Early Childhood Development Coordinator (Sesame Street)

Job Description

Background :The Syria crisis is often described as the worst humanitarian catastrophe since the end of the Cold War. Inside Syria, 7.6 million people are internally displaced and 12.2 million are in need of humanitarian assistance, with 4.8 million in hard-to-reach areas. There are four million Syrian refugees in neighboring countries. This is no short-term humanitarian episode. The devastating human consequences to huge numbers of people will endure for decades. The destruction of relationships, communities, livelihoods, homes and infrastructure will take years to repair.?IRC is offering a robust humanitarian response to the Syria crisis. With an budget of $60 million and a rapidly expanding portfolio, supported by more than 500 staff and workers, IRC is undertaking programs in Syria in the fields of health, protection, and economic recovery and development.? Our work in these challenging settings gives rise to some of the most pressing issues facing contemporary humanitarian action, including questions of access, security, funding and coordination.High-quality Early Childhood Development (ECD) programs provide the foundation for children?s future academic success, health, prosperity and wellbeing. A large body of scientific evidence emphasizes the need for increased investment in early childhood, particularly for children experiencing conflict, crisis and displacement; these children are extremely vulnerable to the long-lasting effects that prolonged stress has on the developing brain.In December 2017, Sesame Workshop and the IRC were awarded the MacArthur Foundation?s inaugural 100&Change grant to make real progress toward solving a critical problem of our time. With the extraordinary investment of $100 million, our partnership will transform the language, early reading, math, and social-emotional skills of a generation of children ages 0-8 affected by the Syrian war. Focusing on children in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria over the next five years, the plan combines the depth of in-person services, reaching 1.5 million children, with the breadth of mass media, reaching 9.4 million children.??Reporting to the Deputy Director of Programs, the ECD Coordinator will serve as the project lead for IRC Syria and provide technical direction and leadership for the creation and implementation of high-quality ECD programming and content within the region. The ECD Coordinator will work in close collaboration with the Sr. Director of Education for Sesame Workshop (SW) and IRC?s Senior Technical Advisor for Early Childhood Development.?The Early Childhood Development Coordinator is responsible for four key objectives:Program Quality and Implementation: Plan and execute effective deployment of ECD resources and materials to support parenting/home visiting programs and early learning/preschool programs, as well as support related the implementation of sound M&E systems and research-driven efforts;Integration: Ensure program quality and integration of the Sesame Seeds project and other ECD programs in Syria across other programming sectors like health and protection through training and capacity building, and using data to inform decision-making;Representation: Represent IRC and the Sesame Seeds project inside Syria at strategic meetings and events in close coordination with the Regional Project team;Partnerships:? Build collaborative relationships with Syrian organizations to plan and implement ECD-related activities through remote management, building capacity and monitoring program quality, in coordination with the Regional Project Director and the Regional Technical Lead for ECD.?RESPONSIBILITIES:Program Quality and Implementation

• With guidance from the Regional Technical Lead for ECD, develop country-specific programmatic standards for parenting/ home visiting and early learning/ preschool program implementation;
• Ensure content and program models are aligned with local or national standards for early childhood development and pre-primary education;
• Ensure technical quality and roll out of ECD training for relevant staff;
• Supervise the development of relevant M&E systems and ensure regular follow-up on monitoring data relevant to the Sesame Seeds project and other ECD initiatives inside Jordan
• Support the implementation of the IRC Syria Strategic Action Plan by ensuring that program activities align and contribute to achieving selected pathways of the prioritized signature and core sub outcomes.
• Design data collection using remote management best practices to facilitate monitoring and evaluation, as well as large research efforts to document effectiveness? of ECD intervention

• Collaborate with Sesame Seeds regional team and IRC program teams (Protection, WPE, CP, Education and ERD) to come up with strategies for integration of ECD activities across IRC programs;
• Work closely with Partnership colleagues to come up with strategies for integration of ECD activities and Sesame Seeds content across a range of partner programs;
• Collaborate with IRC program teams to effectively integrate ECD activities into existing community outreach and humanitarian response;

• In coordination with the Project Director, represent the IRC to UN, international and national NGOs, line ministries, and key ECD actors;
• As ECD focal point at country level, participate actively in external coordination forums; participate in internal coordination and management meetings to promote effective and efficient information sharing, problem-solving and decision making;

• Work in close collaboration with the Partnership unit to develop a holistic and collaborative approach to strategic and operational partners that can best leverage ECD programs, improve the quality and reach of our programs and to reform policies in the sector;
• Build collaborative relationships with local implementing partners to facilitate effective dissemination of ECD materials and activities, including guiding project planning, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting

• Support and ensure donor compliance, including appropriate and timely spending of grants to achieve program goals, grant reporting contributions, use and distribution of supplies and resources.
• Lead the development of new business concept notes and proposals for the continuation and expansion of ECD programming in Syria;
• Ensure the submission of timely, accurate and well written donor reports and other reporting requirements for all ECD programming in Syria;
• Work closely and coordinate with IRC other technical unit, logistics, finance and grant staff to ensure timely and compliant program activities and expenditures; including active participation in grant opening/closing and review meetings and participation in bids opening and review.

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