TaRL Advisor (Jigawa) at Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) Africa

TaRL Africa is a newly formalised partnership between Education NGO, Pratham, and research centre J-PAL, who have been working together developing cost-effective, scalable literacy and Numeracy interventions for more than 15 years. The fruits of these efforts have been the development of what we now refer to as the TaRL.

The TaRL approach, pioneered by Pratham, helps children develop basic reading and numeracy skills. In TaRL classroom: children are assessed on basic reading and numeracy using a simple tool; grouped by learning level, rather than by grade, for a dedicated time when they focus building foundational skills through activities and materials appropriate for each group. As children progress, they move to the next learning group and continue to grow. Implementation of the TaRL programme is expected to begin in September 2019.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: TaRL Advisor

Location: Jigawa, Nigeria

Role Purpose

• Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) Africa is currently working with partners to plan a TaRL programme in Jigawa. We seek a TaRL Advisor to oversee TaRL development and design in Jigawa.
• The TaRL Advisor is responsible for providing technical and managerial direction for the programme. He/she must build and maintain effective relationships with all relevant education stakeholders.
• The role will involve travel within Jigawa, as well as infrequent travel elsewhere in Nigeria and an onboarding trip to India and South Africa.

Main Responsibilities
Become a Teaching at the Right Level expert:

• The first 6 months of the position will include intensive off site training, including: both within Nigeria and India.
• Become an expert on the Teaching at the Right Level methodology and evidence base, by reading the relevant academic papers and learning from the Pratham and J-PAL teams across the world.
• Be an active member of and contributor to the TaRL Africa team which is thinking about how to adapt the TaRL approach to multiple settings across the continent, ensure that best practices are being applied in Jigawa.
• Work with policymakers and partners in country to build their understanding of Teaching at the Right Level and ensure that lessons learned, and evidence are being applied so that the programme remains effective provided it moves to scale.
• Understand the local context
• Understand the education sector in Nigeria, including key partners, and make sure that activities are coordinated with other actors and interventions.
• Provide technical design and development leadership
• Work closely with government stakeholders and partners to explore the possibility of TaRL and advise on design aspects.
• Maintain critical relationships with government and other partners, and ensure the work with the SUBEB, Ministry of Education and other partners is coordinated.
• Build partners skills in TaRL: Design and conduct trainings for partners interested in implementing TaRL
• Report on progress of exploration to the TaRL Africa team and to external partners
• Support programme piloting and roll out

Provided TaRL programmes are to be implemented in Jigawa, the TaRL Advisor would be responsible for management of this, including:

• Take responsibility for achieving the goals of the programme from pilot to roll out.
• Guide the implementation of the training, coaching, and monitoring systems being used in the intervention with support from the TaRL Africa Central Team, and work with all partners to adapt and improve these so that they effectively support the classroom methodology.
• Think creatively and carefully with SUBEB, the team, TaRL Africa and other partners about how to improve the TaRL approach in the country such that it can be effectively and efficiently scaled and embedded within government and apply these strategies.
• Ensure that the design and processes of the programme are well contextualised and can be sustained by government and community actors
• Provide technical assistance to SUBEB and the Ministry of Education to effectively plan for programme growth
• Engage with CoE on how TaRL approach could be embedded into pre-service training.
• Facilitate state to state learning: Coordinate learning journeys for surrounding states

Education and Qualifications

• Experience working in Northern Nigeria
• A postgraduate Degree in Social Sciences, Development studies, Education or a related field;
• A minimum of 5 years' experience working in similar positions
• Good command of written and spoken English
• Experience managing partners and projects
• Experience working with government

Advantageous:

• Strong preference for Jigawa State resident
• Language skills: Hausa

Application Closing Date
30th November, 2019.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Note

• Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Shortlisted candidates will be asked to complete a writing assessment and a data analysis test, followed by an interview process.
• Due to the large volume of applications, we will only be able to respond to short-listed applicants.