Job Title: Education Specialist
Mango Tree is a socially responsible, private limited company. As part of its social mission, over the last six years Mango Tree, under the Northern Ugandan Literacy Program (NULP), has developed a literacy model for mother tongue education that has shown significant results in improving reading and writing skills among Primary 1 – 3 children in their mother tongue (Leblango).
Mango Tree’s growing reputation for expertise in developing high level literacy and education content has resulted in opportunities for expansion of our literacy model, as well as partnerships and other possibilities within the field of education.
Job Summary: The Education Specialist will be responsible for capturing opportunities from a content perspective by interacting with our partners’ technical specialists, developing or adapting methodologies for different projects and/or expansion of the literacy program, and development/adaptation of materials.
On a content level, the Education Specialist is providing a conduit between NULP, other education projects, external stakeholders and partners. The ES will capture synergies within Mango Tree and with our partners, thereby increasing the capacity of the organization to develop educational tools and materials in house.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
- Create a sustainable knowledge base within Mango Tree with regards to educational tools and methods
- Develop and execute content related trainings, both internal and external
- Create methodologies and systems for development of materials and train Mango Tree staff to use these
- Capture the current knowledge within the project and Mango Tree as a whole by developing manuals
- Work closely with experts – either individuals or expert centers – to bring knowledge within Mango Tree
- Where needed develop support and or implement trainings with regards to NULP
- Develop and adapt educational tools and methods
- Support development and adaptation of literacy and education materials using Mango Tree’s approaches to education and literacy instruction in Ugandan schools, including the development of relevant, simple, user-friendly, effective teaching and learning materials
- Offer technical assistance to NULP and other projects, ensuring that Mango Tree’s literacy model is implemented in the correct way together with the NULP team
- Participate in meetings with clients to assess their needs and develop creative communication strategies and innovative education products using Mango Tree’s strategic design process
- Participate in the development of a wide variety of literacy materials and curricula for trainings, education programs and grassroots community development resources
- Write initial text for products and create illustration ideas
- Work closely with artists and designers
- Actively participate in situational analyses and other field activities
- Support the Customer Relationship Management Department to write the deliverables sections of project proposals and briefs, particularly literacy, education and curriculum development projects.
- Assist in the creation of assessment tools for evaluating literacy competencies in pupils in local language and English on a continuous, termly and annual basis
- Serve as the face of Mango Tree, showcasing expert knowledge with regards to education in general and NULP in particular
- Provide content for the annual literacy events in northern Uganda, such as Mother Tongue Day
- Communicate about methods and content with key organizations like the National Curriculum Development Center, the Ministry of Education and Sports, civil society organizations and donors
- Represent Mango Tree in various education related forums and serve as the contact person with the Ministry of Education and Sports where needed
- Provide technical input in writing funding proposals where applicable
- Support the NULP team to develop communication messages to various audiences using different forms of media
- Support other departments
- Collaborate with CRM staff to write project proposals and briefs that include commitments to product quality and project timelines for education and literacy projects; assist when required in the development of donor proposals for NULP
- Work closely with project managers to create project plans, including work schedules and budgets
- Liaise with project managers and the Consultancy, Design and Production Departments to ensure projects are within budget, on time and in line with project objectives
- Support other departments as necessary or when special needs arise
- Carry out other reasonable tasks as assigned by the creative director or program director NULPNULP Director in agreement with the Creative Director
Qualifications, Skills and Experience:
- The applicant should hold a Master’s degree in education or related field of study
- A minimum of three to five years’ experience in developing and implementing education programs, specifically on developing tools and methods for education is critical
- Past experience living and working in Africa, preferably East Africa
- Classroom experience strongly desired
- Excellent oral and written English skills and abilities; computer abilities are a must
- Prior experience working with education materials; publishing strongly desired, including layout conceptualization and copy editing
- Understanding of low-income communities in developing countries and a passion for empowering them
- If possible experience in proposal writing to major international donors
- Excellent track record of high level performance, creativity and leadership
- Able to maintain high standards for quality work with a critical eye for details
- Able to create and contribute to a working environment that is energetic, empowering and dynamic
- Excellent networker, ideally having an extensive professional network in the education sector in Uganda and East Africa
- Ability to understand the NGO and education community in Uganda and East Africa
How to Apply for the job:
All suitably qualified candidates should visit the web link below and create a profile on the NFT Consult website by entering their e-mail addresses. Please visit web link below and click Apply now if convinced you have the job requirements. The applications/CVs should be prepared in English and submitted in either MS Word or PDF format will be considered.