Job Description

INOVASI 3 - Children's Book Ecosystem Development and Strengthening Local Book Policy

• Duration:12 months, up to 180 days
• Location: Kalimantan Utara, with travel to other INOVASI areas as necessary
• This position is open to Indonesia nationals and permanent residents with authority to live and work in Indonesia, and this is a consultant position.

Program Overview

Indonesia’s Vision 2045 sets the goal for Indonesia to transition from a resource-based economy towards an advanced service, technology, and knowledge-based economy by the centenary of its independence (2045). The 2025-2045 National Long Term Development Plan emphasises the urgency of Indonesia’s human resource development to fully realise 2045 goals.

Faced however with persistent low student performance that is emblematic of a learning crisis, significant improvement in student learning will be required to reach Indonesia’s 2045 goals. Government of Indonesia (GoI) has started an ambitious program of education reforms. Successive education ministers have set out to modernise the education system through reforming the national curriculum and teaching and assessment approaches, to produce citizens with strong foundational skills, open minds, and inclusive values.

Australia is a long-term supporter of the Indonesian basic education sector, with continuous investments supporting education quality improvements for the past two decades, including through the INOVASI program (Phase 1 2016-2020; Phase 2 2020-2023) that focused on supporting acquisition of literacy and numeracy foundational skills in early grades classrooms; exploring local problems and solutions; and generating evidence to inform government policy development and practices.

This third phase of INOVASI (2024-2027) builds upon the existing program’s approach and lessons learned and takes the focus on the development of foundational skills through to the end of the primary grades. Phase 3 will engage with priority issues of Australia’s development policy: gender equality, effective inclusion of children with a disability, responses to the climate change challenge in education. It will focus on the challenge of policy implementation and the gaps that exist between national policies and practices at district and school levels and use the well attested-success of INOVASI’s local problem-based approach to continuously support policy development for effective fit between policy and implementation context.

The Program is implemented by Palladium on behalf of DFAT.

Working with children

Is this position likely to come into contact with children? ☒ Yes ☐ No

Purpose of Position

The STP Children's Book Ecosystem Development and Strengthening Local Book Policy is responsible for providing strategic technical leadership in the development of regional literacy ecosystems, with a particular focus on the production of high-quality children's reading materials. The position plays a key role as a mentor and facilitator for local writers and illustrators, while also bridging local government priorities with national publishing standards. Based at the provincial level, this position oversees capacity strengthening in writing and content development, supports the enhancement of local book policies and regulations, and promotes book distribution through community reading networks.

Responsibilities

Under the direction of the Provincial Manager, the STP Children's Book Ecosystem Development and Strengthening Local Book Policy will:

1. Capacity Development for Local Writers and Illustrators
2. - Facilitate training programs, workshops, and technical mentoring sessions (coaching clinics) for aspiring children's book authors, teachers, and illustrators in the region.
3. - Strengthen the capacity of local authors to develop children's reading materials that meet pedagogical principles, child development psychology standards, and content quality requirements.
4. Children's Book Content Production and Curation
5. - Guide the manuscript development process through to the finalization of children's books that are ready for publication or distribution to schools.
6. - Engage professional illustrators to ensure that children's books feature appealing visual content that is culturally relevant to the local context of North Kalimantan.
7. Support for Publishing Policy Development
8. - Provide technical assistance to Provincial and District Education Offices, as well as relevant institutions, in developing regulations or local policies related to book management, book procurement, and school library standards.
9. - Ensure that all regulations and policies are aligned with National Education Standards and the policies of the Center for Books and Publishing.
10. National Strategic Partnerships
11. - Establish and maintain close coordination with the Center for Books and Publishing (Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education), the Language Development and Fostering Agency (Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education), and the National Library of Indonesia (Perpusnas) to synchronize programs, facilitate access to book catalogues, and adopt national best practices.
12. - Facilitate the participation of local authors and regionally produced books in national platforms, events, and initiatives.
13. Strengthening Reading Community Networks
14. - Build and strengthen collaboration with regional and national reading communities, including Community Reading Garden Forums (Forum TBM), literary collectives, and other literacy organizations.
15. - Design and implement book distribution and promotion strategies through community reading networks to reach children in remote and underserved areas.
16. Education Ecosystem Coordination
17. - Serve as a liaison with key stakeholders, including Education Offices, BPMP, KGTK, MoRA Training Centers (BDK), Regional Legislative Councils (DPRD), Teacher Training Institutions (LPTK), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) partners to support the implementation of literacy initiatives.
18. - Collaborate with District Officers to strengthen the book and literacy ecosystem at the district and municipal levels.
19. Integration of GEDSI and Climate Change Principles
20. - Ensure that children's books developed under the program are sensitive to Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) principles and incorporate climate change education and awareness messages.
21. - Advocate for the inclusion of GEDSI and environmental issues in children's reading materials among relevant stakeholders.
22. Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting
23. - Support MERL personnel in monitoring and assessing the impact of book and literacy interventions on students' reading engagement and literacy outcomes.
24. - Ensure that project documentation, including book manuscripts, training modules, and activity reports, is completed and submitted in a timely manner.
25. Other Duties
26. - Undertake additional tasks and responsibilities as required to support the achievement of the INOVASI Program objectives, as directed by the Provincial Manager.

Qualifications and Experience Required

The STP Children's Book Ecosystem Development and Strengthening Local Book Policy will possess the following qualifications and experience:

1. Education
2. - Bachelor’s degree (S1) in Literature, Language Education, Communications, or a related field from an accredited institution. A Master’s degree (S2) in a relevant discipline is preferred.
3. Key Professional Experience
4. - Active Author: Demonstrated track record as an active writer for more than 20 years, with a portfolio of published children's books and general-interest publications.
5. - Children’s Book Development: Extensive experience in writing, editing, and producing high-quality children's reading materials.
6. - Training Facilitation: Proven experience facilitating training programs, workshops, and capacity-building initiatives for writers, particularly children's book authors and illustrators, at the regional level.
7. - Support to Local Governments: Experience assisting local governments in the development, writing, and publication of locally produced books.
8. - Policy and Regulatory Development: Experience supporting local governments in the development of regulations or policies related to publishing, books, and library services.
9. Networks and Partnerships
10. - Strong and active professional networks with children’s book authors and illustrators across Indonesia.
11. - Established working relationships with the Center for Books and Publishing (Pusat Perbukuan) and the National Library of Indonesia (Perpusnas).
12. - Extensive connections with regional and national reading and literacy communities.
13. Specific Competencies and Personal Attributes
14. - Passion and Advocacy: Demonstrates a strong passion and commitment to advocating for and supporting local governments in the areas of children's literature, literacy, and publishing.
15. - Understanding of Strategic Issues: Strong knowledge of Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) and Climate Change Education within the education sector, with the ability to integrate these themes into children's reading materials.
16. Comprehensive understanding of quality standards for textbooks and non-textbook materials, as well as child reader psychology and development.
17. - Excellent communication, public speaking, and facilitation skills.
18. - Fluency in written and spoken Bahasa Indonesia. Basic English proficiency is an advantage.
19. - Politically and culturally sensitive, with demonstrated patience, tact, and diplomacy.
20. - Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a team environment, while effectively managing stress and competing priorities.
21. - Computer literate, including proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and email applications.
22. - Previous experience working with DFAT or other international development organizations is highly desirable.

Timeframe

12 months, up to 180 input days

Closing date: 16 October 2026 at 23:59 GMT+7 Jakarta time.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. We encourage you to apply early as the position may close once a suitable candidate is found. Please note that only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

About Palladium

Palladium is a global development and consulting firm, part of the GISI Consulting Group, working alongside some of the world’s leading project management and engineering organisations. We partner with governments, businesses, investors and communities to design and deliver complex programs that create lasting impact. With a presence across more than 90 countries, Palladium offers the opportunity to work on meaningful challenges, alongside talented colleagues, in environments where your work can truly make a difference.

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Palladium is committed to embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion into everything we do. We welcome applications from all sections of society and actively encourage diversity to drive innovation, creativity, success and good practice. We positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce; and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment regardless of their background or personal characteristics. These include: (but are not limited to) socio-economic background, age, race, gender identity and expression, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, veteran, marital or Indigenous status.

Should you require any adjustments or accommodations to be made due to a disability, or you are a neurodivergent individual, or for any other circumstance, please email our team at accessibility@thepalladiumgroup.com and we will be in touch to discuss.

Safeguarding

We define Safeguarding as all the actions taken by Palladium to protect our people, communities where we work and our clients from harm, including Sexual Exploitation, Abuse or Sexual Harassment; Child Abuse in any form; Trafficking for sexual exploitation of adults or children and any form of Trafficking of children. We have zero tolerance for all forms of child abuse as well as sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment and zero-tolerance for inaction to prevent, protect against, respond to and report harm. We are committed to ensuring that all children and adults who come into contact with Palladium are treated with respect and are free from abuse. All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced selection process including safeguarding-focused interviews and a rigorous due diligence process. Our Code of Conduct and Child Safeguarding and Protection against Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment Guidelines have additional details.

INOVASI has zero tolerance for child abuse and exploitation. All successful candidates will be required to adhere to our Child Protection Policy and will be subject to background checks as a condition of employment.