Child Aid is a U.S. based non-profit organization working primarily in Guatemala. The mission of Child Aid is development through literacy; we believe education is the most effective long-term solution to poverty. We focus on rural villages where illiteracy disproportionately affects indigenous people and in early grades where education has been shown to have the biggest impact on literacy and overall life chances. We achieve our mission through an integrated program of teacher training, book provision and library development.
Child Aid is currently in a period of rapid growth. We are looking for an individual who is excited by the chance to join a small team where his/her efforts will have a large organizational imprint and where there is opportunity to grow as the organization grows.
Program Description: Our program has three integrated aspects: Teacher training; library enhancement; and book provision.
Teacher Training: We currently serve approximately 400 teachers in 50 rural schools. Our 4-year teacher training curriculum consists of two yearly school-wide trainings and 4 yearly individual classroom follow-ups. This translates to approximately 80 group trainings and 1,600 individual follow-ups per year.
Libraries: We work directly in classroom, school, and community libraries, and provide group trainings for community librarians. During the long school break, our staff helps librarians and teachers conduct 6-week book club programs called Adventures in Reading.
Book provision:We support the above activities through the provision of over 100,000 Spanish language books per year to teachers, schools and libraries, and we work with teachers and librarians in the use of these books to provide literacy enhancement.
Position Summary: The Director of Literacy Staff Training and Curriculum Development has responsibility for training and professional development of the staff who deliver all of our program interventions. In addition, this position also has a key responsibility for ongoing, as-needed curriculum development. Finally, the Director of Literacy Staff Training and Curriculum Development will work with the Country Director in Guatemala and the CEO and COO in Portland to help develop new program activities and strategize and plan for organizational growth. This is our second most important position in Guatemala and reports directly to the Country Director.
Specific Responsibilities:
A. Training and Professional Development of Staff: The quality of our programs depends completely on the training and development of our staff. The Director of Literacy Staff Training and Curriculum Development will have responsibility for:
¨ Direct supervision of a literacy coaching staff currently numbering 14 Guatemalan nationals and expected to grow
¨ Recruitment and training of new staff
¨ Professional development of staff
- Our staff of literacy trainers comprises various levels of responsibility, with opportunities for advancement between levels. The Director of Literacy Staff Training and Curriculum Development will have responsibility for managing, mentoring and developing this staff to take on increasing levels of responsibility as the staff and programs grow
¨ Conducting and/or supervising on-going training meetings for all staff
¨ Working with the assessors (the highest training staff level)to develop their own coaching abilities
¨ Creating agendas, materials and activities for weekly staff trainings and quarterly staff retreats
¨ Developing and tailoring training materials for staff, introducing new elements as staff needs and growth require
¨ Some interfacing with school principals and district superintendents
¨ Maintaining some direct classroom and training involvement
B. Curriculum Development: The Child Aid teacher and librarian training curricula are well developed and have been evaluated. Nevertheless, we consider the curriculum to be a living entity, and thus the person in this position will need to:
¨ Develop new aspects of the curriculum as program pieces are added
¨ Keep abreast of changes in pedagogical theory and evaluate when they suggest new curriculum or training approaches
¨ Regularly assess aspects of the curriculum that may be working less well and require revision
Reporting: This position reports directly to the Guatemala Country Director.
Knowledge, Skills and Experience Required for Position: The ideal candidate would have three areas of expertise:
Literacy content:
¨ Content knowledge and experience with literacy learning in primary school
- Classroom teaching experience in primary school
- Advanced pedagogy in teaching/ learning of literacy
¨ A Master’s degree in education or another, relevant field a definite plus
Development / cultural experience:
¨ Experience working and living in a developing world setting, ideally in Central or Latin America
¨ Fluency in both written and spoken Spanish and English
- Knowledge of a Mayan language a plus
¨ Comfort working as part of a multi-cultural team
¨ Willingness to live and travel within rural Guatemala
Training and management experience:
¨ Content knowledge and experience with training of teachers or other literacy staff
¨ Responsibility for direct reports or otherwise overseeing the work and performance of others
Details:
Salary Range: Commensurate with experience. Benefits include: Employer contribution to SEP-IRA; paid vacation; health insurance
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