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  • Posted: Jan 16, 2014
    Deadline: Jan 21, 2014
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    Since 1979, we have helped people grappling with the toughest hardships survive - and then thrive. That’s the heart of our approach: We help communities turn crisis into opportunity. Throughout our history, Mercy Corps has demonstrated innovation, timeliness and the ability to adapt quickly to changing realities.
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    Curriculum Development Consultant

    Purpose/Project Description:
    Mercy Corps understands that for marginalised girls to achieve economic success they require skills and knowledge, including financial and business training, followed by a clear path to gain, keep hold of, and make productive use of economic assets which will have a multiplier effect for economic growth, poverty reduction and a girl’s improved position within her family. This consultancy involves revising and finalising two curricula to ensure the documents are user-friendly, easy to understand, appropriate to the Nigerian context and relevant to girls aged 16-19.
     
    ENGINE activities support three primary objectives:
    ·       {C}Ensure marginalised in-school girls improve their learning outcomes in a supportive environment by participating in weekly Safe Space activities over a nine-month period where they receive academic tutoring as well as employment readiness skills including financial education and leadership skills.
    ·       {C}Increase girls’ economic assets and their influence on household decision making through access to education, increased learning, and direct linkages to economic activities. ENGINE will enrol out-of-school marginalised girls into six-month education cycles to increase their business, leadership and entrepreneurship skills.
    ·       {C}Work with gatekeepers to enable girls’ access to and involvement in learning and economic opportunities. These interventions are critical to ensure girls can engage, enrol, and stay in education and actively participate in income-generating activities to increase her standing in the household. Gatekeepers can include husbands, mothers, fathers, mothers-in-law, male relatives as well as faith and traditional leaders.
     
    Mercy Corps will utilize a Safe Space model under ENGINE for both in school and out of school girls.
     
    For in-school girls, Safe Spaces will be linked to junior and senior secondary schools and Islamiyya school curricula. Space Spaces will reinforce academic learning related to the MoE, teach financial education, and build leadership and transferable skills. They will provide a safe, supportive and discrimination-free learning environment. Safe Spaces will meet on average twice per week for approximately 2 hour sessions. Topics will be weighted with academic tutoring comprising 50% of each session followed by financial education (25%), and leadership and transferable skills (25%).  Academic tutoring will be focused on key subjects where girls have the most difficulty with a concentration on literacy and numeracy skills. The financial education curriculum will be introduced to the concepts of assets, capital formation and wealth creation, and self-employment and wage employment. The transferable skills curriculum will support girls’ abilities to positively navigate life’s social, political, economic, and personal transitions.
     
    Out of school girls will participate in Safe Spaces with the venues selected by the girls and the community members. Out of school girls will complete a six-month course that includes at least twice weekly sessions of approximately 4 to 6 hours total per week. Topics will be weighted based on the capacity of the girls as well as literacy and numeracy levels with business and entrepreneurial skills and financial education comprising 75% of the time followed by leadership and transferable skills (25%).
     
    Consultant Objectives:
    The consultant will finalize two drafts sets of Safe Space curriculum – one for out of school girls and one for in-school girls - for the ENGINE program that will complement the academic tutoring and financial education curriculum (to be designed by other partners). Curriculum for both in school and out of school girls will include gender-based violence concepts, such as ensuring safety and negotiation. A local consultant has developed these materials but they require some revision to be user-friendly, simple to understand and suitable for low literacy populations. Changes to layout and formatting are also needed to ensure the document is easy to absorb.
     
    For in school girls, the consultant will finalize curriculum for the nine-month Safe Space cycles for 1-2 hours each week for leadership and transferable skills. For out of schools, the consultant will finalize curriculum for 2 hours of entrepreneurship and leadership skills training over 9-month cycles. All curriculums will fit the demands of the local market to ensure girls understand basic business practices and value chain relationships as they apply to their setting and their local opportunities. Content should advocate for the inclusion of marginalized girls and for girls to be active in non-traditional sectors at the household and community level and within Nigerian vocational and skills-based education.
     
    The consultant will revise the existing content based on the following:
    ·       Contextualizing key messages to make them relevant to current/immediate challenges in girls’ lives and future challenges they can prepare for ahead of time
    ·       Sequencing and phasing content to allow girls time to digest information and hear it repeated often before moving on;
    ·       Simplifying learning methods and methodology for peer mentors;
    ·       Using simple, user-friendly layout
    ·       Adapt methodology and learning methods to age and preferences of target group (e.g. low literacy adolescents girls ages  15 to 19: games and short, fun activities, discussions and stories);
    ·       Implement and model Mercy Corps’ philosophy of social entrepreneurship and leverage Mercy Corps’ best practices.
     
    Consultant Deliverables:
    The Consultant will:
    ·       {C}Finalize two high-quality curriculums adapted to the context in Nigeria and specific to the ENGINE program (as detailed above).
     
    Timeframe / Schedule: Approximately 5 working days total
     
    The Consultant will report to: ENGINE Program Manager
     
    The Contractor will work closely with:

    • ENGINE School to Work Advisor
    • Mercy Corps Adolescent Girl Advisor Nigeria

    Desired Qualifications:
    ·       {C}Master degree in international development, gender or related field.
    ·       {C}At least 5 years international experience with curriculum development with a focus on gender or girl-specific curriculums and skills building curriculums for marginalized, low literacy populations.
    ·       {C}Nigeria experience strongly preferred. 
    ·       {C}Demonstrated understanding of peer to peer education and transferable skills education.
    ·       {C}Expertise in layout/formatting in Microsoft Word
    ·       {C}Able to assess capacity development needs and design specific curriculum to address identified needs
    ·       {C}Ability to anticipate future capacity development needs of Mercy Corps team members and provide curriculum/materials as needed.
    ·       {C}Experienced trainer who can transmit skills to program staff and partners alike.
    ·       Experience in secondary education or school to work and especially targeting marginalized, low literacy girls or young women programs. Prefer expertise in at least one of the following areas: accelerated learning programs, leadership programs, Islamic and/or community-based education targeting community acceptance of girl’s education, increasing economic assets through savings clubs and links to financial institutions.
    ·       Experience with curriculum linked to private-sector led initiatives.
    ·       Strong written and oral communication skills in English required, including report development, writing and editing. Hausa language skills preferred.

    Method of Application

    SUCCESS FACTORS:
    The successful Advisor will combine exceptional management skills and technical skills with a focus on innovative interventions to engage adolescent girls in increasing their savings and engaging with private sector entrepreneurship and employment opportunities in a culturally and religiously conservative environment.  S/he will have an outstanding ability to develop, implement and manage innovative and complex programs within the current and future program structure of Mercy Corps in the region. Multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem solving and simultaneous attention to detail and strategic vision are essential.  The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.

    LIVING CONDITIONS/ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS:
    This position will be based in Abuja with an estimated travel of up to 50-60% to program locations, where security may be particularly difficult at times. Security in Abuja is generally good, although petty crime is a problem. Housing, health care, water, electricity and consumer goods are all reasonably accessible and there are good international and domestic travel options from Abuja Airport.
     
    Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.
               
    To apply:
    Please submit CV and cover letter addressing the key criteria above, mentioning your daily consultancy rate and availability to mercycorpshr@gmail.com  with mail subject ENGINE CURRICULUM by 21st January, 2014. Recruitment will be ongoing and may conclude prior to this date.

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