Education Officer

Job Description

Organizational Background

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is one of the world's leading crisis response agencies, providing life-saving assistance and supporting recovery and reconstruction for people affected by war and natural disasters. Active in public health, education, livelihoods, women's empowerment, youth development, and protection and promotion of rights, IRC assists people from harm to home. The IRC was registered in Uganda in mid-1998 and implements rehabilitation activities in the sectors of Protection and development, Health, Economic Recovery and Development and Women Protection and Empowerment as well as contributing to the response to the Refugee situation. IRC Uganda has a head office in Kampala with field offices in Western Uganda, Karamoja, and West Nile.

PlayMatters Project (2023-2026) is an education initiative funded by the LEGO Foundation. The program reimagines childhood for 800,000+ refugee and host-community children across Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda – children whose education and social development has been affected by displacement and trauma. Building on children’s amazing resilience and a growing evidence base supporting Learning through Play (LtP) methodologies, PlayMatters (PM) cultivates holistic learning for children ages 3-12+ years. PlayMatters is led by the International Rescue Committee and includes Plan International, War Child Holland, Innovations for Poverty Action, the Behavioral Insights Team in partnership with the LEGO Foundation.

The project therefore intends to recruit strong potentials Candidates to support in conducting field-based activities at school and Community level.

Job Overview

Education Officer will be responsible for quality implementation, day to day coordination of activities and collaboration with other IRC sectors to ensure timely support and effective execution of the education component and activities. The role will also assist with capacity strengthening of volunteers and coordination.

S/he will also contribute to project monitoring, capacity strengthening, training of teachers and school community leaders, and participation in relevant multisectoral and inter-agency coordination forums and networks with varied structures and actors in the sub region. The Education Officer will technically report to the Senior Project Manager-PlayMatters.

Duties and Responsibilities

•Coordinate, follow up and report on implementation of agreed PlayMatters project activities, decisions, and actions (programmatic and operational) as per plans and priorities.

•Coordinate regular consultations, dialogues, information sharing, and feedback with evacuees, and other key stakeholders.

•Work closely with the ECCD caregivers and Primary school teachers on routine monitoring and support Supervision.

•Participate in relevant events, forums, and meetings coordination forums to share and keep abreast of opportunities and priorities that align with the PlayMatters education project intervention goals, priorities, and plans.

•Work closely with the Senior Project Manager-PlayMatters to coordinate consultants and strengthen capacities of volunteers, caregivers, and teachers.

•Support awareness creation, capacity assessments and delivery of technical support activities to facilitate adoption and application of intervention concepts, approaches, and practices.

•In liaison with MEAL Manager; support studies, assessments, and dissemination of learnings.

•Prepare and submit periodic and activity reports to supervisor(s).

Qualifications

•Degree in Humanities with a bias in Education or post graduate diploma in Education from an accredited Institution.

•Minimum of 3 years of experience in education related programming (preferably in Early Childhood Development (ECD), Teacher Education, Accelerated Learning Programs (ALP), Psychosocial Support (PSS), Play, digital learning, and language education programs)

•Proven track record and knowledge of different language acquisition approaches, especially the communication approach and conducting Language Proficiency Index (LPI) tests.

•Primary teacher or tutor working Experience - working with refugee and host communities.

•Prior experience working with multicultural refugees and diverse contexts.

•Experience in developing educational /training content, curricula, is an advantage.

•Experience and abilities in using participatory training/ workshop techniques.

•Ability to work well in and promote teamwork.

•Strong communication and reporting skills, both oral and written.

• Good IT skills and knowledge of MS Word, Excel and Outlook required.

• Possession of a valid riding permit is an added advantage.

Working Environment: The Education Officers will work in Imvepi refugee Settlement and host communities (Terego District) and will be provided with regular administrative and logistics support to perform his/her responsibilities.

Please note: Deadline for receiving applications is 6th July 2023.

Professional Standards

IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability and Equality. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

Gender Equality & Equal Opportunity

IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer and we value diversity at our organization. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request reasonable accommodation.