administrators’ daily supervision of the Learning Assistants and the regular monitoring through HATUTAN M&E and education teams;
• Provide mentoring support for the Learning Assistants to further their skills as future teachers with focus on improving early grade literacy teaching skills in coordination with Senior Education Project Officers for Literacy;
• Resolve issues raised by receiving schools or the Learning Assistant volunteers and
• Work with Learning Assistants, teachers and school administrators to set targets for improvements in students’ reading abilities in cycle 1 with special attention to first grade students or students at risk of repeating class or dropping out;
• Support Learning Assistants, interns and teachers to use child-centered teaching methodology, develop or improve Saturday remedial lessons and to develop and implement literacy-focused extracurricular activities that are fun and attractive to students;
• Assist Learning Assistants, school administrators and teachers to develop regular communication between parents and school personnel to guide parents on how their children can improve reading skills at home and at school;
• Guide Learning Assistants, interns and teachers to follow up on student absenteeism and dropout directly with parents and guardians;
• Assist the Field Office Deputy Manager to liaise with the municipal education officials and central school administrators regarding the HATUTAN program’s Learning Assistants and other education initiatives;
• Collaborate with school inspection services to develop regular monitoring of schools, including those with Learning Assistant volunteers and interns;
• Work with Learning Assistants, teachers and school administrators to improve compliance with existing MEYS policies and laws especially in relation to inclusive education, curriculum delivery, zero violence at school, anti-smoking and school health program and identify which of their school meet the HATUTAN school graduation criteria
• Work with MEL and education team to support central school administrators to identify low performing schools using ongoing monitoring and school-level data and develop targeted school improvement plans;
• Ensure timely and accurate reporting for Learning Assistants and interns including development of reporting format, reporting schedule, means of submission as well as collate and summarize the key information of the Learning Assistant’s reports and impact for the monthly field report;
  

Planning, Research and Evaluation:

• Apply relevant midline recommendations and monthly monitoring to improve the effectiveness of the Learning Assistant intervention component;
• Lead a participatory process together with Municipal Education Service (SEM) in Ermera, to assess the impact of the Short term Learning Assistants on improved reading skills in the target schools;
  

HR Management and Team Building:

• Participate in HATUTAN education team meetings;
• Coordinate mentoring sessions for Learning Assistants and interns with the Senior Education Project Officers for Literacy;
• Assist HATUTAN staff in Ainaro, Liquica and Manatuto to effectively place Learning Assistants and/or interns if activity is approved for expansion;
• Create the positive learning experience for interns and Learning Assistant volunteers;
  

Other Tasks:

• Be proactive in identifying risks of fraud on the part of staff, partners or beneficiaries and supporting spot-checks and investigations as needed;
• Perform other duties as may be requested by supervisor.

OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES:

• To proactively participate in the staff evaluation (APPA) process including the annual appraisal, midyear review and regular 1:1 meetings, ensuring that the APPA process (including the paperwork) is an integral component of Annual Work Plans and activities;
• Engage in emergency preparedness, assist in any emergency response as required;
• Promote a safe and secure work environment; foster a culture of safety and security awareness and consistently follow all CARE safety and security policies, procedures and directives; and
• Demonstrate an ongoing commitment to gender equality, diversity and child protection.
  

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS:

1. Minimum Bachelors’ degree in Education, Management, Humanities or equivalent with minimum 3 years’ relevant work experience, and/or University Diploma with minimum 4 years’ relevant work experience;
2. Experience working in education programs and schools;
3. Experience providing training or mentoring, leading teams and directly supervising other staff;
4. Experience in project planning, monitoring of budget and expenses and proven ability to write and present regular reports to management and partners as required;
5. Ability to promote collaboration with CITL staff, Government, Local authority, and other partners;
6. 6. Excellent communication skills in Tetum and functional English skills; Ability to speak Mambae an advantage;
7. Demonstrated strong leadership, decision making, problem solving, planning and attention to detail;
8. Demonstrated to be honest, reliable and trustworthy;
9. Demonstrated ability to take direction and to work as part of a team;
10. A willingness to learn about CARE, gender equality and women’s empowerment activities;
11. 11. Intermediate (very good) in Microsoft Office with knowledge in Microsoft Word and Excel, good numeric skills;
12. Ability to drive a motorbike in remote location and with a valid license an advantage.

In return of your commitment you will benefit from ongoing professional development fostered within an innovative and forward thinking environment, plus a comprehensive benefits package.

To apply to this position, please email or submit your application letter and Curriculum Vitae with three references (Please DO NOT attached the other documents) to Manuela.dasilva@careint.org OR to HR Unit, CARE International Timor-Leste, Bairo Pitte, Dili, OR by email before or by date deadline on 28th of June 2021. Only successful candidates will be contacted for the interview.

CARE is an equal opportunity employer committed to a diverse workplace. Women are strongly encouraged to apply.

CARE International Timor-Leste is committed to protecting the rights of children in all areas we work. CARE International Timor-Leste reserves the right to conduct screening procedure to ensure a child-safe environment.