Education Development Center (EDC) is a global nonprofit that advances lasting solutions to improve education, promote health, and expand economic opportunity, with a focus on vulnerable and under-served populations.  Since 1958, we have been a leader in designing, implementing, and evaluating powerful and innovative programs in more than 80 countries around the world.

EDC promotes equity and access to high quality education and health services and products that contribute to thriving communities where people from diverse backgrounds learn, live, and work together. We support an inclusive workplace culture that embraces many perspectives and broadens our understanding of the communities we serve, enhancing and enriching our work. 

Project Description

The overall goal of the upcoming USAID-funded Early Childhood Education (ECE) Activity is to increase the number of Djiboutian children benefiting from high quality equitable and inclusive ECE services. More specifically the work aims to improve access, quality and the system-wide effectiveness of early childhood education for preschool aged children (ages 3-6+) in Djibouti. This activity will cultivate cross-sectoral linkages with civil society and the private sector to support the national ECE mission in training, employment and leadership. The ECE sector is being built out through the National Preschool Strategy (2019), the National Policy for the Children and Strategic Plan for 2022-2026. The project will operate at the national, regional and community levels to contribute to the strategic objectives of the government and its funders.

Position Description

The Senior Early Childhood Education Advisor will provide technical leadership and have responsibility for all activities associated with strengthening systems and practices related to early childhood education. The ideal candidate will be a dynamic individual with demonstrated knowledge of early childhood education sector work, adaptive pedagogy, early childhood research and learning approaches, experience working with government specialists to train, coach and assess. In addition to implementation, the Senior Early Childhood Education Advisor will have a demonstrated ability to develop training and educational materials in collaboration with government and private sector partners. The ability to respectfully collaborate with individuals from diverse backgrounds is essential and strategies to promote women in the sector and assure equity is a qualifying skill. Extensive knowledge of the Djiboutian education system is required.

Functional Responsibilities:

• Provide overall strategic guidance and technical leadership to advance the Activity’s ECE systems strengthening approach;
• Guide technical-staff on essential components of ECE programs, including curriculum design, lesson planning, teacher professional development, materials development and distribution, classroom-level assessment, universal design for learning, social and emotional learning to develop and integrate highly effective and accessible activities to maximize outcomes;
• Supervise the production of activity-supported materials, trainings, teacher and classroom supervision and monitoring, and student assessments;
• Contribute to the design and implementation of the project’s learning agenda;
• Build community and host country government awareness regarding the importance of ECE;
• Develop sustainable strategies to promote quality, access and equity in ECE
• Work with home office experts and local partners to ensure activity relevance and quality;
• Other duties, as assigned.

The candidate for the position of Senior Early Childhood Education Advisor shall have at a minimum the following qualifications:

Education:

Master's degree (or foreign equivalent) in education, literacy, early grade reading, early childhood development, or a related field. Ph.D. preferred.

Skills and Experience:

• A minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in education, preferably in early childhood education;
• Expertise in teacher training, universal design for learning, curriculum design, classroom assessment, inclusive education, and gender-sensitive pedagogy;
• Familiarity with common education tools and approaches to improving education outcomes;
• Familiarity with international standards for quality early education;
• Familiarity with USAID education tools and approaches is preferred; and
• Understanding of the education systems in Djibouti.

Language:

Fluency in French is required.

EDC is committed to enhancing the diversity of its workforce and ensuring an equitable and highly inclusive work environment. EDC is a smoke-free workplace, and offers a supportive work environment, competitive salary, and excellent benefits. Women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.