World Learning - QITABI 3: Parental Engagement Specialist

World Learning – QITABI 3: Parental Engagement Specialist

Quality Instruction Towards Access and Basic Education Improvement” QITABI 3 Program

Position Title: Parental Engagement Specialist

Employment Type: Part-Time

The USAID-funded QITABI3 project is designed to build on the success of past USAID investments through the QITABI and QITABI 2 mechanisms with significant MEHE support. This project will strengthen MEHE’s ownership for the development and strengthening of national-level evidence-based quality education. QITABI 3 will build upon past partnership and collaboration with the MEHE and leverage the MEHE commitment to bring quality early-grade learning to the national scale while providing the requisite technical assistance and financial resources to support the MEHE and relevant partners. This project will work with MEHE and CERD to design and implement targeted interventions to improve reading, math, social and emotional learning, and life skills and youth programs for students, including children with disabilities, by building the institutional capacity of government counterparts to deliver quality education services.

The parental engagement specialist will be responsible for engaging caregivers to become more active change agents in their children’s learning experiences.

This part-time position is based at the World Learning office in Beirut, Lebanon.

Scope and Responsibilities

S/he will:

• Help inform the design of parental engagement interventions building on previous work under QITABI 2 that are relevant within school communities and complementary with the broader QITABI 3 design.
• As part of the school social and emotional learning plan, support schools to develop positive school climate that encourages/supports/welcomes parents/caregivers as part of the school community.
• Work with caregivers/parents to be master trainers for other parents/caregiver groups.
• Design caregiver engagement activities informed by existing parent-teacher association (PTA) policies and other legal and structural guidance.
• Survey/map parental programs regionally to better inform initiatives and networking opportunities for parents/caregivers (done through schools).
• Conduct interviews (focus group interviews, in-depth, semi-structured) to ensure input from the relevant sources to better inform parental/caregivers workshops, training, and planning of initiatives.
• Initiate and follow up on awareness-raising efforts and in turn effectiveness of parent/caregiver involvement through systematic documentation and analysis of parental needs.
• Network, collaborate, and connect schools with different organizations within the communities as part of a community-based, sustainable approach to expand the support network for schools.
• Support the development and delivery of orientation and capacity-building interventions that reflect parents’ perspectives and their input.
• In collaboration with the Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) specialist, design and deliver activities and utilize platforms to encourage effective communication and coordination amongst the actors in the students’ ecosystem.
• In collaboration with the literacy specialist(s), design and deliver programs to engage caregivers/parents in reading activities to highlight the importance of literacy.
• Identify and develop strategies to increase parent/caregiver participation in educational matters.
• Explore different modalities to introduce and pilot parent/caregiver volunteering programs at the school and community level, analyze, report, and disseminate findings for better informed programming purposes.
• Perform other tasks as requested.

Required Qualifications:

• Master’s degree or above in an education-related field. Ph.D. preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in a relevant field.
• Experience in but not limited to Lebanon’s education public sector, adult learning and change of behavior, and parental involvement and community engagement.
• Understands and respects the diversity of families’ economic, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds and situations/contexts.
• Strong communications skills with the ability to connect effectively with a diverse set of stakeholders including school administrators, teachers, parents, and other government officials.
• Experience with developing collaborative partnerships and building relationships with other stakeholders/constituents in the community.
• Ability to work well with students, parents, staff, and the community.

World Learning is an equal employment opportunity committed to increasing the diversity of its workforce.