Literacy Expert

About Us:

Teach For Armenia is building a movement of leaders who will reshape what it means to provide an excellent education for all children across the nation. We aim to cultivate students who can harness their voices and shape a changing world while being committed to their communities. This will require support at every level of leadership, from our teachers in the classroom to the highest-ranking officials. Teach For Armenia aims to accomplish this vision by recruiting promising leaders, both in Armenia and from across the diaspora, to teach for a 2-year commitment in schools where their knowledge and skills are needed. In the long-run, our organization is cultivating a network of changemakers, inclusive of our students, their communities, our Alumni, government officials, community partners, supporters, and affiliates from across Teach For All.

The Role:

The Literacy Expert will work closely with the Head of Seroond, the Program Team, as well as our international partner “Kizazi'' to develop literacy leveled assessment tests for K-12 schools. For that purpose we will be looking for a Literacy Expert that will create an Armenian language leveled assessment framework including the framework for outcomes, methodology, teacher’s guidebook and a suite of leveled assessments. All the tests will be developed for primary, middle, and high-school students in line with the corresponding age groups. The literacy assessment test should be in line with international practices and provide evidence and comparable indicators for comparing the literacy of school children across countries.

The Team:

The Expert will report to Teach For Armenia’s Head of Seroond. Seroond is a school leadership and public school 3-year transformation program. The team is composed of the Head of Seroond, Senior Leadership Development Manager, and 1 Leadership Development Manager as well as 2 Instructional-Leaders at each Seroond school within the network. The Literacy Expert will work closely with the Head of Seroond, Program Team, Leadership Development Managers at Seroond schools, as well as our international partner organization Kizazi. The Literacy Expert might also work with multiple stakeholders in the network, including school leaders, Instructional-Leaders, Seroond teachers to ensure a high relevance and quality of the developed assessment framework and tests.

About You:

Teach For Armenia may be the place for you if you believe it is important to foster a values-driven workplace that is centered on leadership. Our team must be composed of culture-builders who exemplify the type of leadership we are striving to cultivate in our classrooms and across the system. This means each staff member must strive to exemplify our Kochari, hold ourselves to the highest of standards while owning up to mistakes when we ourselves falter.

For this role specifically, we are also looking for a candidate who possesses the following key competencies:

• Armenian Language: Professional knowledge of Armenian language, state standard for education and Armenian language state standard,
• Pedagogy: Knowledge of teaching and learning theories and practices, age specific learning to inform the assessment development,
• Assessment Design: Knowledge of different types of assessments (formative, summative, criterion-referenced, etc.) and psychometrics,
• Data Management: Experience in developing diagnostic and summative assessment tests, as well as trackers and readers for the assessment of secondary school children competencies,
• Public Speaking: Finally, our “Expert” will be responsible for leading training sessions, and seminars on various topics. As such, it is crucial that they have strong public speaking skills.

Aside from these core competencies, we are also looking for the following qualifications:

• An MA or equivalent degree in Armenian language and Literature, an MA or a certificate in Evaluation and assessment will be considered as a plus,
• PhD in Linguistics, Assessment or other related field will be a plus,
• At least 3 years of experience in teaching in secondary school,
• At least 2 years of experience in developing assessment tests and evaluation strategies,
• Knowledge of age-specific learning theories and methodologies with a focus on Armenian language and their application in K-12,
• Knowledge of leveled assessments in other languages is a plus,
• Proven experience in gathering and analyzing data for creating data informed assessment experiences and decision making,
• Excellent time-management skills with a capacity of prioritizing different objectives and tasks to meet the goals within the set time-frame,
• Effective use of technology tools for communications, planning, management, and presentations
• Excellent written and verbal presentation skills
• Our Expert will work and produce deliverables in Armenian language. However, as a part of a global network, Teach For Armenia staff must also be able to speak English. As such, Armenian is required, and working knowledge of English is preferred.

The Work:

The Literacy Expert will ensure the timely implementation of the activities according to the timeline below.

Months/Activities

June-July/1,5 months

• Conduct a review of international experience on literacy leveled assessment (including domains of language assessment such as reading fluency, comprehension, grammar, writing, etc.),
• Conduct a review of international assessment and research projects, such as PIRLS,
• Review and analyze the state standards of the Armenian language, as well as the materials used by the teachers,
• Analyze and identify an internationally comparable framework structure for the teaching & assessment of the Armenian Language literacy in schools,
• Discuss the framework with Kizazi, Teach for Armenia’s Seroond team, Data & Impact Manager, as well as Seroond teachers and Teachers Leaders to align with the common approaches in the assessment of Armenian language literacy.

July-August/1,5 months

• Design the Armenian language literacy assessment methodology and framework, identifying the number of assessment levels for K-12 school,
• Develop the framework of Armenian language outcomes and benchmarks for each level of assessment,
• Design the structure and the template of the Armenian language literacy leveled assessment test.

August-December/4 months

• Develop one test per level for the Armenian language literacy assessment,
• Pilot and refine the Armenian language leveled assessment tests for all levels to ensure the validity and reliability of the test items,
• Work with Kizazi to develop Armenian language literacy assessment trackers,
• Develop teacher’s guide for the development of the Armenian language literacy leveled assessment tests.

Additionally, the Literacy Expert is expected to:

• Collaborate with the Kizazi, Seroond staff and teachers in designing the Armenian language literacy assessment framework and tools,
• Provide bi-weekly reports on the activities conducted to the Head of Seroond.
• Take on additional tasks to support Teach For Armenia and Seroond in strengthening the assessment scheme in K-12 schools.
• NOTE: Teach For Armenia is a growing nonprofit working within a dynamic system. Our team must be agile as we grow in scale. We are looking for leaders who are resilient and adaptive. That is to say that responsibilities may shift over time.

To Apply:

Please submit your résumé and cover letter through the official job posting (found on Teach For Armenia’s website). In your cover letter, please make sure to explain what personally compels you to our mission and the role. If you have been referred to this role by a current Teach For Armenia staff member, please also indicate who referred you in your cover letter. In your application, please also specify your salary expectations (in the gross amount). Also, if your résumé is in Armenian, please provide an English translation.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity:

Teach For Armenia is an organization that strives to elevate the voices of our students and their communities. As such we are an organization that is committed to equity and we strive to build an inclusive environment. Candidates from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply.