Associate - Children with Special Needs

**Background**

**Leadership For Skilled Education Foundation** (branded as Leadership For Equity, LFE) is a non-profit organization (NGO) based in Pune, Maharashtra.

**We envision Public Education Systems That Refuse To Let Children Down.**

In our two-fold approach to change, we build the capacity of government system leaders, and we influence system processes. In partnership with the local and state education bodies, we co-create programs that shift teaching-learning practices and improve student learning and well-being. This work, coupled with our research and advisory support to influence policies, will help us create an effective government education system.

Over the last six years, LFE has built the capacity of 2100+ system leaders and 40,200+ teachers to impact 8 million students across Maharashtra. Additionally, LFE is working in Haryana, & Andhra Pradesh. In Maharashtra, LFE works with five districts (Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Satara & Akola), three municipal bodies (Pune MC, Pimpri Chinchwad MC & Nagpur MC) & 5 state-level education bodies (School Education Dept, SCERT, Samagra Shiksha, Tribal Development Dept, & TRTI). In Andhra Pradesh, LFE works closely with the Samagra Shiksha Office, SCERT, & The World Bank on a multi-year strategic project to improve the quality of learning across 26 districts of the State. Lastly, in Haryana & Tripura, LFE works with SCERTs of both states in setting up targeted program management units (PMUs) to strengthen the delivery of large-scale academic programs.

**About the SALT Project**

**Supporting Andhra’s Learning Transformation (SALT),** project is a multi-organizational project focused on improving the quality of teaching and learning in classrooms. The project aims to enhance human capital and achieve a sustained reduction in learning poverty across all districts of the state.

The SALT operation will support the GoAP in three key results areas:
(i)**Strengthened Foundational Learning;**

(ii)**Improved Quality of Student-Teacher Interactions and;**

(iii)**Strengthened Institutional Capacity for Service Delivery**

The project will be implemented in close collaboration with the Department of School Education (DoSE), GoAP, and state-level administrative units, including the SCERT, SIEMAT, and the local network of DIETs. The focus will be to achieve the outcomes with an inherent focus on strengthening the people and processes within the public education system.

**The scope of work for the entire project will be as follows**:

- Strengthen the technical and operational capacity of **teacher mentors** to provide evidence
- and needs-based training and support to teachers and conduct structured classroom observations
- Build the capacity at **SCERT and DIETs** to improve planning, implementation, and monitoring of the reform by introducing a teacher needs assessment system to formally encourage professional learning and growth.
- Strengthen the technical and operational capacity of **SCERT and DIETs** to provide evidence
- and needs-based support to teachers through developing training courses for teachers on the state Learning Management System (LMS)
- Strengthen the technical and operational capacity of **SCERT and DIETs** through the development of online learning materials for teachers and students on the state Learning Management System (LMS)
- Coordinate with various stakeholders to ensure timeline **development of the technology tools** as noted above, including the TEACH tool.

**Job Description and Responsibilities**

The key responsibilities of the Associate (CWSN) are as follows:

- Design Training content based on an understanding of child psychology, pedagogy for children with learning disabilities and other special needs
- Conducting need analysis and CWSN Diagnostic Report of the State
- Travel across districts to facilitate and deliver teacher/school complex leader training as per designed content and plans using engaging, experiential, and creative strategies.
- Research evidence-based creative facilitation practices to align with training content, integrating belief and culture of equity, inclusion, and well-being among all participants
- Maintain excellent relationships with target stakeholders to understand their needs and context, taking into account specific challenges around CWSN in rural areas across AP.
- Collaborate with content associates to prepare a facilitation plan and scripts aligned to training content.
- Lead training dry runs and participate in training site observations
- Enable timely collection and reporting of training data
- Contribute to the making of project reports as required and support the managers and implementation coordinators as needed to be accountable for the outcomes of the projects across the different streams of deliverables as prescribed in the Project scope
- Conduct regular update meetings with organizational leadership and provide progress towards goals of the relevant training in a consumable digital