Technical Advisor II, Senior Reading Specialist at FHI 360

Job ID: 14741
Job Sector: Education
Locations: Nigeria-Abuja

Project Description:
We are seeking for a Senior Reading Specialist for the for International Development (USAID) Northern Education Initiative Plus (NEI+) Project. This is intended to be a five-year activity with an overarching goal of improving the quality of, and access to, equitable and sustainable education in Northern Nigeria. NEI+ activity will serve the broader goals of the USG-GON partnership and further the implementation of both USAID’s and the GON’s education strategies. NEI+ will take an integrated approach by working with and through the systems of select states and local government education authorities (LGEAs) to increase equitable access to education and to improve students’ reading outcomes. Nigeria is one of USAID’s Room to Learn focus countries, therefore NEI+ will contribute to agency wide efforts to accelerate equitable access. The NEI+ activity values the work to increase equitable access to education and to improve reading outcomes for children in the early grades equally in an integrated way.

Expected outcomes of the project include:

•     Advance the implementation of the basic education goals of USAID’s Education Strategy
•     Strengthen the systems and processes of the cooperating states and LGEAs specifically for service delivery in access and reading,
•     Provide children in the target areas with the learning outcomes that will lift them out of abject poverty and prepare them to participate as youth and adults in a democratic society
•     Strengthen government systems to increase the number of students enrolled in appropriate, relevant and approved educational options, especially for girls and Almajiri children in target locations
•     Government systems strengthened to improve reading outcomes for primary grade learners in target locations

Position is contingent upon receipt of donor funding.

Job Summary / Responsibilities:
The Senior Reading Specialist provides overall technical oversight and guidance to the project’s support to improved reading instruction. He/she supervises the production of all NEI+-supported reading material, all NEI+-supported trainings in reading, all teacher and classroom supervision and monitoring and all student testing efforts. He/she ensures complementarity of activity approaches in reading across the three NEI+ activity states, liaises with government representatives and technicians on technical matters, and bears ultimate responsibility for ensuring that children in NEI+ public, IQTE, and NFLC schools achieve improved outcomes in reading. It is expected that the reading specialist will work directly with a Hausa language expert (particularly if the reading specialist is not conversant and fluent in written and spoken Hausa).

Qualifications:

•     Master's Degree in education, preferably with a specialty in early grade reading. Ph.D. in education with a focus on early childhood education and/or early grade learning preferred.
•     At least 8 years of experience in programs in sub-Saharan Africa that work specifically to improve early grade reading is required.
•     Prior experience with the development of early grade reading materials, training programs, classroom monitoring protocols, and tests and assessments, including EGRA, is required.
•     Prior experience with supporting civil-society based monitoring of reading outcomes is required.
•     Professionally proficient and fluent in written and spoken English. It is preferred, but not required, that the candidate be conversant and fluent in written and spoken Hausa
•     Demonstrated management and leadership skills working on large and complex donor-funded programs;
•     Experience managing and reporting on large donor-funded programs, especially USAID contracts.
•     Understanding of larger policy goals and how they impact program management;
•     Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a multicultural environment and gain the respect and confidence of host country counterparts, staff, and clients;
•     Strong interpersonal communications and team-building skills
•     Ability to mentor, motivate and empower the performance of team members and counterparts;
•     Excellent written and oral communications skills in English; and
•     Proficiency in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.