Country: Bangladesh
Closing date: 30 Nov 2019
Education Coordinator - Rohingya refugee response
The mission of Translators without Borders is to provide people access to vital knowledge in their language through translation, training of translators, building translation capacity in underserved languages, and raising awareness globally of language barriers.
Contract length: one year, with a possibility of extension
Hours: Full-time
Location: Cox’s Bazar - Bangladesh
Travel: i.e. Minimal
Reporting to: Bangladesh Program Director
Application Deadline: 30 November 2019
About Translators without Borders
Translators without Borders (TWB) envisions a world where knowledge knows no language barriers. The US-registered non-profit provides people access to vital knowledge in their language by connecting non-profit organizations with a professional community of translators, building local language translation capacity, and raising awareness of language barriers. Originally founded in 1993 in France (as Traducteurs sans Frontières), TWB translates millions of words of life-saving and life-changing information a year.
Background
Extreme violence in Myanmar have driven more than 700,000 Rohingya refugees across the border into Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. This is one of the largest refugee crises in the world. This refugee population has distinct humanitarian needs such as food, shelter, and actionable information in a language they understand. The only language that everyone in this community speaks and understands is Rohingya; a language that has no written form and has, in the past, attracted very little research into terminology and structure.
To best respond to the Rohingya community’s acute information needs, TWB is working in consortium with BBC Media Action and Internews to generate research and create tools to assist humanitarian actors to communicate effectively, in the appropriate language.
TWB has identified multilingual and mother tongue education as a prevalent issue and is developing partnerships within the Education sector a view to ensuring that Rohingya children are given the opportunity to learn in their language.
The Role
The Education Coordinator is responsible for developing and implementing TWB’s creative, reactive, innovative and constantly relevant MTE work in Cox’s Bazar. The Coordinator will ensure the timely and effective identification, planning and delivery of activities. The Coordinator will also contribute to proposal writing and fundraising, financial and people management, and innovative and scalable research and learning.
Responsibilities
Design, implementation, and monitoring of program activities
- Develop, research and maintain an excellent understanding of the language issues affecting the evolving education system for Rohingya refugee children in Cox’s Bazar and document it regularly to improve organizational knowledge
- Lead in the identification of new project opportunities related to the education sector, with a particular emphasis on multilingual education, language acquisition, and mother-tongue language education.
- Identify and propose to the education sector, or individual partners, specific language recommendations and dedicated solutions which could contribute to improved teaching and learning
- Develop mutually beneficial partnerships/projects with humanitarian agencies to pilot/research/implement language interventions to improve teaching and learning.
- Coordinate the daily management, ensure timely high-quality delivery and monitoring of all activities agreed with partners and donors. This will include liaising with a specialized global team (translation team, editor, tech team, crisis team, etc…) for the activities under the coordinator’s direct responsibility, and producing outputs (written, audiovisual, etc).
- Provide technical support for multilingual education, language acquisition, and mother-tongue education programs in Cox’s Bazar, making the best use of language technology and developing practical and creative solutions
- Lead in developing and implementing research, monitoring and evaluation models that can help teacher education, and basic education programs track language-related successes and areas for improvement; lead in the development of success stories, case studies, performance reports, and research publications
Fundraising, financial and human resources management
- Develop an understanding of the financing of the education sector and build relationships with key donors in collaboration with the TWB team
- Support the Program Director to write project proposals, identify funding opportunities and network with partners and donors with a view to submitting funding proposals
- Seek opportunities to expand the depth and breadth of the project in response to need, and relay information to the Program Director to that end
- Monitor and manage delegated budget lines in compliance with TWB and donor requirements.
- Recruit and manage team members
- Maintain open and professional relationships with the internal TWB team, TWB volunteers, partner agencies and donors
- Contribute to a positive, innovative and supportive work environment
Humanitarian liaison and coordination
- Liaise with and support education partners, to ensure language is factored in to educational activities
- Lead in positioning TWB with external stakeholders (NGOs, contractors, donors, etc.) as preferred partners in the area of multilingual education, language acquisition, and mother-tongue education programs
- Act as the key local contact point for Education partner agencies
- Actively participate in education sector meetings and initiatives, including leading on the establishment and management of a sub-group on language as and if relevant
- Input into the development and implementation of sector strategies for Education in Emergencies ensuring language is an integral component thereof.
- Proactively contribute to TWB’s advocacy and communication efforts as needed in close collaboration with the Program Director.
Reporting and knowledge management
- Provide TWB’s contribution to the sector updates and other required reports
- Document project activities
- Ensure TWB complies with donor reporting requirements, including writing narrative reports
- Contribute other written materials that support TWB needs (brochures, summary project information, etc.)
- Leverage TWB approaches and innovations for new projects under development
- Perform other duties as assigned
Qualifications
The Education Coordinator should be a creative self-starter with a strong sense of initiative, experienced in Education in Emergencies programming and enthusiastic about the importance of increasing access to knowledge through language. The right candidate is an energetic team player who agrees with TWB´s basic beliefs and values and who can work virtually with team members based throughout the world.
Required qualifications:
- Higher education degree in one of the following fields: education, social sciences or other relevant international development field
- Minimum seven years of experience in managing, implementing and designing multilingual education, language acquisition, or mother-tongue education programs
- Practical work experience or research in at least one of the following: advising on languages of instruction, acquisition of instruction language by non-native speakers, or in the promotion of mother tongue education
- Knowledge and understanding of Education in Emergencies
- Knowledge and understanding of international language, gender and inclusive education practices and standards
- Demonstrated technical expertise, with substantial developing country experience in the development and implementation of innovative strategies within education
- Ability to work independently, flexibly and with remote teams;
- Experience with/knowledge of one or more international donor organizations Excellent communication, interpersonal and representational skills
- Excellent English oral and written communication skills
- Ability to coordinate people and processes
Desirable qualifications:
- Experience of practical and creative solutions to deliver results in organizations with minimal resources
- Understanding of language dynamics in Bangladesh/Myanmar
- Use of technology in language including digitalization, transcribing and archiving
- A background in teacher training, educational policy or curriculum development in low literacy environments
- Experience in proposal writing, including conceptualizing and technical writing
- Experience in/familiarity with budget management of development/humanitarian projects
- Experience in conducting research, analyzing data and reporting research in writing and through professional presentations
- Written and spoken Bangla or Burmese and spoken Rohingya an advantage
Core Values
Translators without Borders employees and volunteers are made of people who believe passionately about the value of this work and take personal responsibility for achieving the mission. Translators without Borders’ mission and organizational spirit embody the core values established in its strategic framework:
Excellence: As the leading voice for communicating humanitarian information in the right language, Translators without Borders is a leader in the translation industry and in the non-profit sector.
Integrity: Translators without Borders believes that every person, whether it is the people who we serve, our volunteers or our staff, has value, deserves respect and has inherent dignity.
Empowerment: Translators without Borders believes in using language to empower people around the world to control their own development and destiny.
Innovation: Translators without Borders recognizes and celebrates the power of innovation to address humanitarian and crisis issues around the world.
Sustainability: Translators without Borders recognizes that meeting our mission necessitates establishment and maintenance of a solid financial and organizational infrastructure.
Tolerance: Our staff and volunteers are highly knowledgeable and skilled; value each other, our partner and our recipients; create a supportive work environment; and, conduct themselves professionally at all times.
Translators without Borders is an equal-opportunity employer, committed to diversity and inclusion, and encourages qualified candidates of all genders and from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organization.
How to apply: