If you are  interested in the Women's Literacy program in  
Afghanistan , there is an opening for a Literacy Training Specialist,  
See job description that follows:

Job Description
Literacy Training Specialist
  (International Technical Advisor I)

EDC seeks a seasoned training professional to work as part of our  
dynamic, community-focused literacy activities in Afghanistan. The  
Training Specialist will be responsible for providing training and  
support to a cadre of Afghan national and local-level literacy  
trainers under the Literacy and Community Empowerment Project (LCEP).  
LCEP is an integrated community development initiative that includes  
components in literacy, economic empowerment and local governance in  
Afghanistan. This is a non-dependent posting, based in Kabul, which  
is funded through July 2006.

Program Summary

In August 2004, EDC and its implementing partner, UN Habitat,  
launched the USAID-funded Literacy and Community Empowerment Program.  
The goals of this two-year program are to:

1)    Enhance the role of women and young people as change agents in  
society through increased literacy and skills for income-generation; and
2)    Strengthen democratically elected institutions of civil society  
that give a greater voice to women and young adults, and that deepen  
grassroots participatory governance.

Within the Literacy component of LCEP, EDC is responsible for two  
inter-related sub-components: the establishment and ongoing  
development of a Women?s Teacher Training Institute in Kabul and the  
implementation of the Afghan Literacy Initiative, which currently  
represents the field-based literacy operations of the Institute. Both  
Literacy sub-components are implemented in collaboration with  
Afghanistan?s Ministry of Education.

The Afghan Literacy Initiative targets 65% young females, and is also  
open to young men and older boys. It provides learners in remote  
areas of the country with access to functional literacy skills in the  
areas of governance and economic empowerment. These skills are then  
reinforced when learners participate in ongoing LCEP work in  
governance and economic empowerment within targeted communities. A  
critical element of the LCEP literacy approach is that both teachers  
and learners build their teaching and literacy skills through lessons  
that encourage learners to create their own materials and learning  
strategies, and monitor their own progress.

The literacy component is designed to complement other LCEP  
components focusing on local governance, savings and credit  
development, and micro enterprise.  Governance and economic  
empowerment components of LCEP are being implemented by UN Habitat.

Specific duties of the Literacy Training Specialist:

1. Develop and implement a dynamic TOT training strategy, approach  
and materials: Recognizing the limitations of the cascade model, the  
Training Specialist will work with the Literacy Team Leader and other  
LCEP senior staff to develop a training system that can offer maximum  
support and professional development for trainers while at the same  
time allowing for significant trainer autonomy.

2. Train and support trainers: Using a successful track record of  
training adult learners in a rural development context, the Training  
Specialist will model excellent and dynamic training techniques for  
all levels of the LCEP training ladder, and will spend a significant  
portion of his/her time in the field.

3. Provide team leadership: The Training Specialist will be  
responsible for managing the training aspects of our literacy work. S/ 
he will provide day-to-day guidance and inspiration to/for Lead  
Trainers to assure the highest caliber of professionalism, teamwork,  
communication and planning.

3. Assure training excellence, cohesion and responsiveness. The  
Training Specialist will use her/his successful track record in  
training of adults to lead TOT activities that:

    recognize the potential and the current realities of LCEP  
trainers
    emerge from and are appropriate for daily life in rural  
Afghan communities;
    are learner-centered and participatory;
    use innovative teaching and learning strategies;
    build trainer and learner autonomy by encouraging self- 
monitoring and localized production of materials and teaching/ 
learning strategies;
    reinforce, and are reinforced by, training practices in  
place in the LCEP governance and economic empowerment components.

Qualifications and Desired Skills:

?    Advanced degree in a related field.
?    Significant and practical technical experience rooted in state- 
of-the-art adult training methodologies.
?    Field experience in Afghanistan or central Asia preferred.
?    Excellent management, organizational, and communication skills.
?    Demonstrated ability to collaborate in complex situations across  
cultures.
?    Experience in participatory community development programs.
?    Excellent writing skills
?    Excellent organizational skills
?    Ability to work independently and as a team member.
?    Language requirements: Dari and/or Pashtu language skills highly  
desirable.

Please submit a resume and cover letter to Barbara Garner  
(b.garner4 at verizon.net). No phone calls please. Only short-listed  
candidates will be contacted.