Disability Inclusion and Gender Specialist
Project Description
The USAID Tunoze Gusoma (Schools and Systems) Activity is a five-year project which will strengthen the Rwandan education system to enable all pre-primary and lower primary school and classroom environments to be of high quality, inclusive, and focused on learning of foundational reading skills. Specifically, the anticipated five-year activity will improve learning outcomes by focusing on increasing Kinyarwanda literacy skills of boys and girls through primary 3 (P3) through four intermediate results: (1) Pre-primary education system enhanced to develop, promote and improve emergent literacy, (2) Lower primary reading classroom instruction improved, (3) School environments improved for increased lower primary reading outcomes, and (4) Education systems management strengthened for improved literacy outcomes. The Schools and Systems Activity will include a focus on universal design for learning (UDL) for children with disabilities and special learning needs to ensure project approaches reach all children.
Job Description
The Disability Inclusion and Gender Specialist will work closely with the Chief of Party, Deputy Chief of Party, Technical Lead, as well as the Director of Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning to ensure that principles of disability inclusion as well as gender equality are integrated into all aspects of project design and implementation. S/he will be the technical lead in the development and implementation of the disability and gender inclusion strategy of the project. S/he will provide programmatic and technical support to the project team, government counterparts, and other stakeholders on effective integration of educational approaches that are sensitive to the needs of all learners including students with disabilities and special learning needs. S/he will work closely with project staff to ensure integration of appropriate elements in the M&E plan. The Disability Inclusion and Gender Specialist will also provide necessary guidance related to the mainstreaming of gender and disabilities within the project’s internal operations and processes, including in recruitment and HR policies. S/he will also serve as the project’s focal person for safeguarding.
Job Summary/Responsibilities
- Provide disability inclusion and gender technical guidance related to the project’s objectives to the CoP, DCoP, Director of Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning, and other key technical staff.
- Assume the primary role of technical writer of program documents on disability inclusion and gender.
- Provide technical guidance across the various components of the project to ensure disability-inclusion and gender integration in project interventions and trainings.
- Support the MEL Director to track and report against Gender and Social Inclusion (GESI)-related indicators, including disability inclusion indicators, and disaggregating data appropriately to analyze results within each project component (intermediate result).
- In collaboration with the MEL Director, conduct annual GESI assessments to measure progress and adjust and/or refine project activities.
- In collaboration with a headquarters-based Gender and Disability Inclusion Specialists (if needed), mentor and train project staff, partners, and stakeholders, including Ministry of Education and Social Development’s officials, on gender and disability-inclusion integration and mainstreaming issues, tools, policies, and practices as relate to project objectives.
- Work with literacy and pedagogy specialists to prepare and deliver teacher professional development modules on:
- Inclusive education and Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
- Gender-sensitive pedagogy and curricula
- Safe school methodologies to prevent and reduce school-related gender-based violence.
Note: Professional development modules may include in-service or pre-service and may be designed for face-to-face training or eLearning.
- Support technical project staff to ensure that training materials and participant engagement are gender and disability-inclusion sensitive.
- Serve as the technical lead in the development of toolkits and guidelines to promote school-level and classroom level UDL implementation as well as in the development of inclusive assessment tools and/or guidance for classroom use, including accessible versions of early grade reading (EGRA) and the local early grade reading (LEGRA)
- Support the development of accessible instructional materials for the classroom, including teacher guides and student educational materials.
- Provide technical support to education system stakeholders on the quality implementation of gender- and disability-inclusive pedagogy and safe school methodologies.
- Provide overarching GESI technical support to project stakeholders, including advising and supporting partners to integrate GESI considerations into activities.
- Review and provide technical feedback on results and project reports required by funders to ensure quality and full compliance with donor GESI policies and progress toward achieving GESI integration in the project.
- Develop tools, frameworks, and resources to enable better GESI integration in the project.
- Support the development of parental/caregiver engagement, community outreach, and advocacy efforts to improve educational outcomes for all students, including those with disabilities and special learning needs.
- Identify successful practices in the project that can be showcased in publications, communication materials, and conferences.
- Prepare communications materials that highlight the project’s GESI programming, successes, and lessons learned.
Required Qualifications
- A Bachelor’s degree or higher in the relevant subject area(s), preferably in inclusive education/special education, development studies, sociology/social development, or community development required; Master’s degree preferred.
- Minimum of five (5) years of experience designing, managing, and implementing activities to promote disability inclusion preferably in the education sector.
- Strong understanding of issues related to disability inclusion in education, including gender- and socially inclusive pedagogy and safe learning environments, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) required.
- Expertise in instructional practices for students with disabilities, special educational needs, and non-majority students including UDL, differentiated instruction, remediation intervention techniques, and the development of individualized education plans (IEPs)
- Experience ensuring Gender and Social Inclusion (GESI) integration in project design, implementation and M&E required.
- Experience developing and delivering GESI-themed content in training and education materials as well as GESI-focused assessments, training, and organizational capacity-building preferred.
- Demonstrated experience in teacher professional development and/or curriculum development.
- Ability to navigate politically sensitive subjects and maintain constructive relationships with a diverse group of stakeholders.
- Demonstrated ability to think strategically and transmit her/his vision to partners and colleagues.
- Ability to influence, motivate, and collaborate with others.
- Experience in the education sector in Rwanda or the region strongly required.
- Fluency in English required.
- Excellent technical writing skills in English
This job posting summarizes the main duties of the job. It neither prescribes nor restricts the exact tasks that may be assigned to carry out these duties. This document should not be construed in any way to represent a contract of employment. Management reserves the right to review and revise this document at any time.
FHI 360 is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer whereby we do not engage in practices that discriminate against any person employed or seeking employment based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, protected Veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law.
FHI 360 will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws.
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the deadline is 4th September2022
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