SI is seeking an Early Childhood & Primary Education Specialist (EC&PES) to support the USAID/Liberia TESTS mid-term evaluation as a team member with a focus on early childhood & primary education. The EC&PES will receive technical leadership from the Team Leader (TL) alongside a Higher Education Teacher Training Specialist (HETTS), The assessment team will receive research and logistical support from the DELTA Activity Manager, while the DELTA Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) will provide overall guidance and coordination.

The EC&PES will ensure quality assurance and timeliness of all deliverables, including adherence to SI’s quality assurance standards. The EC&PES is expected to support the planning of primary and secondary data collection that efficiently engages international and local experts so that the research is complementary. This is a short-term consultancy with an estimated level of effort (LOE) of 35 days, over a period of performance from June to November 2024.

Responsibilities:

• Support the development of the evaluation design including methodology, instruments, and workplan.
• Support the desk review and identify additional information required for analysis.
• Support the design of data collection tools and conduct data collection for the evaluation.
• Contribute to the evaluation team’s ongoing analysis of qualitative and quantitative data.
• Support the preparation and presentation of the evaluation design, key findings, and recommendations to USAID together with the evaluation team.
• Contribute to the drafting of the inception and evaluation reports with support from the team members, taking into consideration feedback from presentations, consultations, and workshops.
• Respond to comments on the draft report and prepare final report.
• Work collaboratively with team members throughout the design, implementation, analysis, and report writing process to complement each other’s areas of expertise.

Qualifications:

• At least two years of experience in conducting evaluation, preferably, early childhood and primary education programs or teacher interventions in developing countries,
• Be knowledgeable of curriculum development, instructional designs and practices and the support systems required for success (including organizational governance).
• An understanding of the curriculum being institutionalized by the Liberian Ministry of Education for teacher training.
• Experience multi-disciplinary teams, skills in developing and conducting evaluations with mixed qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, and experience working in Liberia.
• Ability to conduct interviews and focus group discussions and analyze the resulting data.
• Liberian professionals who are resident in Liberia are strongly encouraged to apply. Strong American English speaking and writing skills are required.
• Experience facilitating participatory analysis and utilization of evaluation results preferred.
• An advanced degree in education administration, management, planning, research, or a similar field is required.
• No relations with TESTS, RTI, or other interests that may compromise the EC&PES actual or apparent impartiality.