Senior Technical Advisor, Curriculum

Overview

Background:

Creative Associates International is a dynamic, fast-growing, mission-driven global development firm that specializes in education, economic growth, governance and post-crisis stabilization. Based in Chevy Chase, Maryland, Creative has a field presence in more than 25 countries with a strong client portfolio that includes the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department, among others. Since its founding in 1977, Creative has earned a solid reputation among its clients and is well-regarded by competitors and partners alike.

Position Summary:

Creative seeks a Senior Technical Advisor (STA) for Curriculum to provide expert technical leadership to advance in the ED Division global efforts in improve reading and other academic skills for children and youth. Creative programming serves children and youth in both stable and conflict contexts. The Senior Technical Advisor brings specialized state-of-the art thinking and contributes to program design and the development of approaches, methodologies, materials and tools. By contributing to targeted market positioning activities, participating in new business captures, and contributing to proposal design and preparation, the Senior Technical Advisor supports the business objectives of the Education Division.

This also includes monitoring market trends and business opportunities in his/her technical area, developing and implementing innovative and state-of-the-art programmatic solutions, writing technical components of proposals, and working with COPs and DCOPs to advance organizational learning in the technical area. Work assignments also include leading technical representation of a key technical practice area in the field, HQ, and with strategic partners and clients. As a leader on the HQ team, the Senior Technical Advisor is a seasoned networker supporting all aspects of technical program capture and implementation and may have staff management responsibilities to direct and manage staff. The STA travels internationally to perform many of the responsibilities of the role.

Reporting & Supervision:

The Senior Technical Advisor for Curriculum position will report to the designated technical team lead in the Education Division. This position is 100% remote eligible.

Responsibilities

Expected Outcomes:

Leadership

Provides superior technical leadership guidance and management support. Leads expert level contributions to programming, business development and resources in a specific technical area that leads to successfully implemented field programs. Provides technical area leadership across programmatic divisions in a specific technical area that helps position Creative as a thought leader and expert implementer by clients in the technical area. Ensures field perspectives and client strategy are reflected in technical activities on all projects. Honors all aspects of programmatic and fiscal compliance.

Technical Leadership

Positions Creative as a leader with expert level research and contributions to technical resources, serving as a subject matter expert helping to expand the company’s portfolio in a specific technical area. Leads the representation of the division in managing client relations and in positioning and expanding the company’s technical depth. Brings field expertise into discussions on corporate strategy in a specific technical area, assuring that cross-cutting themes relative that technical area are included in each geographical area and sector strategy. Facilitates leadership in emerging themes in the technical area, enabling staff to access the latest technical policy and best practice materials.

New Business Development

Positions Creative as a top implementer in a specific technical area by actively leading capture activities and contributing technical expertise on new business development efforts and writing strong, winning proposals. Key leader in annual work planning at the global and country level in identifying bid opportunities in the technical area. STAs bring an entrepreneurial spirit, seizing opportunities in the local marketplace, creating and nurturing opportunities for new business generation, and visibly represents the company with stakeholders. Plans and executes new business pursuits with technical insight and intellectual curiosity.

Learning & Adaptation

Contributes significantly to Creative’s visibility and excellence in the technical area by actively participating in external networks and communities of practice, providing short-term technical assistance to field programs and leading capacity building efforts locally. Develops and cultivates networks of technical and functional experts to access for learning and adaptation across the business. Improves technical and operational capacity through implementation of best practices, promoting all avenues of peer-to-peer knowledge sharing. Helps lead M&E plans that track and document progress towards technical learning and innovation. Participates in Pause-and-Reflect events to capture salient technical learning or replication or scale up.

Primary Responsibilities:

While the complexity, breadth and depth of specific portfolio and department assignments (and job classification/title) will be based on experience and qualifications, all Technical Advisors are expected to be able to perform the following general responsibilities:

A. Technical

• Serves as a subject-matter expert and technical lead in developing reading offerings and solutions, including project design, operationalization of reading strategies, and implementation of large-scale reading programs;
• Provides expert technical support to projects, including development of reading program and materials, teacher professional development, and capacity building of government and local partners;
• Leads thought leadership in early grade reading practice and represents the firm in specialized reading networks;
• Leads thought leadership in quality teacher and learning practices and represents the firm in professional networks seeking improved learning outcomes across the curriculum;
• Supports the ED division in deepening its technical mastery in reading, literacy and numeracy; and
• Supporting the ED division in developing and/or expanding its research agenda and other efforts to generate evidence in early grade reading and numeracy;

B. New Business Development

• Leads and / or contributes to the Education Division’s strategy development;
• Contributes to the new business pipeline through networking, monitoring, and sharing leads for new programming or additional funding for existing programming;
• Gathers and shares business and competitive intelligence, as appropriate;
• Leads and / or contributes to capture planning and proposal development, ensuring effectiveness of capture and the proposal process;
• Leads and/or contributes to bid strategy formulation and writes technical sections of proposal;
• Works directly with Proposal Managers and others in the Business Development Division, the Education Division, HR, Cost / Pricing, among others, to design and develop robust technical, management, partnering, recruitment, and cost strategies in a timely manner prior to solicitation release;
• Serves as a subject matter expert, contributing to customer focused and forward-thinking program design and ensuring lessons learned and best practices are embedded in proposal program design;
• Liaises with additional subject matter experts to both conceptualize and design proposals;
• Supports the facilitation and identification of strategic partnerships, including developing SOWs for pre-teaming and teaming agreements;
• Mentors and coaches junior staff in supporting new business development efforts;
• Participates in bid staffing interviews, as appropriate;
• Supervises and guides consultants contributing to business development efforts, as assigned;
• Fulfills other duties as needed and appropriate.**Qualifications**

Minimum Skills & Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in education;
• 10 years of experience implementing basic education projects in international settings;
• Five (5) years of specific experience in early grade reading; including: development of early grade reading materials, training programs, classroom monitoring protocols, and tests and assessments, including EGRA;
• Specific experience with developing curriculum and associated teaching and learning materials for early grade or foundational mathematics.
• Prior experience implementing USAID-funded projects;
• Ability to work closely with host country governments and local organizations and stakeholders;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and superior writing skills;
• Excited about working on new business development activities and proposal writing;
• Fluency in written and spoken English;
• Ability and willingness to travel (destination may include post-conflict countries); and
• Strong team player and builder as well as an ability to mentor young professionals.

Desired Skills & Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in education or related area;
• Academic specialization in early grade reading is highly desirable;
• Ability to measure basic foundational skills for literacy in the early grades;
• Ability to assess reading and comprehension;
• Knowledge of a balanced literacy framework, early literacy competencies and reading diagnostic measures;
• Knowledge of mother tongue-to-English transition instruction strategies; and
• Experience conducting research, data management, and statistical analysis.

Languages:

• Fluency in a second language (Arabic, French, and/or Spanish).

Only finalists will be contacted. No phone calls, please.

Creative Associates International Inc. is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer (gender/race/disability/veteran) and provides equal opportunity to all individuals regardless of their race, color, creed, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by state, federal, or local law.

Please view Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity Posters provided by OFCCP here.

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