Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) Africa is a not-for-profit organization registered and headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, with teams in Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Zambia. TaRL Africa began as a joint venture by Pratham and J-PAL in 2019, with the goal of supporting governments and organizations across Africa to accelerate children’s foundational skill learning using the evidence-based TaRL approach. TaRL Africa’s mission is to support every child across Africa to build foundational skills for a better future. We support governments and organizations in over 12 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to design, deliver and scale impactful TaRL programs while learning and sharing how the approach can be improved for different contexts. Together with partners, TaRL Africa reached over four million children with TaRL programming by 2022.
About the TaRL Programmes in Nigeria
The implementation of TaRL programmes in Nigeria began in 2018 in one state but has now spread to seven states across Northern Nigeria. TaRL programmes aim to build foundational literacy and numeracy skills of children in upper primary grades, largely targeting Primary 4 to Primary 6 pupils. The programmes are primarily implemented by state governments in partnership with TaRL Africa and other partners.
Summary of the Role
The programme is an accelerated learning intervention, derived from core TaRL principles, aimed at improving foundational literacy and numeracy skills. The State Lead will be required to have a holistic view of all the components of the programme ensuring that these components are well managed, aligned with evidence, and apply lessons learned. The role involves working with the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), State Ministry of Education and TaRL Africa. The State Lead is responsible for providing technical and managerial direction for the successful implementation of TaRL activities. He/she must build and maintain effective relationships with all people involved in the intervention, from senior government officials to international partners and all team members.
Main Responsibilities
- Become a Teaching at the Right Level expert
- Become an expert on the Teaching at the Right Level methodology and evidence base by reading relevant academic papers and learning from the Pratham and J-PAL teams worldwide.
- Support the development of instructional content for literacy and numeracy
- Be an active member of and contributor to the TaRL Africa team, which is thinking about how to adapt the TaRL approach to multiple settings across the continent, ensure that best practices are being applied in Bauchi State
- Work with policymakers and partners in the country to build their understanding of Teaching at the Right Level and ensure that lessons learned and evidence are being applied so that the programme remains effective as it moves to scale.
- Guide the implementation of the training, coaching, and monitoring systems being used in the intervention, and work with all partners to adapt and improve these so that they effectively support the classroom methodology.
2. Provide technical project management
- Take responsibility for achieving the goals of the programme.
- Work closely with the Team members to ensure that the programme is on track and is effectively moving towards its goals.
- Manage the Numeracy and Hausa Leads as well as the Monitoring and Measurement lead who support the government and collaborate closely with the TaRL Africa central team that is based in countries all over the world.
- Maintain critical relationships with government and other partners and ensure the work with the SUBEB, Ministry of Education and other partners on the programme is coordinated.
- Think creatively and carefully with SUBEB, the programme team, TaRL Africa and other partners about how to improve the TaRL approach in the country such that it can be effectively and efficiently scaled and embedded within government and apply these strategies.
- Work with the finance team to submit regular financial reports to funders.
- Report on the progress of the programme to the Steering Committee, TaRL Africa team and to external partners
- Contribute to the documentation of measures of the project’s Value for Money
3. Manage the state programme team
- Manage the Monitoring and Measurement lead and other team members who support the government and collaborate closely with the TaRL Africa central team that is based in countries all over the world
- Provide oversight and direction for the team members
- Set team goals and priorities regularly and manage work plans
- Work closely with the Team members to ensure that the programme is on track and is effectively moving towards its goals
- Foster a cohesive, creative and comfortable working environment while keeping team members motivated
- Supervise, train and coach team members and provide regular effective feedback
4. Support capacity-building of instructors and mentors
- Work with appropriate government officials and TaRL Content Team colleagues to design, organize and support/lead training/workshops.
- Support teachers and mentors to deliver effective numeracy and Hausa language instruction, including support with lesson planning and producing tailored teaching and learning resources
- Provide quality assurance of training and mentoring of teachers and student teachers by Master Trainers and Teacher Trainer/Mentors.
5. Understand the local context
- Understand the education sector in Nigeria, including key partners, and make sure that the programme is coordinated with other actors and interventions.
- Ensure that the design and processes of the programme are well contextualized and can be sustained by government and community actors sustainably
6. Work with Bauchi state government to plan for scale and sustainability
- Assist the government in financial planning for the programme scale-up
- Provide technical assistance to SUBEB and the Ministry of Education to effectively plan for programme growth
- Work with the government and other state development partners to build and track financial models to create a clear understanding of budget requirements and options for managing and reducing costs per beneficiary over time.
- Support the relevant government officials to identify financial support for programme, such as UBEC funding and incorporate this into budget processes.
- Engage with relevant institutions on how the programme could be institutionalized
7. Facilitate state-to-state learning
- Coordinate learning journeys for surrounding states
Education and Qualifications
- Experience working in Northern Nigeria
- A postgraduate degree in Social Sciences, Development studies, Education or a related field;
- A minimum of seven years of experience working in similar positions
- Good command of written and spoken English
Advantageous
- Strong preference for Bauchi State resident
- Language skills: Hausa
TaRL Africa Values
- We put children’s learning first.
- We are always learning, improving, and innovating.
- We are locally rooted for high-quality delivery and sustainable impact.
- We are kind, respectful and collaborative.
- We are proactive, committed to integrity and doing our best each day.
How to apply
Please fill in APPLICATION by 5th July 2024. Only applications submitted through the form will be accepted. Please note that, due to the large volume of applications, we will only be able to respond to short-listed applicants.
CLICK HERE TO APPLY
TaRL Africa is an equal opportunity employer and committed to having a diverse workforce**.**
