STAR Education Hiring For Director, Academics at Imphal, Manipur, India Full Time

Academic Director, Academics

Who Are We

STAR Education is the flagship programme of the Government of Manipur to transform the education system of Manipur through excellence in teaching and learning in classrooms, ensuring strong learning outcomes for children and better growth for the state.

STAR Education will deploy an innovative technology and data-driven platform, which when coupled with high quality learning materials, effective training and ongoing coaching for teachers and school leaders, and technology-enabled support teams, will ensure strong learning outcomes.

STAR Education will demonstrate with the right training, materials, support and capacity building coupled with appropriate technology, Government schools can deliver outsized learning outcomes for learners. This success does not need to wait for another decade but can be seen in a short time, so that this generation of learners will have the potential to transform their country. STAR Education recognizes that the potential to deliver global excellence in education exists within our existing schools and our existing teachers. Through training, technology and scientifically proven pedagogical approaches, STAR Education will help realise the innate potential of every child and teacher, ensuring not only knowledge mastery but also mindset transformation that will create a highly motivated and skilled workforce to build our future together.

Academics Department

The objective of Academics is to drive student achievement. To do so, we must know — what is happening minute-by-minute for the typical child. The student’s daily experience, and thus the path to achievement, emerges from their relationship with the teachers and the content that is delivered in the classroom. Our team is collaboratively organised around these levers. We develop rigorous content pitched at the right level for students to be delivered by a teacher who is prepared to succeed in the classroom. Our Instructional Design department builds the content; our Leadership & Development department trains teachers and school leaders using scientifically-proven techniques; our Learning Innovation department looks at cutting-edge research to generate breakthrough learning gains. Underpinning all of this is the work of the independent Measurement and Evaluation group, which provides Academics with an empirical orientation toward improving that daily experience and, in turn, driving achievement.

About The Role

The Academic Director for STAR Education Manipur will ultimately be responsible for educational outcomes across schools.

The Academic Director will project manage all academic events and initiatives for the STAR Education Manipur. This work will require coordination between NewGlobe education specialists known as Shared Services who work in instructional design, production, training, and innovation. The Academic Director serves as the link between Shared Services and the information from schools, government officials, and civil society. This work will be codified in a yearly academic plan, which the Academic Director owns.

Within the STAR Education Manipur team, the Academic Director will work with all departments (e.g. Operations, Schools, People Operations) to ensure that all schools have the right operational conditions for learning to take place. The Academic Director is the resident expert that will push for student achievement through defending STAR Education Manipur approach and educating government officials, fellow staff members, and school communities.

The STAR Education Manipur programme is a dynamic one that is changing the way students learn in Manipur through proven methods and constant innovation. The Academic Director is central to unearthing what works in these classrooms. The Academic Director, in collaboration with Shared Services, will design, implement and assess various targeted projects that build on the quality of the STAR Education Manipur programme.

What You Will Do

• Lead execution and interdepartmental coordination of the core academic program in territory through creation of the Academic Plan
• Advocating for learning outcomes and serving as the STAR Education Manipur academic expert for other departments
• Providing feedback to the Instructional Design team, in order to improve learning outcomes and culturally contextualise what is taught in your territory
• Representing STAR Education Manipur with key state stakeholders, including SCERT and BOSEM and other government education officials
• Conducting necessary market and regulatory research to inform instructional systems and policies (timetable, teacher specialty configurations, retention policies, exam policy, placement policy)
• Identify areas of growth within our Academic offerings and create programmes/policies that improve student learning and school operations
• Managing the Academics team based in your territory: Programme Manager
• The Academic Director will report to the Managing Director

What You Should Have

• The Academic Director must be a data-driven individual with experience developing and managing cultures of high performance and high expectations. You must be a great academic leader who understands exceptional instruction and can motivate and support others in realising a vision of academic excellence. Ideal candidates have worked in organisations with a proven track record of generating large learning gains.
• In addition, the Academic Director must:
• Be a self-starter and problem-solver, who thinks three and four steps ahead.
• Be hard working and collaborative, with the tenacity to plough through challenges and an appreciation for teamwork toward achieving a shared vision.
• Be a fast learner and someone who is able to flourish in fast paced, dynamic, and sometimes ambiguous environments
• Be both detailed and results-oriented, driven by the data that will allow us to know what is working and what isn’t working for kids.
• Have strong project management skills and excellent organisational skills, with keen attention to detail and ability to follow up systematically on a broad set of initiatives and decisions
• Be an effective, articulate communicator who can represent NewGlobe to external audiences.
• Be humble and ready to “roll up your sleeves” to get things done
• Education and Qualification:
• Bachelor’s degree in Education or related field, graduate degrees preferred
• Experience working with Secondary schools as a teacher, school leader, or as part of a project
• Experience working as an in house or external consultant evaluating student learning or teacher development
• Experience writing reports and/or interpreting outcomes with government officials at SCERT, BOSEM or similar organizations is a plus

You’re also

• A detailed doer – You have a track record of getting things done. You’re organized and responsive. You take ownership of every idea you touch and execute it to a fine level of detail, setting targets, engaging others, and doing whatever it takes to get the job done. You can multi-task dozens of such projects at once and never lose sight of the details. Likely, you have some experience in a start-up or other rapid-growth company.
• A creative problem-solver – Growing any business from scratch comes with massive and constant challenges. On top of that, Bridge works in often fragile, sometimes volatile low-resource communities and with complex government systems. You need to be flexible and ready to get everything done effectively, quickly, and affordably with the materials at hand.
• A relentless advocate – The children we serve and teachers we empower never leave your mind. You know them, get them, have shared a meal with them (or would be happy to in the future). You would never shrink back from shaking a parent’s hand or picking up a crying child, no matter what the person was wearing or looked like. Every decision you make considers their benefit, experience, and value.
• A malleable learner – You believe you can always do better. You welcome constructive criticism and provide it freely to others. You know you only get better tomorrow when others point out where you’ve missed things or failed today.
• A data-driven decision-maker – When making decisions, you don’t rely on your intuition alone. You collect data, you analyze it and make decisions with clear justifications.
• A curious investigator – You ask why a lot. You don’t just take what you see and accept it. You wonder why it is that way, and are aware that the world we see is created by human choices and actions – and it could be different. You wonder, and see the world as wonderful even when you want to change a part of it that is unjust.