Job Opportunity for Sr. Education Specialist at Opportunity International in Chennai

The Senior Education Specialist, India is responsible for the management and development of the Education Specialist and School Support Specialist team across India. This role will be responsible for achieving key performance indicators through effective management of staff, contribution to regional and global strategy, engagement of internal and external stakeholders to raise visibility, and financial resources to contribute to organizational mission and vision.

RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

Team & Program Management

• Leverage Education Specialist and School Support Specialist teams to best meet program needs, and in collaboration with the global team.
• Support the development and growth of team members and build a cohesive culture.
• Meet country-level targets, quarterly/termly team target reviews.
• Maintain effective communication across multiple digital channels, team meetings, one-on-one meetings, and other coordination support as needed.
• Enhance e-program delivery through research, feedback from partners, and provide recommendations to the leadership for program improvement.
• Collaborate with the ETAF (Education Technical Assistance Facility), Operations, and Data & BI departments to ensure effective coordination of global and regional activities.
• Ensure all Education Specialists and School Support Specialists follow the correct procedures in supporting school leaders.
• Develop and monitor the School Development Planning process each annum.
• Serve as a liaison to financial institution partners and maintain quarterly/termly reporting.
• Review new EduQuality products/materials to ensure alignment with in-country curriculum and teacher standards, context, language, and culture.

Cluster Development & Management

• Ensure Education Specialists and School Support Specialists are equipped to promote effective collaboration between school leaders, teachers, and cluster members in training cluster leadership to perform their role.
• Lead the planning and implementation of Introductory Seminars to bring new schools and clusters into the EdQuality program.
• Deliver approximately 12-14 professional development sessions per school per annum.
• Support Education Specialists and School Support Specialists colleagues in reporting on all required activities systemically (i.e. Collect app, report writing, etc.).

Pathways to Excellence

• Ensure all Education Specialists and School Support Specialists abide by developed procedures in supporting school leaders in developing and monitoring the School Development Planning process each annum.

School Leadership Professional Development

• Oversee preparations, logistics, and implementation of the School Leadership Professional Development (SLPD) training, with support from the Project Management team.
• Train Education Specialist team to deliver high-quality training to school leaders.

Individualized Support to School Leaders

• Oversee preparations, logistics, and implementation of school visits with support from the Project Management team.
• Ensure the School Support Specialist teams are properly trained and supported to deliver high-quality individualized support to school leaders.
• Monitor the quality of school visits and provide training to the School Support Specialist team on the use of effective feedback practices, observation, and coaching tools to bring consistency of practice.

Teacher Mentor Professional Development

• Oversee the effective approaches to teacher development and mentor training and ongoing support by the Education Specialist team.
• Ensure the schools have the materials and capability required to train replacement mentors when existing mentors leave; seek ways of improving the effectiveness of mentoring in the clusters.
• Provide training to the Education Specialist team on the use of adult facilitation/coaching and training of trainers.

Measurement & Evaluation

• Collaborate with the Director of Operations and local M&E team to implement the EdQuality M&E framework to drive program learning and improvement.
• Assist Education Specialist and School Support Specialist team in supporting M&E activities through coordination with school leaders and data collectors/enumerators.
• Gather and document learnings and effective practices from the field on a regular basis for dissemination to the larger network of partners with the goal of continual improvement in service offerings.
• Publish or contribute to publications to share outcomes, program design, and effectiveness of interventions with the broader financial institution and educational communities.
• Support the program evaluation and impact with learning

Financial Institutions

• Liaise with financial institution partners to maintain quarterly/termly reporting and coordination.

Materials & Product Development

• Support the development and review of new EdQuality products/materials to ensure alignment with in-country curriculum and teacher standards, context, language, and culture.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY

• Direct management of the India-based EduQuality team, including Education Specialists and School Support Specialists.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Postgraduate degree in school-based education or education development, with significant experience in the education field. Graduate degree preferred. 
• At least 10-15 years of relevant education experience in education development, pre-primary and primary education, early literacy and reading development, special education, and school leadership and teacher professional development. 
• Previous experience years of experience managing a diverse multi-functional team. 
• Leadership in large-scale education program implementation. 
• Strong writing, data collection, and ICT skills (e.g., Microsoft Office products, EdTech, mobile tablets, etc.).  
• At least 2-3 years of formal experience as a classroom teacher and/or school leader at pre-primary and primary levels. 
• International education experience or training is preferred. 
• The ability to manage contract negotiations with external vendors and ability to manage internal work-related expenses is required. 
• Experience working within cross-cultural global organizations and INGOs, preferred/
• Knowledge of and experience with USAID-funded projects is preferred.  
• Passionate about Opportunity’s mission. Able to promote and communicate the organization’s goals and objectives to external and internal stakeholders.

LANGUAGE SKILLS

• Written and verbal fluency in English and 1-2 additional South Asian languages (Urdu/Sindhi/Tamil/Hindi) fluency required.
• Must be able to attend & fully participate in meetings conducted in English.

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS

• Access to a personal vehicle for 50% of domestic travel; 10% of international travel 
• Able to travel with minimal notice and maximum flexibility 
• Willing to travel independently and without escort or planning support