Regional Technical Coordinator Middle East At Bibliothèques Sans Frontières

ABOUT BSF

Founded in 2007 by the French historian Patrick Weil, Bibliothèques Sans Frontières (Libraries Without Borders) is an NGO that empowers vulnerable populations by sharing culture, education and information. It implements inclusive and innovative projects in 30+ countries, enabling people affected by crises and precarity to educate themselves, dream and (re)build their lives. Thanks to its innovative tools, library of contents and expertise in mediation, BSF and its partners tackle the major challenges of the 21st century such as education, culture, citizenship, community building, health, employment or entrepreneurship.

At BSF, decisions are only based on the applicant’s skills and qualities regarding its needs of recruitment within a respectful and inclusive process. BSF hires and employs individuals regardless of their gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, cultural or ethnic background, or disability.

BSF’s expertise is based on three pillars:

• Selecting educational and playful content adapted to the final beneficiaries (profile, language(s) spoken, literacy level, objectives), whether physical and/or digital. To date, the BSF database contains over 50,000 digital contents in more than 36 different languages.
• Disseminating this content using innovative offline digital tools, enabling users to access this content from their smartphone, tablet, computer, or even e-reader:
  • The Ideas Box: a multimedia library in kit form, that can be deployed over 100 m2 in less than 20 minutes, containing both paper and digital documentary resources, an offline internet server along with computers and tablets, board games, films… This genuine toolbox can be used to set up educational and school activities, train-the-trainer courses, as well as human development activities such as theater workshops and games.
  • The Ideas Cube: an autonomous and ultra-portable server that works without an Internet connection to provide access to information in the most remote locations. The Ideas Cube creates a Wi-Fi hotspot to which users can connect using a smartphone, tablet or computer to access thousands of educational, cultural or training resources.
  • The Kajou Cards:
• Training local partners and future users of the devices in the use of these tools but above all in cultural mediation around the selected content to facilitate the appropriation of the project and its impact.

OUR PRESENCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST

BSF is active in the Middle East since 2015 and currently implements various educational projects in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine. Operations are conducted under the regional office in Amman.

Thanks to the support of the French Agency for Development, BSF is launching the second phase of its project called “Ideas Box Initiative”, which seeks to enhance the autonomy and resilience of vulnerable communities by improving their access to information, education and culture in Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine.

The project aims to design and deploy innovative and educational tools to support implementing partners in designing and implementing activities on non-formal education, psychosocial support, access to employment, social cohesion, gender and awareness-raising on disability.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

BSF is recruiting a Regional Technical Coordinator, who will report directly to the Regional Director of BSF in Amman. He/she will provide technical assistance to support implementation of BSF projects in the Middle East region (Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine). This person will ensure BSF programs are of high quality and that the educational tools and methods designed for each project are matching the needs of the people and partners we’re aiming to help.

This includes:

• Content strategy and curation support
• Training design and support on BSF tools and content : design the training curricula for the use of BSF tools and content, identification of capacity-building for implementing partners, implementation of training sessions
• Methodological framework for facilitation of activities: design of activity curriculum, creation of methodological framework to support the implementing partners on facilitation techniques, etc.
• Management of IT & tools

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Regional Technical Coordinator will work in close coordination with the whole Project team in the Regional Office, as well as with the Education, Research and Impact Department, at BSF HQ in Paris.

The Content, Training and Facilitation Coordinator is responsible for the following key tasks:

1.Content Strategy & Curation Support:

• Participate in content needs assessments for new and ongoing projects
• Design and update the content strategy of each project, based on needs assessments
• Lead the BSF team in the curation, creation, and documentation of physical and digital content adapted to each content strategy, with a focus on Education, Digital literacy, Social cohesion, Protection of vulnerable communities, and Access to employment
• Identify and work with translators and local content actors, at the regional level, to design suitable and relevant content to enrich the BSF database of content and activities.
• Identify relevant stakeholders in the Middle East that will facilitate the identification and production of quality educational and pedagogical content, facilitate partnerships and cooperation agreements.
• Collect feedback from the users and partners to adjust the bank of content in order to build and update a broad library of appropriate locally sourced resources.
• Provide technical advice to the design and development of new projects.

2.Training Design and Support on BSF tools and content:

• Design and update the training curricula regarding the use and management of the tools (Ideas Box, Ideas Cubes, Kajou cards) and its content, facilitation and programming, user involvement, in line with existing general guidelines and materials.
• Design and implement methodologies and tools to assess the capacity and needs of implementing partners regarding the use of BSF tools and content.
• Implement and facilitate training sessions on the Ideas Box and Ideas Cube for the implementing partners,
• Implement and facilitate training and capacity-building sessions for BSF staff on the use of BSF tools and content
• Conduct regular field visits to follow-up BSF partner’s activity implementation and to inform BSF activity and training support.
• Draft training and evaluation reports

3.Methodological Framework for facilitation of activities:

• Design, with the program team and implementing partners, the activity curriculum for each project
• Identify, with the program team and implementing partners, the needs for capacity-building for implementing partners on facilitation techniques
• Design and follow the implementation of the methodological framework to provide technical guidance and capacity-building to implementing partners regarding the facilitation of activities, on a day-to-day basis, as needed
• Implement and facilitate training and capacity-building sessions for BSF staff on facilitations techniques and methodologies
• Ensure the proper deployment of methodologies on facilitation and technology (activity guides, methodological guides, etc.) and document good practices.

4.Management of IT & Tools :

• Coordinates the integration and update of digital content onto servers and other IT equipment (curated software, applications, etc.),
• Provides feedback and reports to the IT department at BSF HQ.

QUALITIES AND QUALIFICATIONS

At BSF, we recognize the value of a diverse range of experiences. If you do not meet every qualification but believe that your skills, knowledge, and drive make you a suitable candidate for this role, we encourage you to apply! We understand that traditional professional experience is not the only way to develop skills; we also welcome relevant educational and volunteer experiences that have equipped you with the skills to do this job.

Required Education & Experience:

• University degree in the field of education. Degree in education, pedagogy, library science, social work, or a related field is preferred.
• Minimum of 5 years of professional experience in education, preferably in the Middle East region
• Required Experience in curriculum development as well as in training design and facilitation.
• Experience in selecting content, and innovative technologies that support access to information, culture, and education.
• Good knowledge of the education sector, challenges, and main actors in the Middle-East region
• Knowledge of the edition and content production sectors would be a plus

Required Qualities:

• Interest in digital education and new educational tools, platforms, and technologies is strongly desired.
• Thorough, organized, and reliable. Able to work autonomously with a sense of responsibility.
• Capable of adapting, managing priorities, and acting pragmatically in a busy work environment.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills. Able to coordinate and collaborate well with external stakeholders.
• Strong sense of integrity and honesty.
• Native arabic speaker, Fluency in English is required

RECRUITMENT CONDITIONS

• Location: Amman, Jordan, with regular travel within the region
• Type of contract: fix-term contract, under Jordanian law
• Contract duration: 12 months, renewable
• Start date: Asap
• Remuneration: Based on BSF salary grid and experience