The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme is a private, non-profit company established by the Aga Khan Foundation in 1982 to help improve the quality of life of the villagers of Gilgit Baltistan and Chitral. AKRSP is seeking applications from high calibre professionals for the position of Senior Field Education Officers or Field Education Officers (Education & ECD) for its Area Offices: Booni (Upper Chitral), Chitral (Lower Chitral); Ghizer, Hunza/Nagar, & Ghanche (Baltistan).

Job Purpose:

The Senior/Field Education Officers, Gilgit- Baltistan and Chitral, reporting to the Managers, Education & ECD in GB and Chitral, will be responsible for implementing AKRSP's Education and ECD activities in a designated number of schools and communities in allocated valleys. This includes supporting government officials, assisting clusters with training and follow-up activities, mentoring head teachers and teachers/ECD workers, observing schools and classrooms and working with families and communities at the valley and cluster levels.   Around 5 Senior Field Education Officers and 20 Field Education Officers, subject to the availability of funding, will support 211 schools in Gilgit-Baltistan and 283 schools in Chitral as part of the School Improvement Programme (AKF-funded), as well as support the Improving ECD Learning Outcomes Project in Ghizer (BEZOS Foundation) and the Foundations for Children (AKF/GAC) programme. They will develop close working relationships with the government, civil society organisations, AKDN agencies and communities at the valley level. They will be expected to be role models of the desired ethical behaviours and values of AKDN, demonstrating open-mindedness, clear communication, integrity, and collaboration to ensure the highest standards of professionalism and adherence to the Safeguarding Policy and the AKDN Ethical Framework.

Job Description:

MAIN DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

AKRSP's Senior/Field Education Officers, responsible for implementing Education and ECD programmes at the valley level in allocated schools/centers and communities, will undertake the following technical, partnerships and knowledge management tasks:

Senior Field Education Officers will lead a team of Field Education Officers within a district and support around 20 schools in the valleys.

Technical:

Attend orientation and training, and gain an in-depth understanding of AKF's Education  Improvement (EIP) and ECD Programme approaches and interventions;

Become familiar with AKF's School Improvement Programme- supported clusters, schools and communities (AKDN GBC Strategy Phase I and Phase II), as well as Foundations for Children (F4HE/F4C) and the new Improving ECD Outcomes Project (Ghizer) in the Priority Valleys, AKDN core areas and broader geographical areas;

Participate in AKU-IED PDC centre-based and cluster subject training with Quality Assurance (QAT) and  Cluster Implementation Teams  (CIT) and teachers;

Assist the Managers, Education & ECD staff in identifying new schools and clusters to be added in 2023 and 2024 and the relevant persons for the QAT and CITs; 

Engage in inception/orientation meetings and draw up School Profiles;

Assist in identifying officials, head teachers and teachers from SIP-supported schools to attend training conducted by AKU-IED PDCs in consultation with the government;

Attend courses to be able to follow up in classrooms, clusters, schools and communities;

Assist the Quality Assurance Teams/Cluster Implementation Teams in organising and conducting cluster training and meetings;

Assist QATs and head teachers to develop realistic School Development Plans with all stakeholders of the schools with targets in Teaching and Learning, especially in foundational areas of literacy and numeracy and socio-emotional skills, and at least one other specified area, e.g. community and parental involvement;

Assist head teachers and teachers-in-charge to practise instructional leadership skills to ensure the whole school focus on teaching and learning to improve students' holistic learning outcomes and attention to the early years. Work with head teachers, SMTs/PTCs and the government to allocate a dedicated government or community teacher for pre-primary classes;

Conduct regular (at least monthly and more for teachers needing more assistance) on-site follow-up activities assisting education officials, mentoring head teachers and teachers, observing schools and classrooms and working with families and communities at the valley and cluster level;

Support schools continuously, identifying challenges and working collaboratively on solutions;

Ensure QAT, government education officials and head teacher/ teacher-in-charge mentoring and guidance in creating inclusive joyful, playful and pluralist learning environments and improving teaching and learning to increase students' learning achievement;

Support the Cluster Implementation Teams and ensure classroom observations and teacher mentoring sessions designed to improve teachers' pedagogical skills to enhance children's learning, especially in the foundational subjects of English, Maths and Urdu, and to inculcate additional holistic social and emotional skills;

Mobilise community and parental support for education and ECD and create better awareness on quality education and ECD, especially for girls, ensuring out-of-school children can access/return to school and benefit from ECD;

Conduct follow-up training for activities with the SMCs/PTCs, families and communities, such as setting up and running Reading for Children school libraries, increasing awareness of parental support and skill development for ECD and training parents/caregivers to read with children;

Assist the Senior Field Education Officer/Managers, Education & ECD in annual planning and reviews and with MERL teams for accurate and relevant data management and report writing. Deliver teaching and learning resources to the required schools/centres;

Assist the Senior Field Education Officers/Managers, Education and ECD to identify training and capacity-building needs to meet EIP & ECD goals and objectives;

Assist cluster schools to develop Education and ECD Communities of Practice using technologies available such as mobile SMS and WhatsApp, radio as well as regular meetings; 

Collaborate with Foundations for Children ECD facilitators, those working on the Improving ECD Outcomes projects and the National Council ECD Pilot in Immit and Garam Chashma;

Ensure gender equity, pluralism, inclusion and safeguarding are addressed in programme implementation.

Partnerships and Networks:

Assist the Managers, Education & ECD in strengthening relationships within and across AKDN agencies and Regional/Local Councils seeking synergies and complementarities to achieve Education and ECD goals; Work on cross-cutting themes such as safeguarding, gender equality, poverty reduction, civil society, and climate resilience;

Cultivate positive relationships with government education officials, civil society/NGOs and communities.

 

Learning, Knowledge Management and Sharing:

Assist the Senior Education Officers/Managers, Education & ECD, in working with the monitoring, evaluation, research and learning teams to ensure appropriate tools for accurate and relevant data management and measuring programme effectiveness, learning and sharing;

Assist the Senior Education Officers/Managers, Education & ECD in annual planning, reviews, and baseline, mid- and end-line studies;

Contribute to preparing regular, easy-to-read reports and meaningful communications materials, including human interest stories,  for donor and other audiences for information sharing and resource mobilisation.

Assist the Snr. Education Officers/Managers,  Education & ECD in contributing to research and dissemination, policy dialogue/advocacy workshops;

Assist the Snr. Education Officers/ Managers, Education & ECD in preparing annual budget papers, reports and presentations for senior management/AKF (Pak). Attend programme reviews where required.

Keep abreast of the latest international and comparative educational development and ECD developments;

Role model the expected professional behaviour adhering to AKRSP organisational policies, including the AKF (Pak)'s Safeguarding Policy and the AKDN Code of Ethics;

Undertake other duties as needed and assigned by  Snr. Education Officers/ Managers, Education & ECD.

Safeguarding:

Set a personal example and be a role model by complying with the safeguarding policy.

Take steps to educate staff of respective departments on safeguarding policy.

Ensure staff in the respective departments follow the safeguarding policy in letter and spirit.

Help resolve complaints informally where appropriate.

Refer formal complaints to the committee, SG Focal Point or concerned authorities.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND PERSONAL SPECIFICATIONS:

Education: A Master's degree, preferably in educational leadership, ECD,  teacher education, school improvement, or educational/ECD  evaluation from a reputable and recognised institute.

Related Work Experience & Training: 

A proven record of a minimum of five years (less for exceptional candidates) in education/ECD in primary to secondary education, having knowledge of government sector education and the ECD field, preferably in Pakistan.

Special Skills:

Senior Field Education Officers will have proven leadership and management skills;

Successful classroom teaching and learning skills, teacher development experience and/or ECD practitioner experience with the involvement of parents/caregivers, pre-conception and 0-3 years, daycare, working with front-line health and education workers;

Knowledge of school improvement processes to increase access and retention, improve teaching and student learning outcomes and educational leadership while working with a range of stakeholders and knowledge of holistic ECD;

Experience and a solid commitment to community/NGO participation in education, ECD, and innovative approaches;

Excellent people management skills; ability to mentor and build teams with people from diverse backgrounds; strong emotional/social intelligence and problem-solving skills;

A drive for results, resilience with strong analytical skills and abilities in programme implementation, monitoring and evaluation. An ability to write concise reports of high quality;

Ability to relate sensitively, with open-mindedness and empathy, to a diverse range of people of different strata, cultures, languages, faiths, gender, and abilities;

Demonstrate commitment to gender equality, inclusive approaches, pluralism, integrity, energy, rigour and passion for quality education and ECD;

Willingness to be situated in valleys near schools and the ability to undertake extensive travel for programme support, monitoring and development. 

Language Requirements:      

Excellent verbal and written fluency in English and Urdu.

An understanding of regional languages is an asset.

NOTE: AKRSP offers a competitive remuneration package and a conducive working environment. We are an equal opportunity employer - Women candidates are preferred without compromising the set criteria, and candidates having local contextual understanding would be preferred. Our recruitment and selection policy and procedures reflect our commitment to safeguarding children and adults in accordance with the safeguarding policy. Only online applications submitted through this website before the deadline will be considered for further process. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for the test/interview.