Global Education Specialist
Department: Global Programmes
Location / Duty Station: One of our country offices (Nepal/ Madagascar/ Cambodia) (Involves travel to other programme countries)
Remuneration Negotiable
Role Purpose/ Summary
UWS is seeking a dynamic and highly skilled Global Education Specialist to lead the development and adaptation of innovative, evidence-based pedagogies that accelerate foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) outcomes across four country programmes: Madagascar, Myanmar, Nepal and Cambodia. A key focus will be on the design and contextualisation of remedial learning strategies, including the Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) methodology, to ensure that all learners especially those furthest behind build core competencies for lifelong learning.
This is a new and exciting position within our global programmes team, created to support the next phase of UWS’ strategic growth. The role will be part of a dynamic, collaborative international team, working across our country programmes to deliver impact at scale.
Reports To Global Chief Operating Officer
Type of Contract Full Time, Renewable Annually (based on performance review/ permanent), Probation Period 3 months
- Strategic Leadership & Adaptive Learning
- Serve as a key contributor to operationalising the UWS education strategy, with particular responsibility for ensuring alignment between programme design and the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) outcomes necessary to achieve our vision.
- Translate local insights and practitioner feedback into high-level, programmatic recommendations that bridge the gap between country-specific contexts and global priorities.
- Foster a culture of adaptive implementation by surfacing learning loops that influence both global strategy and country-level operational planning.
- Pedagogical Design & Innovation
- Design and contextualise FLN pedagogies that reflect global evidence and local realities.
- Develop learning materials and instructional tools for early primary grades, blending structured pedagogy, play-based learning, and inclusive approaches in collaboration with GESSI lead.
- Integrate remedial learning strategies-particularly TaRL-into the core instructional model, with age-appropriate assessments and group-based instruction.
- Collaborate with programme teams to embed differentiated instruction into daily classroom practice and learning spaces.
- Remedial Learning Leadership
- Co-create TaRL-aligned diagnostic tools and facilitation guides tailored for each UWS country.
- Design and implement short, hight-impact remedial learning cycles for learners lagging behind grade-level expectations.
- Support filed teams in analysing assessment data to group learners by ability and track progress over time.
- Build internal capacity to scale remedial learning approaches across formal and nonformal education settings
- Capacity Building & Training
- Develop and deliver modular training on FLN and remedial pedagogies for teacher trainers, educators, and community facilitators.
- Establish mentoring and coaching mechanisms for teachers, school leadership and communities that reinforce adaptive instructional practices.
- Integrate reflective learning cycles for teachers and school leadership to evaluate and adjust their approaches.
- Evidence Generation & Applied Research
- Coordinate with MEAL teams to design robust measurements of learning gains and behavioural outcomes.
- Utilise data from pilots and implementations to refine pedagogical frameworks and enhance quality.
- Contribute to organisational learning through briefs, presentations, and cross-country knowledge sharing.
- Collaboration & External Engagement
- Offer strategic technical support to national education leads across the four countries.
- Contribute to donor proposals and reporting, showcasing FLN results and innovation in remediation.
- Represent UWS in sectoral networks focused on foundational learning and equitable education.
- ESSENTIAL
- Graduate qualification in Education, International Development, or a related field
- 5+ years’ experience in early-grade pedagogy, with proven success in FLN acceleration and/or remedial learning interventions
- Strong track record in capacity building and training across diverse, low-resource contexts
- Familiarity with instructional design and formative assessment in multilingual or fragile settings
- Strong command over MS 365 packages
- Excellent reporting and communication skills (fluency in English).
- Highly developed organisational awareness and ability to understand any sensitivities within a complex multi-stakeholder structure; and think creatively and strategically to overcome obstacles to cooperation and progress
- DESIRABLE
- Previous experience working across Asia or Africa in education development
- Knowledge of SEL, inclusion, or climate-resilient learning approaches
- Candidates with prior exposure to multilingual education strategies and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles
- Experience co-developing frameworks with ministries or education officials
