Consultant – Tutor Training Curriculum Developer & Trainer

Requisition ID: req42761

Job Title: Consultant – Tutor Training Curriculum Developer & Trainer

Sector: Education

Employment Category: Consultant

Open to Expatriates: Yes

Location: IRC Global

Job Description

Background of the project

The mission of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) is to help people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster, including the climate crisis, to survive, recover and gain control over their future. The IRC works in more than 40 countries and 17 U.S. states. The IRC’s New Jersey Office for Refugees (NJOR) was established in October of 2016 to administer and coordinate refugee resettlement services funded by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement through sub-awards to 9 non-profit agencies. NJOR’s goal is to support the positive integration refugees in New Jersey, including supporting refugee children and youth through the Refugee School Impact Program and Refugee Youth Mentoring Program. The IRC’s Resettlement, Asylum, and Integration (RAI) department’s Program Excellence (PE) team provides training & technical assistance and thought and practice leadership for RAI offices and partners in the US and Europe.

Refugee youth face extreme pressure to learn to learn in a new language amidst drastically different educational expectations and catch up on often years of missed education under a rapidly ticking clock. Even students who show initial signs of academic success may struggle. Tutoring is an eligible service and common feature of Refugee School Impact (RSI) and Refugee Youth Mentoring (RYM) programs, often delivered by volunteers. Tutoring can be impactful, but it must be done well to be effective. Evidence shows that tutoring programs relying on volunteers are more successful when tutors receive intensive training and adequate support. Yet in the wake of COVID-19 and amidst the ongoing Afghan Parolee Assistance program and increasing resettlement, RSI, Afghan RSI, and RYM and Afghan RYM partners are more strained than ever to scale up services and adequately support volunteers. Further, State Refugee Coordinators are considering non-traditional partners which may not have worked with ORR populations or youth before. The demand for these services is further increasing in New Jersey due to the Ukraine war and natural disasters and political instability in Haiti.

NJOR is working with IRC’s Program Excellence Education & Youth and Research, Analysis & Learning teams, the Internationals Network for Public Schools, and partner agencies in New Jersey to develop Tutor training resources that will prepare tutors and mentors to deliver high quality tutoring, and guidance and tools for agency staff to provide support their tutors throughout their terms. These resources will simultaneously improve the quality and consistency of training provided to tutors and reduce the burden on partner agencies to repeatedly design, develop, and implement tutor training year after year.

Scope of Work

NJOR and IRC PE are looking for a Curriculum Developer and Trainer to write a tutor training package focused on the needs of New Jersey agencies delivering tutoring to forcibly displaced language learner youth with limited or interrupted education. This will include a tutor training curriculum and train the trainer curriculum. The role of the Curriculum Developer and Trainer is to adapt and develop high quality, engaging content that meet the needs of NJOR partner agency program staff and their tutors to enhance their ability to deliver impactful tutoring to forcibly displaced youth.

It is anticipated that the tutor training curriculum will require 8-10 hours for tutors to complete. However, the training content and length will directly respond to a needs assessment currently being conducted with NJOR partner agencies, schools, and tutors. The consultant is expected to draw on resources available through IRC’s global experience, national expertise of the Internationals Network for Public Schools with teaching and supporting newcomer ELs and SLIFE, and the National Student Support Accelerator and other evidence-based tutoring resources.

The consultant will also deliver the tutor training curriculum to NJOR partners during FY24 as part of the testing and refinement process. The consultant will revise the curriculum after each of two rounds of testing.

Estimated effort:      8 days through Sept 2023 (FY23)
29 days in FY24 (Oct 1, 2023 – Sept 30, 2024)

Timeline:                 May 2023 – September 2024, with possibility of extension

Location:                Remote work; may include one or more trips to New York/New Jersey to meet with project team, conduct prototype testing, and disseminate resources

The Curriculum Developer and Trainer will be overseen by the Curriculum Development Technical Advisor and collaborate closely with the Program Excellence Education & Youth team. The overall project is overseen by the Education & Youth Senior Technical Advisor in collaboration with NJOR’s Education Programs Manager, and the Technical Advisor for Education & Youth will lead partner engagement. The project will also engage the Internationals Network for Public Schools as a consulting partner, and NJOR partner agencies implementing the Refugee Youth Mentoring and Refugee School Impact programs.

Deliverables:

Write Tutor Training Package Prototype 1 – due Sept 2023

• ·Scope & Sequence and Training materials for an estimated 8-10 hours of training, approximately 50% content adapted from existing resources – PowerPoint, PDF, and Word formats

Round 1 Tutor training prototype testing/training delivery – Sept to Nov 2023

• ·Estimated 2 cohorts, 20 total hours of training, may include remote and/or in-person sessions

• ·Participation in M&E/testing interview or other method

Write Tutor Training Package Prototype 2 – due December 2023

• ·Revised Scope & Sequence and training materials based on additional testing (for an estimated 8-12 hours of training)

Round 2 Tutor Training Prototype testing/training delivery – Jan to March 2024

• ·Est. 2 cohorts, 20-24 hours of training, may include remote and/or in-person sessions

• ·Participation in M&E/testing interview

Write Final Tutor Training Package – due May 2024

• ·Scope & Sequence, Tutor handbook, and Training materials for estimated 20-24 hour training

• ·Basic formatting only

Write Train the trainer package prototype – due August 2024

• ·Scope & Sequence, Trainers Manual, ToT materials in PDF/Word and PowerPoint format

• ·Based on tutor training guidance, estimated at 20% more content over tutor training package

Train the trainer delivery – September 2024

• ·Delivery over estimated 3 days, in person

• ·Participate in M&E activities, provide feedback & recommendations for next steps

Regular project meetings throughout

Qualifications

Requirements:

• ·Master’s degree in Education or equivalent experience required
• ·Minimum three to five years’ experience in a relevant education setting,

oDesigning and delivering dynamic training for teachers and tutors with varying levels of experience

oTutoring and/or teaching immigrants, language learners, and SLIFE

• ·Demonstrated in-depth knowledge of theory and evidence-based practices in tutoring and teaching immigrant SLIFE and language learners and adult learning/educator training
• ·Lived experience of immigration or forced displacement, language learning, and/or cultural adaptation highly valued
• ·Excellent verbal and written communication skills as well as an overall ability to be clear and concise
• ·Strong organizational and time-management skills; proven ability to prioritize and deliver on time.
• ·Highly proficient in Microsoft Office suite
• ·Fluent in written and spoken English

• ·Ability to travel for training and to meet the program team as needed

The work is expected to be completed within 37 days. #LI-REMOTE

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