Senior Manager – PlayMatters

Requisition ID: req20483

Job Title: Senior Manager – PlayMatters

Sector: Education

Employment Category: Regular

Employment Type: Full-Time

Open to Expatriates: No

Location: Kampala, Uganda

Job Description

 

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 28 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

Job Overview:
IRC is seeking a Senior Manager-PlayMatters for a five-year project, “PlayMatters”, funded by the LEGO Foundation. This position will be a part of the larger PlayMatters initiative to increase play-based learning opportunities for nearly 1 million pre-primary and primary school aged refugee and host community children impacted by the humanitarian crises in East Africa and living in Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Uganda. This project aims to build children’s social, emotional, cognitive, physical, and creative skills through play in their homes, schools, and communities and will be implemented in partnership with War Child Holland, Plan International, Behavioral Insights Team and Innovations for Poverty Action. PlayMatters applies behavioral science and human-centered design as well as adult behavior change theories to transform parents, caregivers, teachers, and policy makers into change agents of playful learning, leading to improved learning and well-being for children.

The Senior Manager-PlayMatters will be responsible for technical planning, management and oversight for the development, adaptation and testing of Educators’ Learning through Play (LtP) content, approaches, and resources for, especially teachers. S/he will be a member of the Educator Content Development Committee (CDC) with prospects of taking its leadership. Working closely with the Teacher Education Training and Development (TETD) department in the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES), s/he will technically support staff and partners to interpret and apply LtP in practice, actively engage relevant stakeholders in reviews and analysis of education content as well as manage activities to identify, develop, test, and pilot a range of play-based content and resources in IRC Uganda. The Senior Manager-PlayMatters will be expected to work collaboratively and in coordination with key education stakeholders including IRC’s Sector Managers/technical coordinators, PlayMatters Consortium counterparts and relevant educational leads/focal persons in the Teacher Education Training and Development (TETD) department, Primary Teachers’ Colleges, local government, UN and other humanitarian actors to ensure continued innovation and strengthening of learning through play internally and externally to IRC Uganda. 

Duties and Responsibilities:
•Collaborate with the TETD department to manage trainings, mentorship, professional interactions on LtP and its applications through planning and carrying out TOTs with PTC tutors.
•Contribute to the adaptation, interpretation, and dissemination of materials on LtP, targeting teachers and wider audiences.
•Contribute to the development and integration of LtP concepts, guidance, methodologies, and tools in project implementation and priorities of MoES.
•Lead implementation of rapid and iterative testing of educators’ LtP content and approaches through participatory and consultative process with national and local systems.
•Manage content adaptation processes, delivery mechanisms and use of different samples of LtP content for, especially teachers.
•Conduct regular visits to project sites (lab schools and PTCs) to provide technical assistance and ensure proper implementation and monitoring of project activities.
•Participate and/or represent PM in appropriate inter-agency discussions to continuously share, learn and keep abreast on LtP methodology and best practices
•Support interdepartmental working and active integration of the LtP methodology and tools in other IRC Uganda sector programs.

 

Qualifications

 

 •Advanced degree from an accredited university in Education, Teacher Professional Development, Curriculum Studies, or related field.
•At least 5 years’ experience in teacher professional development preferably as a PTC tutor with a primary school teaching background. S/he should equally demonstrate education programming experience.
•Intimate understanding of the TPD system (TDMS) in Uganda, from the classroom and school straight on up to PTCs and TETD.
•Demonstrated experience in developing educational content /curriculum for a project is highly desired.
•Demonstrable understanding of how the Ugandan education sector, school, classroom, and teacher systems are established in refugee settlements.
•Proven abilities and experience in teamwork, capacity strengthening and effective use of participatory techniques.
•Strong communication skills, both oral and written.

Working Environment:  
The Senior Manager-PlayMatters will work in the IRC Uganda office and be provided regular administrative and logistics support to perform his/her responsibilities.

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

Deadline for application is October 18th, 2021.

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