Teaching English as Foreign Language (TEFL) Coordinator

The United States Peace Corps is a non-political, non-religious organization that will bring Americans to Viet Nam to serve as Peace Corps Volunteers. Volunteers will co-teach English language classes with Vietnamese teachers in secondary schools. The Peace Corps is serving in Viet Nam at the invitation of the Government of Viet Nam and working closely with Ministry of Education and Training with a goal to improve the English language skills of teachers and students. Peace Corps Volunteers commit to two years of service, will live with host families, and will support and co-lead additional school related activities in accordance with the school leadership. A new cohort of Volunteers will arrive each year. The Peace Corps was founded by U.S. President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to promote world peace and friendship.

General information about the Peace Corps can be found on www.peacecorps.gov.

Position Title: Teaching English as Foreign Language (TEFL) Coordinator

Opening Date: March 26, 2021

Submission Date for first review: April 16, 2021, Open until filled

Area of Consideration/Who may apply: All applicants must be a naturalized citizen or permanent resident of Viet Nam who are legally able to work within the country.

Point of Contact: Peace Corps Human Resources - PCVietNamJobs@peacecorps.gov

Market Value/Salary (per annum): US$ 13,827– US$ 20,571 + benefits

Period of Performance/ Length of Contract/ Work Schedule: Definite term – five years/ Monday to Friday (40 hours per week). Peace Corps expects this contract to be continuing in nature for the contractor to perform under a series of sequential contracts, subject to the availability of funds.

Place of Performance: Peace Corps Viet Nam, Peace Corps office Ha Noi.

Security Level required: Local Security Certificate

Background information of the position

Under the direct supervision of the Director of Programming and Training (DPT), and in coordination with the Program Manager (PM) and Training Manager (TM) and other staff in the Training and Evaluation (PTE) Unit, the TEFL Coordinator is responsible for ensuring that Peace Corps Volunteers/Trainees (PCV/Ts) have the TEFL-related skills and resources they need to fulfill the objectives of the English Education Program (EEP) in Viet Nam.

The TEFL Coordinator supports the PM and TM in the development, implementation, assessment, and reporting of training activities related to English language education. The TEFL Coordinator supports the PM in adapting and refining training materials and approaches and coordinates practicum opportunities with schools/communities, to support Volunteers with their development as teachers and teacher trainers. The TEFL coordinator consults with the PM on the identification of viable, effective sites for Peace Corps Volunteers and supports Volunteers and their teaching counterparts. The TEFL coordinator will contribute to counterpart orientation, training, and teaching observations, and may be asked to engage in individual coaching and problem-solving in order to ensure the Volunteercounterpart relationship is positive and productive.

The Peace Corps is both a federal agency and a vehicle through which American citizens offer needed assistance to people around the world and, in doing so, promote greater cross-cultural understanding between Americans and the people of the host countries. The fulfillment of the Peace Corps’ mission to foster greater understanding among the world’s citizens requires that we adhere to the highest standards with respect to equal employment opportunity for all Volunteers, employees, and applicants. The U.S. Peace Corps Vietnam will provide equal opportunity and fair and equitable treatment in employment to all people without regard to race, color religion, ethnicity, sex, national origin, age, disability, political affiliation, marital status, pregnancy and maternity or sexual orientation. The Peace Corps will also strive to achieve equal employment opportunity in all personnel operations through continuing diversity enhancement programs. Discrimination based on factors that have no bearing on a person’s ability to serve and perform his or her duties is not permitted and will not be tolerated.

The TEFL Coordinator is responsible for programmatic monitoring, reporting, and evaluation tasks related to individual Volunteer activities, in order to ensure their quality and consistency with Peace Corps goals and assists with the analysis of resulting data in order to provide feedback to Volunteers and to inform training content.

The TEFL Coordinator may be required to live outside Ha Noi for the duration of PST (up to 14 weeks), and will be required to travel as needed to support training events or other PC needs. The TEFL Coordinator may need to travel internationally to trainings provided to Peace Corps staff. The TEFL Coordinator may also be required to work outside of, or in addition to, normally scheduled hours to support training events and other Post needs. Training events are often six-day work weeks.

The TEFL Coordinator must consistently use a range of support and communication skills including active listening, intercultural competence, interactive coaching, and timely and consistent follow through on requests for support and/or assistance and/or program adaptations. The TEFL Coordinator should foster personal and professional growth in PCT/Vs, celebrate their accomplishments, promote best practices and consistently champion the efforts of PCT/Vs and staff colleagues.

Qualifications

Required:

• Education/Certification: University Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in English or TESOL, TEFL or similar

• Years of Experience: Minimum of 5 years of experience as an English teacher in the Vietnamese educational system, with a minimum of 2 years of experience as a trainer or coordinator of other English teachers

• Experience teaching, training, or facilitating group discussions in English

• Experience developing written materials in English and Vietnamese for professional purposes.

• Familiarity with MS Office suite

Preferred:

• Master's degree (or higher) in related subject, such as TESOL or applied linguistics

• Certifications or coursework in one or more of the following areas:

English teaching
teacher training
adult education
non-formal education
experiential education
intercultural competence
monitoring and evaluation
interpersonal coaching

• Designing teacher training curricula and associated lesson plans.

• Training design and implementation

• Exposure to or development of electronic (online) learning courses or management systems.

• Experience facilitating discussions of large groups in English

• Incorporating experiential activities and/or multi-media to support educational objectives.

• Monitoring and evaluation, such as community-based projects and/or training, education programs.

• Experience manipulating and summarizing data using text, graphs, and/or charts

• At least one year of experience teaching English at the secondary level in a public school in Viet Nam.

• Living or working with rural and areas of Viet Nam.

• Experience working in an international or intercultural organization.

• Experience in youth or community development sectors.

Duties and Responsibilities / Tasks and Deliverables

Support for Country Program

• Assist the PM, DPT, and others as appropriate, to develop and maintain the EEP such that it reflects and serves the needs of Viet Nam. Project development includes clarifying the technical needs to be addressed, formulating or revising project goals and objectives, facilitating the development of appropriate community partners for implementing project goals and assessing volunteer progress towards individual project goals.

• Coordinate the design and implementation of effective project monitoring and evaluation activities with the participation of appropriate officials, specific hosting institutions, and Volunteers. Assure that Volunteer activities advance EEP project goals as intended and contribute to discussions regarding project plan revisions, as warranted by Viet Nam’s needs in the areas of English teaching.

• Assist the PM to develop potential assignments for Volunteers through site visits and other relevant activities, and initiate and maintain contact with potential partnering schools. Explain Peace Corps Viet Nam's development philosophy and the role of Volunteers to Vietnamese schools, education administrators, principals, teachers, host family and other community members.

• When required, represent Peace Corps at meetings and events with governmental and non-governmental agencies, public and private, to advance the goals of Peace Corps and the EEP project.

• Stay up-to-date on the available Peace Corps materials and requirements related to TEFL technical training and the educational context in Viet Nam to ensure that post is striving for best practices and meeting required standards.

• The TEFL Coordinator may also be asked to

a. Contribute to the post language program, for example by acting as a back-up Language & Cross Cultural Facilitator during PST and/or becoming certified to administer language proficiency interviews.

b. Contribute to the post homestay program, for example by assisting homestay families and PCV/Ts, or being prepared to assess host family housing according to post requirements.

c. Complete special projects and assignments for the PTE unit as needed.

Technical Training (English Teaching) Coordination

Peace Corps conducts extensive Pre-Service Training (PST) to prepare PCT/Vs for their service, as well as various in-service events that provide PCVs and their Vietnamese partners with timely knowledge and skills in technical and other areas. The TEFL Coordinator supports the TM and PM in ensuring that the design and delivery of technical sessions meet global standards and post requirements to prepare PCT/Vs for their service.

Duties for technical training design, delivery and coordination include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Coordinate with the DPT, PM, TM and other staff as appropriate, for the design, implementation, and evaluation of PCV/T learning experiences across the 27 month continuum, related to technical training in English Teaching and appropriately integrated with other training components.

• Reviews/develops goals, objectives, and session outlines of technical training events/activities/practica with other staff members and makes recommendations for improvement before and after the training events. Suggests innovations to training design that may improve the development of competence by PCVs in English teaching and teacher training.

• Contribute to the development of the PST calendar, including appropriate sequencing of classroom sessions, practicum opportunities and technical assignments in order develop technical competence in English teaching.

• In coordination with the PM, develop curricula for TEFL learning experiences which 1) leverage global technical sessions and meets/exceeds standards for TEFL certificate program when possible, 2) address the Vietnamese context generally, and identified work sites specifically, 3) respond to PCT/V needs assessments, and 4) leverage the availability of local educational expertise.

• Work with TM to plan and implement appropriate practica during PST which simulate anticipated work environments at assigned sites. Introduce Peace Corps and seek appropriate permissions in order to arrange PCT visits, practice teaching at local schools, meetings with local English teachers, and/or the creation of model schools.

• Coordinate the development, procurement, organization and inventory of TEFL training materials, services, and resources needed for training events.

• Facilitate assigned conversations/sessions during school meetings and counterpart conferences regarding work expectations, counterpart relations, co-teaching methods, etc.

• Participate in the evaluation of the qualifications of each PCT throughout and at the end of preservice training. Assume an active and participatory role in the site assignment process.

• Work with the TM, Language and Cross-cultural Coordinator (LCC) and other staff as needed to orient temporary PST staffing, including Language and Cultural Facilitators, to objectives and methods of the TEFL technical training and respective roles, through the annual Training of Trainers event.

• Collaborates with the PM and TM to develop on-going, self-directed training support for PCV use at their permanent sites.

• Compiles records of TEFL training learning experiences (session designs and materials, schedules, evaluation summaries.

Project Monitoring, Reporting and Evaluation (MRE):

Systematic collection of quantitative and qualitative data regarding PCV’s work is essential for measuring the impact of the program, formal (e.g., Annual Report, status reports) and informal (e.g., social media posts) reporting to partners, stakeholders, and Peace Corps headquarters, and informing programmatic and training improvements. Relevant data is collected through periodic reports from PCVs (e.g., the Volunteer Report Form (VRF)), global surveys of PCVs and counterparts, and feedback provided by partners at all levels of the education system of Viet Nam. The TEFL Coordinator coordinates the MRE work at post. Those duties include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Develop systems and materials (e.g., data collection tools) for timely administration and collection of complete PCV reports, and coordinate with other staff to ensure robust and timely feedback is provided.

• Adapt and deliver training sessions for PCT/Vs regarding their reporting responsibilities (e.g., VRFs or other tools).

• Monitor PCV reports, including timely receipt, quality of information, progress towards goals, challenges encountered, and future plans.

• Perform quality assurance checks and coaches individual PCVs, as needed, regarding their access and use of data collection tools and reports.

• Scrubs and compiles data submitted through the VRF (or other tools) and presents summary results for use by all staff in planning exercises and reporting to partners and stakeholders.

• Supports administration of Annual Volunteer Survey and counterpart survey, as needed.

• Develops and collects needs assessment surveys from PCVs and counterparts, in collaboration with PTE staff, in order to prepare for training events.

• Support PMs and DPT in completing project reviews, utilizing standard process evaluation guidelines and procedures.

• Acts as the Peace Corps M&E liaison with relevant units at Peace Corps headquarters staying abreast of Peace Corps monitoring and evaluation resources and innovations.

• Develops on-going, self-directed training support for PCV use at their permanent sites, including use of e-learning strategies, as feasible.

Volunteer/Trainee Support and Assessment

The TEFL Coordinator is a key support and contact person for PCV/Ts in matters related to technical competence in English teaching and working with counterparts. Support duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Help individual PCT/Vs identify their individual learning needs related to English teaching and provide support and guidance to help them meet those needs.

• Provide technical/teaching advice and coaching of PCT/Vs on work performance, in coordination with the PM. Continuously coach PCT/Vs towards Peace Corps’ “Core Expectations” regarding professionalism and service, and document behavioral or policy issues as necessary, in consultation with the TM, PM and DPT.

• Provide PCT/Vs with guidance either as a group or on an individual basis, through positive leadership, direct technical assistance, and consultation.

• Provides advice and guidance to PCT/Vs, and as necessary, to counterparts, in order to promote positive and productive technical partnership and intercultural exchange, and to prevent, resolve or mitigate problems at work;

• Contribute to the development and ensures implementation of PCT assessment and feedback processes for all training events, according to Peace Corps standards and processes, including the completion and documentation of formal observations of PCV/Ts.

• Based on standardized criteria and thorough documentation, recommends individual PCTs for swearing-in as PCVs, or as necessary, recommends remedial action or termination of service.

• Travel as needed throughout the country to establish and maintain effective working relationships with schools and community officials. Visit PCVs periodically at their sites to provide advice and assistance to them, their counterparts and supervisors in order to enhance working relationships and performance and assure safety and security. Document activities and results on a timely basis and recommend changes needed in training content or methodology.

• Assist PCV/Ts in improving their social and cultural adaptation through the provision of technical support, cultural insights, and direction to relevant and available resources.

• Support PCV/Ts with personal and cultural coaching and guidance on various policies, procedures, safety and security, and administrative matters, with guidance from PM and DPT.

Other Duties

• Supports other teams as needed taking on back-up support responsibilities and carrying out duties and responsibilities of agreed upon positions when deemed necessary by the Country Director and/or Supervisor for the successful management of Peace Corps operations in Viet Nam.

• Act as translator and interpreter for PC and PST staff as needed.

• Other tasks and duties as assigned.

Standard Roles and Responsibilities

A. Occasional Money Handler (OMH): may be requested to courier cash and /or purchase orders to various vendors who furnish supplies and/or services to Pre-Service Training/In-Service Training sites, or other locations as directed by the Contracting Officer. The PSC may also be requested to courier cash to PC trainees or volunteers. The PSC will not be functioning as a procurement or disbursing official but will only be acting as an intermediary between the Contracting or Disbursing Officer and the recipient. In the case of dealing with vendors, the PSC will not exercise any procurement discretion concerning the supplies or services to be purchased or the cost limits of these purchases; these will be determined by the Contracting Officer.

B. Safety &Security:

All members of the Peace Corps team must be familiar with the Emergency Action Plan, their responsibilities in the event of an emergency, and with the procedures for reporting and responding to safety and security incidents.

The duties and responsibilities, particularly as they concern Volunteers and Trainees, include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Assists the Training Manager in developing, assessing and redesigning competencies and training sessions as required.

• Evaluates and reports Volunteer/Trainee acquisition of safety and security competencies.

• Immediately communicates Volunteer safety and security concerns and issues to the Safety and Security Manager (SSM) and Training Manager.

• Supports the safety and security systems that are in-place for pre-service training, including reinforcing Trainee roles and responsibilities related to personal safety and security.

• Knowledgeable and supportive of Peace Corps safety and security policies and procedures, including the timely reporting of suspicious incidents, persons or articles.

• Acts as Duty Officer as assigned: A Duty Officer is “on call” 24/7 for a one-week period, is restricted from travel during that period, and must be available through the Duty Officer cell phone at all times. The Duty Officer works closely with the Safety and Security Manager.

Evaluation and Selection Criteria:

Applications will be initially screened for eligibility in accordance with the required qualifications mentioned above. Those applicants who meet the required qualifications will be scored based on the preferred qualifications. Highest scoring candidates will be called in for an interviews, language and skills test (presentations, excel/word tests). Performance from all interviews and skills test will be considered as a whole package to ensure the best candidate is selected that meets the needs of the Peace Corps mission. Professional reference checks will be conducted for selected candidates.

How to apply:

Please submit the following in English by email (with your name and the position you are applying for in as the subject of the email) as one PDF file to PCVietNamJobs@peacecorps.gov:

1. Application Cover Letter

2. Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Closing date: Applications should be received 6:00 pm Friday, April 16, 2021 for consideration in the first review. Position remains open until filled. Applications for one position maybe considered for any current open position. No phone calls or personal visits related to this vacancy will be accepted. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

All applicants must pass a background/security investigation and a medical certification. Any contract offer with the US Peace Corps is contingent upon a candidate’s ability to secure the necessary certifications.

All applicants must be a naturalized citizen of the host country or must have the required work permit or documentation that permits the applicant to work legally in the country in order to be eligible for consideration.

The application must contain all the information necessary to demonstrate that the candidate possesses the education, experience, skills and language abilities required for this position.