Project Description:
The 5-year regional USAID/LAC Reads Capacity Program (LRCP), implemented by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and Juárez and Associates (J&A) under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Cooperative Agreement No. AID-OAA-A-14-00058, seeks to increase the impact, scale, and sustainability of early grade reading interventions in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region. This will be achieved through the development and dissemination of state-of-the-art knowledge resources and the provision of technical assistance to host country governments and other key stakeholders. The program, implemented from 2014-2019, enhances efforts to boost early grade reading outcomes in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua and Peru, as well as Eastern Caribbean states.
During the 2017-2019 period, LCRP will intensify, deepen, and expand its work in Haiti. The LRCP team will provide technical support which will lead to sustained, systematic improvements in early grade literacy (EGL) capacity in Haiti. The LRCP team will provide technical support by building capacity in curriculum and materials development in the Ministère de l’Éducation Nationale et de la Formation Professionnelle (MENFP), in The Direction de Formation et de Perfectionnement (DFP) whose work focuses on teacher training, higher education institutions, and other education sector stakeholders including national instructional materials creators and printers, thus leading to sustained, systematic improvements in EGL capacity in Haiti.
Position Description:
Working under the direct supervision of the LRCP Technical Manager - Haiti, the Reading Specialist will be proficient in French and Créole and will have strong knowledge of learning to read in a second language in the early grades. This knowledge includes experience with the development and review of French and Créole reading materials. The Specialist will have a bachelor’s degree (or higher) in education, with specialized training and expertise in early grade reading and/or bilingual education. S/he will work closely with the Instructional Materials Design Specialist, Curriculum Specialist, French Specialist and M & E Specialist in Haiti to support work related to Grades 1-4 student textbooks and teacher guides for French and Créole. The Reading Specialist will provide direct technical assistance and capacity building in the area of reading instruction and textbook development in Haiti, working closely with MENFP technical staff, LRCP technical staff (including in particular the AIR Literacy Specialists and LRCP Regional EGL Specialist) as well as national partner technical staff and project consultants. The Reading Specialist will be based in Port-au-Prince, work on a full-time basis, and be part of the local technical team.

Key Responsibilities
• Provide technical assistance and capacity building on USAID’s reading methodology, best practices in how children learn to read in a first and second language, early grade reading assessment, formative evaluation and continuous assessment.
• Provide specialized technical assistance in the review and revision of early grade textbooks and teacher guides to improve reading instruction for French and Créole.
• Support development of French and Créole vocabulary and comprehension for progression, quality and consistency across grades 1-4 textbooks and teacher guides.
• Support the development of classroom reading assessment tools and techniques.
• Monitor grade level outputs of French and Créole vocabulary and comprehension for progression, quality and consistency across grades 1-4 textbooks and teacher guides.
• Contribute to regular reviews on completed lessons and resources under development.
• Review all final content for conceptual and pedagogical quality as well as ensuring appropriate scope and sequence of materials.
• Work jointly with the Technical Manager, the Instructional Materials Design Specialist, consultants, and AIR and LRCP international experts as needed.
• Support or facilitate timely delivery of program’s products and services in the country.

Qualifications
• BA or higher degree in Education, preferably with a focus on early grade reading or literacy.
• At least 5 years of experience in providing technical direction of programs in Haiti that work specifically to improve early grade reading.
• In-depth knowledge in the teaching of reading and writing for bilingual education.
• Prior experience working with schools to monitor reading outcomes and generate support for reading programs.
• Experience with USAID funded programs or similar donor required.
• Familiarity with USAID’s reading philosophy and methodology preferred.
• Proficiency in MS Office.
• Fluency in French and Creole (required), and English (preferred).