Job Description

POSITION/DESIGNATION

Program Manager- Assessments

REPORTS TO

State Project Lead

LOCATION

Lucknow

TRAVEL

30% of total time – Especially District / Block Level in UttarPradesh

PROJECT DETAILS

India Partnership for Early Learning (IPEL) is, five years long, USAID funded project that aims to ensure all children (girls and boys) from Early childhood education to early grades (grades 1&2) are positively impacted in four Indian states/municipal (Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, South Delhi Municipal Schools). The ultimate goal of the project is that all children (age 3-6) attending AWCs/Balvatika/preschools attain school readiness by age 6; and children (age 6-8) attending early grades (1-2) acquire reading fluency and comprehension, number recognition, two-digit addition and subtraction, express emotions safely, and express understanding of emotions of others verbally or through pictures by end of grade 2 in four intervention states.

The project is designed to work very closely at state education/WCD department and its institutions to work, influence and advocate on the agenda of Early Childhood Care and Education and Foundational Learning and Numeracy (FLN). IPEL project adopts a system strengthening approach using technical support model to work with state government. For this, IPEL project has set up a central and state level Project Management Unit, having experts on foundational learning, to engage, influence, and technically guide department of education and its key institutions for effective delivery of foundational literacy and numeracy program in the state. The key technical area includes - Effective FLN content and materials for teachers and children, Robust and quality capacity building approach and review system, FLN vision, budget and financing, Quality educational monitoring and learners’ assessment tracking system and Empowered community engagement in each of the state. Since The IPEL project objectives and goals are aligned with the national mission- NIPUN BHARAT, it will also contribute to larger goal of National Education Policy and state priorities. The project is led by a consortium of organizations led by CARE with state governments.

JOB SUMMARY

Program Manager – Assessments will be a part of IPEL team to work closely with UP SCERT and Samagra Shiksha, UP. She/he will lead diagnosis, design and delivery support around school-based formative and summative foundational learning assessments. S/he will also be responsible for leading the design of state level large scale assessment studies in partnership with UP SCERT. The position will work very closely with assessment lead of SCERT for above functions and will also influence in designing and facilitating   capacity building program for state and district level education functionaries in the state.

The position will work very closely with Program Manager – Numeracy and Literacy to develop assessment inventories, framework and rubric (learners, teachers, etc). S/he will be based at Patna and will report directly to the State Project Lead, IPEL. This position will involve frequent travel to district/schools, as well as regular interaction with education officials, partners, school administrators, teachers, and students to understand the needs and implementation status of assessment vertical.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Responsibility 1

 Lead development of Assessment Strategy and Design:

Influence and Lead the development of comprehensive assessment strategies, including both formative and summative assessments, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders at Samagra Shiksha, UP Bihar and State Council for Educational Research and Training, Uttar Pradesh (UP SCERT).

Work in tandem with other members of the state team to arrive at a comprehensive diagnosis, gap analysis and customized plans of action around student assessments and evaluations in the state

Design and support in development of implementation guidelines for school-based foundational learning assessments that align with NIPUN mission objectives and state curriculum framework for foundational stages.

Spearhead the design of state-level large-scale assessment studies to evaluate learning outcomes of children

Responsibility 2

Lead design of Capacity Building Program for State and District officials and its implementation:

Undertake diagnosis/need analysis to understand the efficacies of formative and summative learners’ assessment and design corrective actions through rigorous field observations to influence state department.

Engage with SCERT/state core group and ensure development of a road map for school-based assessments in the state.

Design and deliver capacity-building initiatives and training programs to enhance the knowledge and skills on design of learner’s assessment and utilization of assessment data for educational improvement.

Lead organization/facilitation of capacity and perspective building workshops/consultations for state FLN resource group members (including Master Trainers, teachers, other education functionaries) as required in close consultation with CPMU.

Engage with SCERT/state core group, FLN state resource group members and other relevant stakeholders to develop  assessment inventories that cater to the specific needs of the educational landscape in Bihar.

Responsibility 3

Build Collaboration and Coordination:

Engage in regular communication and coordination with education officials, partners, and relevant stakeholders to ensure seamless implementation of assessment initiatives.

Engage with other organizations working in the state to build collective understanding on learners’ assessment and framework.

Collaborate closely with the State Project Lead, Program Manager – Numeracy, and Program Manager – Literacy to ensure alignment of assessment strategies with broader educational goals.

Responsibility 4

Support design of FLN Monitoring System for effective integration of learning assessment tracker.

Review outcome indicators and learning tracking tools developed by the state education department to ensure effective milestone tracking of children in foundational stages.

Design program and conduct orientation of district officials, State resource group members and other relevant stakeholders on learning tracker system for effective integration with state’s monitoring platform

Closely work with Program Manager Monitoring to create a learning tracker system aligned with the FLN priorities of Uttar Pradesh state.

Support Central Project Management unit in developing formative learning tracking inventories

Responsibility 5

Support in Documentation, Study Report and data analysis

Generate comprehensive reports based on assessment results, trends, and recommendations for education officials and relevant stakeholders.

Continuously analyze learners’ assessment data to identify areas of improvement and propose evidence-based strategies for enhancing the quality of education in the state.

Support State Project team, central project management unit in developing annual reports, donor reports.

Others

Any other assignment suggested by line manager

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

Senior Program Manager at CMU level and Monitoring Officer at state level.

QUALIFICATION & EXPERIENCE

Essential

Bachelor’s degree, preferably in education, statistics, economics

3 to 6 years of experience working with education project especially on large-scale assessment programs or large- scale applications (data sets, programs, and/or applications) of similar complexity, ideally with government institution (State/Central).

Desirable

Experience designing and facilitating student learning assessments

Previous experience of engagement with govt institution

Understanding of gender and inclusion issues at school level

SKILLS & COMPETENCIES

Lguage skills:

Able to read, write and speak in Hindi and English language at an expert level.

Research skills:

Able to conduct secondary research and data analysis for identifying the newest trends and incorporate them in program / process approach.

Strategic Thinking and Analysis:

Big picture / critical thinker (able to think clearly and rationally and select the best method as appropriate) / connector (able to spot gaps, establish needs and opportunities)

Change Management:

Resilient: able to deal well with ambiguity, uncertainty, and change 

versatile: able to juggle different and conflicting priorities.

Operational excellence (Project / Program / Process management):

Able to incorporate feedback and continually work on project / process improvement

Commitment towards social equity and drive to bring gender equity in education

 

 

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