Worldreader Vacancies 2020

Worldreader is a global nonprofit organization with the vision that readers build a better world. Worldreader has worked globally with partners since 2010 to support vulnerable and underserved communities with digital reading solutions that help improve learning outcomes, workforce readiness, and gender equity. Worldreader’s West Africa office is based in Accra, Ghana, and home to eight full-time staffers and numerous volunteers.

Worldreader is working in partnership with the National Teaching Council of Ghana’s Ministry of Education, the University of Ghana and an international consortium of researchers including FIT-ED International and Open University UK, to support research around teacher professional development at scale (TPD@scale). The TPD@Scale approach takes advantage of the affordances of information and communication technologies (ICTs), blending in context-sensitive ways online, offline, digital, and traditional modalities, to enable more equitable access to and participation in quality teacher learning experiences not otherwise possible through conventional means.

Job Description

Job Title: Research Coordinator

The project in Ghana, funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) will build off an existing partnership between Worldreader and the Municipal Education Office in Kwaebibirem called Ghana District Scale (GDS), that is bringing digital reading programs to 90 schools in the district by training teachers and municipal staff on digital integration best practices and providing digital reading devices loaded with hundreds of books to each school for student use.

By generating and disseminating evidence, as well as building local ownership and capacity, the TPD@Scale project aims to improve teachers’ access to quality TPD in Ghana, inform policy and practice in other GPE and non-GPE countries, and deepen the global knowledge base on large-scale teacher learning and educational scaling. The 2-year research project will explore how a teacher professional development ICT-driven approach can be scaled in Ghana. Lessons learned and research results from GDS will be used to inform Worldreader’s role in this consortium.

About this Position:

Worldreader is seeking a Research Coordinator to manage the TPD@scale research project in Ghana over the two-year project period starting in 2020. This is a full-time contract position that will only be guaranteed for the length of the grant opportunity.

Based in its Accra, Ghana office, s/he works in collaboration with in-country and global Worldreader staff to deliver on the goals and objectives of this research engagement and help to expand efforts in institutionalizing digital reading in Ghana and across West Africa.

Responsibilities

The Research Coordinator responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Manage the Ghana-based technical working group including convening and setting agendas for meetings with the National Teaching Council representatives and University of Ghana research team;
• Develop the internal work plan and driving it forward for the Ghana-based research team including designing Gantt charts and setting deadlines for project outputs, in consultation with NTC and the University of Ghana;
• Manage three consultants ( Content/TPD/Technology Leads)  and two reading specialists in Ghana to help facilitate their work and make sure it remains aligned with the project research goals;
• Support the  creation of the research protocol including seeking IRB approval with the University of Ghana for field research;
• Support the assessment of the existing TPD system and conduct a survey of readiness for ICT-mediated TPD;
• Support the design and localization of the research methodology and tools;
• Conduct teacher assessments and manage the data collection process in collaboration with the University of Ghana;
• Support the analysis and reporting of results;
• Attend regular consultation meetings with the global research and technical teams;
• Manage the development of a customization framework, principles and guidelines for adaptation of the scaling models;
• Facilitate workshops to adapt existing TPD trainings and support the development of course materials and model development activities ensuring the materials are reviewed by experts and contractors;
• Conduct usability testing of course materials with a sample of teachers;
• Manage field testing with the University of Ghana and support cost analysis research as needed;
• Represent Worldreader at national knowledge-sharing events and support the completion of the final report for the Ghana-based project.

Qualifications

The research coordinator should be passionate about Worldreader’s mission and improving teacher professional development across Ghana. The position requires the following qualifications:

• 5+ years of research management and/or coordination experience working to coordinate a variety of stakeholders and acting as a point person for contractors;
• Masters degree in a research-related field or combination of a Bachelor’s degree with robust relevant work experience;
• Experience working on research related to educational programming preferred, particularly with a focus on teacher professional development;
• Ability to design and test research instruments and tools;
• Demonstrated experience with both quantitative and qualitative data analysis and reporting;
• Familiarity with digital data collection mechanisms and interest in working with digital tools to collect and analyze data;
• Flexibility to work with international teams and attend meetings outside of regular working hours to connect with staff in different time zones;
• Able to use simple design tools and proficient in using prominent documentation & presentation software including MS Office and Google Docs/Slides;
• A clear and concise communicator who is comfortable writing reports and communicating research findings in simple and clear language.
• English proficiency required both written and spoken.