Vacancy Announcement for Training Manager (TM)

United States Peace Corps in Guyana

Basic Functions of the Position:

Manage the design, delivery and evaluation of competency-based training to prepare Peace Corps Trainees for two years of volunteer service in Guyana. Coordinate and manage the development and implementation of the training curriculum, which includes Pre-Service Training, as well as all in-service trainings for Volunteers throughout the year.  Manage relevant staff and budgets associated with training programs.

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

• Guides program and training staff in the design, monitoring, evaluation and revision of a comprehensive set of technical, core, language, cross-cultural, sector, and personal health/safety competencies which will prepare Trainees and Volunteers to effectively serve with their community counterparts.
• Develops and implements a community-based training program based on competencies that integrate technical areas, language, cross-cultural, and core topics.
• Manages a team of trainers, resource persons, resource volunteers, and staff in the implementation of training curriculum and goals.
• Develops and monitors a training budget in collaboration with the PTO and Administrative Officer.
• Oversees the planning and preparation of training activities and events.
• Oversees the development of all training documents/reports and provides quality feedback to the training team in a timely manner that allows for integrated planning and evaluation.
• Facilitates large and small group training activities, modeling a variety of non-formal, adult education techniques in the delivery of training.
• Conducts training sessions for many core competencies and selected sector/technical competencies.
• Guides/directs the evaluation of trainees’ progress, including written assessments, interviews, and staff roundtable meetings.
• Serves as member of the PC Guyana Team.

Qualifications – Education/Experience:

• University bachelor degree in adult education, human resources management, or a development related field OR 4 years of equivalent experience in adult, non-formal education required.

Qualifications – Required Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes:

• Experience researching, designing, and delivering a multi-component training program for adults.
• Demonstrated, management, administration, or coordination of a training program, including personnel management.
• Knowledge of train-the-trainer approaches, group dynamics and facilitation techniques for education programs.
• Must be a very resourceful and creative individual capable of designing flexible options to respond to training needs.
• Demonstrated facilitation skills and ability to make presentations comfortably in front of a group.
• Experience managing budgets and expenses in a high accountability environment.
• Must be computer literate and proficient in Microsoft Office products.
• Written and spoken fluency in English.
• Job requires brief to extended periods of in-country travel for training.

Desired Qualifications:

• Familiarity with Guyanese culture, communities, and geography.
• Licensed driver.

Position Salary: Salary negotiable based on previous experience and qualifications.

Position Duration: 1-year contract position renewable upon satisfactory performance.

Application Process/Deadline: Submit resume with cover letter and two reference contacts via email to pcgy_jobvacancies@peacecorps.gov no later than Wednesday, August 19, 2009, or mail them to: Peace Corps Guyana, TM Vacancy, P.O. Box 101192, Georgetown.  Proposed start date: Monday, September 14, 2009.

Additional Information: For additional general information regarding the Peace Corps, please visit our website at: www.peacecorps.gov.

Program and Training Specialist – Education

Applications are invited from suitably qualified persons to fill the position of Program and Training Specialist for an international agency. Position will be filled as soon as a suitable candidate has been identified.

Job Summary:

• Works closely with the Program and Training Staff to design, coordinate, implement, and evaluate a professional training sequence for international volunteers to work effectively in the Basic Education Project.
• Works to establish a productive and dynamic relationship international volunteers and local Guyanese education service providers. Provides a thorough orientation to local Guyanese education service providers, as well as ongoing guidance and support to international volunteers.
• Provides technical and non–technical logistical support to Program and Training Staff.

Job Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in education, project management, community development or related field.
• Three years progressively responsible experience in primary, literacy and/or life skills education.
• Experience in information technology programs and community development is preferred.
• Experience working within the varying levels of the Ministry of Education’s System in Guyana is preferred.
• Experience training adults is required.
• Ability to communicate effectively (reading, writing, speaking) in English.
• Ability to work efficiently and effectively.

This position will require up to 70% in-country travel.

A letter of interest and a copy of resume/curriculum vitae should be sent as soon as possible to the following postal address or hand-delivered to the following street address:

Post to: Hand-deliver to:

PM – Education                                                                   PM – Education

P.O. Box 101192                                                                U.S. Peace Corps

Georgetown, GUYANA                                                     33A Barrack Street

Kingston, Georgetown.

Alternatively, applications may be sent electronically to: pcgy_jobvacancies@peacecorps.gov.

Position:          Analyst

Location:        Bay Area

The Analyst will gather and analyze quantitative and qualitative data that will be used by Education Pioneers staff and leadership to inform strategy, assess progress against business goals, make business decisions, and improve day-to-day performance.  Major areas of responsibility include:

Read the rest of this entry »

The National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) is seeking a temporary Project Assistant to help in the development and implementation of our innovative new program, Africa Rural Connect (ARC).

The ARC Project is an online work collaboration website designed to encourage development work in Africa by drawing on the skills and talents of the African Diaspora, current and returned Peace Corps volunteers, as well as other individuals with development experience on the continent. The website will launch in June and aims to attract tens of thousands of users and their ideas, and will feature a business plan competition to spur creative and practical content generation.

The ARC Project Assistant will assist the ARC Project Manager with responsibilities associated with the website that may include research, communications, participation in strategic planning sessions, and other web-related tasks as assigned.

The ideal candidate will have significant computer skills including some experience working with databases, editing websites and troubleshooting technical problems. He or she should be creative, self-motivated, committed to the goals of the Project, and willing to work in a highly collaborative environment. In addition, the Project Assistant should have ties to the African continent, either as a Peace Corps volunteer or equivalent experience.

For more info, please go here - http://www.idealist.org/if/i/en/av/Job/336373-69/c

(via Guyana Chronicle)

One would have thought in this modern era with all the remarkable scientific and technological advancements achieved we would have solved the nagging problem of illiteracy. Unfortunately, the facts and statistics tell a far different and shocking story about global illiteracy.

Amanda Credaro, reveals some stunning information in the article- ATAXIA IN THE REPUBLIC OF LETTERS;

“A few short years ago, the world was quite rightly shocked at UNESCO’s¹ announcement that there were 900 million illiterates in developing countries, representing nearly 25 per cent of the world’s youth and adults. The National Institute for Literacy (NIL) sympathised, lamenting that more than 113 million children around the world have no access to primary education.”

But the problem of illiteracy is not restricted to poor countries but surprisingly is very prevalent in some of the world’s wealthiest countries.

Credaro point out, “Largely ignored was the fact that nearly a quarter of 16 to 65-year-olds in the world’s richest countries are functionally illiterate. However, the NIL proclaimed² “there is virtually no adult illiteracy in the USA”. Yet, the most recent National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) found that four percent of [American] adults could not perform even the simplest literacy tasks on the survey; a contention that is supported by the Central Intelligence Agency³ in their online World Fact Book.”

But what is the underlying cause of high levels of illiteracy ?.

The answer to this question is not as simple and straightforward since several factors, some of which are intertwined, are responsible, and these include, poverty, socio-economic development, culture and tradition, lack of library facilities, and poor education systems among others.

However, research has shown that there are some definite paths that could be followed in the fight against illiteracy.

Credaro, further stated in her article, “Of the last decade, McGill University’s Helen Amoriggi comments that while printing and publishing technology has galloped forward, churning out millions of words per second, the “human reading rate has remained the same since the days of Sheng Pi and Gutenberg”.

“Ultimately, it would appear that the solution to the global literacy problem is most easily solved by providing adequate funding support for school and other libraries. Given the skill, training and experience of library staff, it is self-evident that library professionals are ideally placed to provide user-friendly access to high quality, high interest reading material for their unique sets of clientele.”

“Although Library Science may not be rocket science, only a fraction of the funding that is expended on space exploration is required to make a massive leap forward to improve the quality of life and cultural implications of citizenship”.

Here in Guyana, illiteracy is a primary concern, even though in the 1960s we boasted the highest literacy rate in the English-speaking Caribbean. Unfortunately, because of a sharp decline in the education system coupled with political and economic mismanagement which took a foot hold from the 1970’s, the illiteracy levels dipped sharply.

However, in recent years strenuous efforts have been made to improve our education standards and increase literacy levels. Although much has been achieved, we still have a far way to go.

In this context, the recent announcement by Education Minister Shaik Baksh that a Unit will be set up to coordinate literacy programmes is indeed a worthwhile move and a step in the right direction.

According to the Minister, the unit will be tasked with guiding efforts and approaches to achieve the literacy benchmarks outlined in his ministry’s five- year strategic plan.

However, it should be noted that this problem cannot be resolved by the efforts of the Education Ministry alone but rather through the collective efforts of our entire society. This point was aptly made by the Minister during the recent public discourse on literacy when he said ,” while literacy is an area of concern, the problem can only be properly addressed if all stakeholders put their shoulders to the wheel”.

(via Idealist.org)

We’re happy to announce that government agencies can now post jobs, internships, volunteer opportunities, events, and programs on our site. Please help us spread the word by sharing the news with your friends who work at local, state/provincial, or federal agencies.

We’ve recently expanded the opportunities available to our members by inviting government agencies to post on Idealist. For people searching Idealist, this means more ways to connect with jobs, internships, and volunteer opportunities related to helping the public good.

For government agencies, Idealist offers the possibility to reach an audience specifically looking for public service opportunities. Over 60,000 people visit Idealist each day, and listings posted on the site are sent out via our daily email alerts to over 400,000 members. Learn more.

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Thank you!

Join the Peace Corps web team as our Information Technology Specialist (Internet), providing front-end web support for www.peacecorps.gov. Be part of our mission to promote world peace and friendship by helping share the Peace Corps story and helping find the next generation of Peace Corps Volunteers.

The Peace Corps website is part of the innovative and award-winning marketing team within the Office of Communications. While we are a federal agency, we don’t feel like one. We operate in a fast-paced, collaborative and creative environment. We are passionate about the work of our Volunteers, and helping inform and inspire the over 5 million website visitors we average a year.

This position will help evolve our successful website, serving as the webmaster and providing skills in XHTML, XML, CSS, ColdFusion, JavaScript, jQuery, Photoshop, Dreamweaver. Flash is a nice bonus.

Fulltime. Salary up to $94,089.

To Apply: Interested candidates must apply online through Peace Corp’s job site: http://tinyurl.com/netcomspecialist . (Don’t be put off by the clunky third-party interface – everything after that about us is pretty cool. Really!) Be sure to attach your resume and include a URL where your portfolio can be seen.

PEPFAR Country Coordinator

The United States Embassy in Georgetown is seeking an individual for the position of PEPFAR Country Coordinator.

BASIC FUNCTION OF POSITION:

The incumbent is the primary point of contact and Coordinator of activities related to the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in Guyana, and will play a critical role in planning, implementing and reporting program performance of inter-agency programs.

A copy of the complete position description listing all duties and responsibilities is available in the Human Resources Office, telephone 225-4900, extension 4249.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:

NOTE: All applicants must address each selection criterion detailed below with specific and comprehensive information supporting each item.

1. An advanced University degree (Masters or higher) is required with major work in Public Policy, Public Health, Administration or Business Management.

2. A minimum of five (5) years of proven experience working with large, complex international or domestic programs is required with at least three years experience working with HIV/AIDS and/or development programs in Guyana.

3. Level IV Fluent English, in reading/writing/speaking, is required.

4. Must have a strong knowledge of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Guyana and the programs to prevent and mitigate its effects.

5. Must be highly proficient in word processing applications (Word), Spreadsheets (Excel), presentation graphics (PowerPoint), database use and have knowledge of the internet.

Download attached files here.

Webmaster for Peace Corps

Join the Peace Corps web team as our Information Technology Specialist (Internet), providing front-end web support for www.peacecorps.gov. Be part of our mission to promote world peace and friendship by helping share the Peace Corps story and helping find the next generation of Peace Corps Volunteers.

The Peace Corps website is part of the innovative and award-winning marketing team within the Office of Communications. While we are a federal agency, we don’t feel like one. We operate in a fast-paced, collaborative and creative environment. We are passionate about the work of our Volunteers, and helping inform and inspire the over 5 million website visitors we average a year.

This position will help evolve our successful website, serving as the webmaster and providing skills in XHTML, XML, CSS, ColdFusion, JavaScript, jQuery, Photoshop, Dreamweaver. Flash is a nice bonus.

Fulltime. Salary up to $94,089.

To Apply: Interested candidates must apply online through Peace Corp’s job site: http://tinyurl.com/netcomspecialist . (Don’t be put off by the clunky third-party interface – everything after that about us is pretty cool. Really!) Be sure to attach your resume and include a URL where your portfolio can be seen.

The Prevention Specialist will be responsible for the implementation of capacity building and provision of technical assistance to field activities for prevention with a focus on those programs targeting most at risk population.  An understanding of the socio-cultural issues and nuances of working in such communities is highly desirable.  S/he will work directly with partner organizations, communities and other resource users to execute the various activities.  S/he should have at least a relevant Bachelor’s degree and at least 5 years of experience in the provision of successful, targeted HIV/AIDS prevention programming.  S/he should have considerable experience and technical expertise working with community-based organizations, NGOs, and host-country governments.

Maripili O’Connell

Staffing Specialist

Management Sciences for Health

784 Memorial Drive

Cambridge, MA

www.msh.org