Summary
Date Posted: Friday, May 29, 2020 , Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:

As a volunteer nursery school teacher in Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro Region in 2007, Sarah Rosenbloom was troubled to see a number of students writing backward or upside-down, in both literacy and numeracy exercises. These students found it difficult to catch on and were hard to correct; their teachers were at a loss as to how to help them.
With extensive research and a network of connections, Sarah developed a simple, yet effective intervention to assist Standard One students with learning difficulties, which is both unique and innovative. She founded The Toa Nafasi Project, a non-governmental organization incorporated in 2012 in the United States and working in Tanzania, to deliver and maintain this intervention.
The Toa Nafasi Project has since evolved into a more complex entity that aims to: 1) support students with learning difficulties by fostering’ hidden talents as well as resolving the challenges they face; 2) hire underemployed local women, train them as tutors, and provide them with opportunities for further professional development. Initiated in one school in 2013, in 2020 Toa currently operates in 11 schools and employs 35 Tanzanians as administrative staff and tutors.
Thus, founded on the notion that each child is an individual with diverse aptitudes and learning styles that must be encouraged, The Toa Nafasi Project addresses the needs of public primary schoolchildren in Tanzania to assess their abilities, cultivate strengths, and resolve weaknesses. In order to do so, we train formerly disadvantaged local women as tutors, and work with teachers, parents, and the community at large to enrich the classroom experience. The two-fold mission of The Toa Nafasi Project is to elicit creativity and distinction in the classroom and on the playground, and to provide each child and tutor the chance to excel.
TOA’S EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PLATFORM
The education sector in Tanzania has very limited resources—both human and economic—for students with learning differences, particularly those with needs as subtle and complex as dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia. Acknowledging this dilemma, the 2009 National Strategy on Inclusive Education called upon non-state actors—non-governmental organizations in particular—to form partnerships with local school systems and government offices in order to facilitate the goals of inclusive education. The Toa Nafasi Project has answered this call through the implementation of our Early Childhood Education Platform, which proceeds as follows:
Assess: Each year, our staff with the permission and cooperation of school administrators, take a census of all the children enrolled in Standard One. We observe each student for social behaviors, adaptive abilities, and motor skills as well as test them for literacy, numeracy, and cognitive skills to get a full picture of each child’s capacities.
Refer: The Project has a referral system of health professionals to treat those students who are assessed as having medical or psychosocial issues. In past years, we have assisted children with adenoid and tonsil surgeries, rehabilitated those suffering from sexual abuse trauma, and treated a multitude of children with complaints ranging from vision and hearing impairment to mild medical conditions. Students with more severe learning challenges are sponsored at the local Gabriella Rehabilitation Centre.
Modify: The Project works with the remaining children who are still struggling through daily tutorial sessions. Because the Tanzanian educational system requires that schoolchildren sit for periodic national examinations, the standard national curriculum must be adhered to. But we do so in a modified context in which the syllabus and/or teaching methodology can be readily adjusted for students with special needs with more time spent on each lesson, one-on-one time with the tutor, and hands-on work.
Train: Toa’s corps of tutors – formerly underemployed local women – receive in-service training throughout the year on simple yet effective pedagogical methods. Our tutors become powerful advocates for students both within the school setting and in the community where disability is often stigmatized. Beyond teaching, Toa provides these women opportunities for professional development, enabling them to become part of the organization’s decision-making and program implementation processes.
Measurement: Toa uses several tools for monitoring project activities and outcomes. We assess each student in the classroom after six months and one year to measure progress. We also hold individual interviews with headmasters and teachers, and conduct surveys and focus groups with the students’ parents/caregivers and village members. Approximately 90% of our Standard One students return to mainstream classrooms and proceed to Standard Two.
ABOUT THE ROLE
The Toa Nafasi Project is currently recruiting a new Executive Director to lead the organization into its next phase of existence. We are seeking a passionate, committed, and creative leader who will ensure that programs are running in a timely and impactful manner, that fundraising is maintained to keep up with growth, that partnerships are formed and deepened, and that all organizational activities are focused towards achieving and expanding our mission to its highest potential. This person must have a demonstrated ability to manage and inspire others by encouraging team members to do their best work, provide honest feedback, build impactful projects and programs, and have the confidence to work with government actors, partners and communities. In short, we are looking for someone who will be committed to and has the demonstrated ability to further the twofold mission of the Toa Nafasi Project and who understands the urgent need to work with government actors, partners, and communities to support children with different learning needs and empower women through professional development

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Job application procedure
Please send a one-page cover letter and CV with three references to susan@toanafasi.org  before June 12th, with the subject line “Executive Director Application”. The cover letter should include net salary expectation. You are also welcome to send up to two additional links or attachments that demonstrate your eligibility for this position. These may include a writing sample (kindly ensure that you are the sole author) or link (for example: a TED Talk or press link for a project you managed). Please provide clear context for any additional links in your email. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interviews. Thank you for your interest!

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