Academic Specialist Literacy

Job Description – Sr./Academic Specialist (Literacy)

Position: Sr./Academic Specialist
Location: Delhi (with travel to states and project locations as required)
Reporting to: Director – Academic

Position Description:

The Sr./Academic Specialist (Literacy) will be part of the Central Academic Team based in New Delhi and will provide technical and academic support to assigned projects, including state-level technical support. The position requires close collaboration with state academic teams, partner organizations, and government institutions.

Key Roles and Responsibilities:Academic and Technical Leadership

• Provide academic guidance and mentoring to assigned state academic teams on literacy for foundational and primary grades.
• Develop a deep understanding of the organization’s academic approach and instructional frameworks, ensuring alignment of state programs with the pedagogical vision.
• Collaborate with state teams to provide technical support to SCERTs, Samagra Shiksha, and other government stakeholders to strengthen FLN implementation.

Curriculum Development

• Review and analyze state language curricula, textbooks, TLMs, and training materials to identify academic and pedagogical gaps.
• Lead and manage instructional design and material development processes (teacher guides, workbooks, TLMs, resource packs, etc.) in collaboration with state teams.

Documentation and Knowledge Management

• Develop academic frameworks, guidelines, presentations, and policy briefs for internal and external use.
• Contribute to documentation of field learnings, best practices, and impact case studies.
• Coordinate cross-team academic projects (e.g., video content, blended courses, mentoring tools).
• Develop short research concept notes and conduct short studies on academic components of the program.

Capacity Building and Professional Development

• Design training modules, workshop plans, and resources for professional development of teachers, mentors, and internal team members.
• Facilitate academic sessions and workshops for internal teams, teachers, mentors, and government officials.
• Support the design and delivery of online and blended teacher professional development programs.

Monitoring, Planning, and Coordination

• Participate in monthly and quarterly academic reviews and track progress of academic deliverables.
• Support proposal development, donor reporting, and planning exercises as required.
• Analyze field-level and program data and present key insights to relevant teams.

Representation and Liaison

• Represent the organization in meetings, consultations, and technical discussions with government bodies, donors, and academic partners.

Other Responsibilities

• Undertake field visits for classroom observations, mentoring, and training facilitation.
• Perform any other academic tasks as assigned by the supervisor.

Educational Qualifications, Skills, and Experience:

• Graduation or equivalent degree required; Master’s degree in Education or a related field preferred.
• Minimum 5 years of relevant work experience in curriculum design, teacher training, or academic resource development in FLN/primary education.
• Strong conceptual understanding of foundational learning, NEP 2020, NIPUN Bharat Mission, and National Curriculum Framework (NCF).
• Strong Hindi and English communication skills (reading, writing, speaking); excellent academic writing ability in Hindi required.
• Proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), internet usage, and Hindi typing.

Desired Qualities:

• Strong understanding of policy and practices related to early grade literacy, multilingual education, teacher education, and curriculum & pedagogy.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks/projects, coordinate across teams, and meet timelines effectively.
• Demonstrated emotional intelligence, teamwork, and problem-solving ability.
• Passion for improving government school education and teacher professional development.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: Up to ₹1,200,000.00 per year

Work Location: In person