SEL Materials Development Manager - Beirut

Background/IRC Summary:  

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 22 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.

In mid-2012, IRC opened a country office and launched humanitarian assistance programming. IRC operates throughout Lebanon, with the main office in Beirut and field offices in Qobayat, Zahle, Tripoli, Tyre and Mount Lebanon. The IRC’s educational interventions strive to help children and youth gain valuable skills and knowledge that will increase their opportunities and life chances, and contribute to their well-being and livelihood. The IRC supports formal and non-formal learning activities that lead to tangible learning outcomes in literacy, numeracy, socio-emotional learning, and marketable skills and promotes the protection and psychosocial well-being of conflict-affected children and youth.

Job Overview/Summary:

USAID’s “Quality Instruction towards Access and Basic Education Improvement” (QITABI 2) is a five-year program seeking to improve learning outcomes for all students in public primary schools in Lebanon awarded to Word Learning.  The International Rescue Committee (IRC) will lead the social and emotional learning (SEL) component of the program. The SEL Material Development Specialist will be responsible for developing SEL materials for the QITABI 2 program, working in close collaboration with the consortium lead, government stakeholders, and other partners. He/she will provide overall technical support to SEL activities within QITABI 2, including the development of SEL materials for implementation by teachers in classrooms and training materials to support those SEL materials, while ensuring alignment with overall consortium objectives.

Specific Responsibilities:

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

SEL Content Development and Implementation

• Conduct desk research to inform the development, assessment and monitoring of SEL activities.
• Development of SEL content for use with students and corresponding training materials.
• Development of content to improve classroom and school climate through healing spaces.
• Work with IRC Technical Unit specialists to contextualize and adapt global and country-specific materials.
• Review and share program-specific tools / resources / curricula.
• Support the development of SEL training videos.
• Refine SEL materials based on learning from tracking and monitoring the use of developed materials.
• Work with consortium colleagues to use data to inform periodic review and course correction.

Capacity-Building and Coordination

• Proactively collaborate with QITABI 2 lead World Learning, government stakeholders, and other partners to ensure SEL integration and links throughout the program and provide SEL technical support as needed.
• Develop materials to build capacity related to SEL within the consortium and government, including capacity building of CERD trainers and DOPS counselors at the national level. 
• Support the training of partners and government stakeholders on SEL.
• Mentor and coach teachers on SEL through trainers and field-based facilitators.
• Support teams with implementation of SEL materials.

Key Working Relationships:

• Position Reports to: IRC SEL  Senior Manager
• Position directly supervises: Up to 3 staff, and consultants as required
• Other Internal and/or external contacts:
  • Internal:  Regular communication with QITABI 2 team, other consortium members, IRC Lebanon team and IRC global technical advisors
  • External:  Support SEL lead in consortium-related meetings, collaborate with and train government stakeholders and partners as needed.

Job Qualifications:

Education: Master’s/post-graduate degree in education, developmental psychology or relevant field or equivalent combination of education and experience is required.

Work Experience: A minimum of 8 years in implementing education programs is required, with a focus on SEL, in Lebanon. SEL technical tools and materials development and capacity-building is required. Demonstrated experience working on donor funded projects with similar scopes of work. 

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies: Demonstrated expertise in SEL, program design and implementation, and curriculum development.  Strong verbal and written communication skills.  Experience working in a consortium is highly desired.

Language Skills: Fluency in Arabic and English required.   Proficiency in French is an advantage.

Working Environment: This position will be based in Beirut, Lebanon, with up to 30% travel within the country required.

All IRC staff are required to adhere to IRC Way Standards for Professional Conduct and IRC country employment policies.