Social and Emotional Learning Advisor

Job Description

The IRC began working in El Salvador in 1984 during the civil war, and returned in 2017 to respond to the violence and crisis of internal displacement. IRC has expanded programming to Guatemala and Honduras to support national partners in developing lasting solutions to challenges in countering gender-based violence, child protection, education, displacement, shelter and safety, emergency assistance, improved government services, and livelihoods. Prioritizing sustainability and long-term impact, the IRC engages civil society organizations, government, and other key stakeholders in partnerships and capacity strengthening to ensure lasting gains for communities in need.

Scope of work

The IRC seeks a Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Advisor for an anticipated five-year, multi-million dollar USAID education activity in El Salvador. The project will reduce dropout rates, improve performance, and help vulnerable children and youth gain better socio-emotional skills for a successful transition to high school, in support of the efforts and strategies led by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Technology (MINEDUCyT).

The SEL Advisor will be responsible for overall integration of social and emotional learning in the program to improve transition rates, increase retention, and decrease violence in and around schools in targeted geographies. The position will be based in San Salvador, El Salvador.

Recruitment is contingent upon successful award of the project, and selection of final applicant is subject to USAID approval.

Job responsibilities

• Lead the integration of IRC’s SEL approach into target school curriculum, reflecting IRC-generated and global evidence as well as current debates on its effectiveness in advancing learning as well as non-academic outcomes.

• Remain abreast of the evidence base and trends in SEL programming specific to the Latin America region, to ensure that the program contextually relevant and appropriate.

• Identify opportunities for further expansion and strengthening of violence prevention approaches to complement universal SEL approaches.

• Engage relevant technical advisors (SEL, Education, Curriculum, MHPSS, Child Protection, ect.), partners, and stakeholders to integrate socio-emotional skills into MINEDUCyT efforts, improving transition rates from primary to secondary schooling options (7th- 12th grades).

• Seek out opportunities for learning and sharing innovative SEL practices in order to build evidence for effective retention among students in El Salvador.

• Develop partnerships with other agencies and institutions that have evidenced-based programming to support learning and wellbeing.

• Identify and work with team to implement socio-emotional learning interventions that target students’ mindsets and beliefs (social belonging, identity activation, and mindset nudges) to create self-reinforcing change.

• Draft and coordinate technical inputs for donor reports.

• Develop and/or contextualize/adapt curricula, materials, and necessary training (teacher, caregiver, stakeholder) curriculum, child-facing content, and teacher-facing content to explicitly improve SEL skills.

• Assist with integration of SEL into reading and math materials through co design process with relevant stakeholders.

• Develop plans and conduct training and capacity building for partners, government, etc. in relevant content

• Help analyze data to inform program course correction and broader strategic decision-making

• Develop strategies for testing, piloting, and tracking use of existing and newly developed content.

• Design curriculum adaptation for SEL inclusion and plans for uptake in conjunction with MOE

Requirements

• Master’s/post-graduate degree in education, education psychology, social work, human development or relevant field or equivalent combination of education and experience is required.

• A minimum of 7 years of implementing and/or managing or providing technical assistance to education programs that have a strong school based SEL interventions.

• Experience in human centered design, technical tools and materials development, monitoring and evaluation, and research in relation to education is highly desired.

• Demonstrated expertise in education program design, SEL curriculum development and adaptation, skill assessment, with the ability to turn concepts and strategy into measurable action.

• Strong verbal and written communication skills.

• Capacity to work well under pressure, and the ability to communicate appropriately and effectively cross‐culturally is critical.

• The candidate must be fluent in Spanish, English proficiency a plus.

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. 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.

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